Boys soccer, Div. IV final: Wait is over for Concord Christian
Nov. 7—MANCHESTER — As it has throughout the fall, the Concord Christian Academy boys soccer team kicked into another gear after the first 30 minutes of the NHIAA Division IV championship game on Sunday at Chabot-McDonough Field.
The Kingsmen opened the game's scoring shortly after the 30-minute mark and dominated possession the rest of the way en route to a 3-0 triumph over Woodsville.
The state title is Concord Christian's first since its 1993 Class S crown. Sunday marked the program's first state final appearance since 2003. The top-seeded Kingsmen finished with an 18-0-1 overall record.
"I think it's a testimony to our cardio and how conditioned we are," said Kingsmen coach Craig Anthony of his players, who run a half-marathon before each season. "We preach we have to play 80 minutes and we're normally going to beat people after the first 30."
Concord Christian junior Zach Syvertson put home a rebound goal from inside the penalty box in the 38th minute following classmate Brayden Burbach's initial shot.
Sixth-seeded Woodsville (15-4-1), which was also the D-IV runner-up last year, did not allow a goal in its previous three postseason games.
Anthony said he knew it was going to take that sort of goal to beat Engineers senior goalkeeper Cam Davidson (15 saves).
"He's going to make the normal save or even the really good save," Anthony said, "so you've got to bring it and you've got to be physical and you've got to be ready to scrap it up in there."
The Kingsmen took that 1-0 lead into halftime before doubling their cushion five minutes into the second frame. Junior forward Enzo Toscano finished a feed from Syvertson inside the box in the 45th minute to make it 2-0 Concord Christian.
Kingsmen senior midfielder Austin Spurr capped the game's scoring in the 61st minute.
Woodsville finished with four shots overall, two of which were on goal.
Engineers coach Matt Taylor said his team entered the final aiming to hold Concord Christian to one goal. The Kingsmen scored more than 100 goals in the regular season.
"Once they put two goals in, we knew we would have a tough time in front of us," Taylor said.
Concord Christian sophomore goalie Jaden Young secured the team's 16th shutout of the season. The Kingsmen allowed three goals all season.
