The top-seeded Concord-Carlisle High School took down BMC Durfee High School with senior Captain Brady Poor’s goal giving the Patriots a 1-0 win in their first game of the Boy’s Soccer MIAA Division One Tournament.
Poor found the back of the net in the 62nd minute of the game. Poor took a shot from the left side as the Durfee goalkeeper came out to challenge him; his shot hit the right post and went into the goal for his 16th of the season.
Durfee, from Fall River, had advanced to play Concord-Carlisle with a 1-0 win over Peabody. The Hilltoppers finished their season at 10-4-4.
The Patriots, 16-0-1, won their ninth straight game and ninth straight clean sheet. It was the 14th shutout of the season.
C-C had not played in six days since beating Oliver Ames 1-0 on October 29.
“The games are always tight in the tournament,” said Head Coach Ray Pavlik.
“We knew they would be good,” Pavlik added. “I am happy with the result’”
The long time off was a factor in the slow start for the Patriots. Their depth came into play in the second half.
The defense again played well for the Patriots. Led by senior Captain Doug Fortier, senior Sean Trudeau, senior Harry Lefebvre, senior Stage Casparis (assisted on Poor’s goal), and senior Goalkeeper Ben Wasserman, who had five saves.
Girls’ Soccer: Played its first round MIAA state Division One tournament game against 24th seed Bridgewater-Raynham on C-C Memorial Field and came away with a 2-0 win.
Senior Midfielder Kennedy Johnson scored the only goal Concord-Carlisle needed midway through the opening half on a pass for a 1-0 lead.
Senior Captain Caroline Coletti was headed toward the B-R goal when the Trojans Goalkeeper Cori Cahill came out to challenge Coletti. Coletti made a move to get around Cahill and that put the ball in the net for her 23rd goal of the season. A pass from senior Midfielder Mia Avini set Coletti up on her scoring run.
Her 23 goals are the most for a Patriot in the 11 years Head Coach Peter Fischelis has been in charge.
“It was a great win,” said Fischelis. “It was tournament soccer.”
The Patriots’ defense was solid all game and shut down the Trojans attack. Defenders blocked shots before they even had a chance to reach the C-C goalkeeper, senior Alley Berlam.
“Our defense stepped up all game,” Fischelis said. Ninth grader “Ainsley Siefer is so calm and collected on defense.”
Senior Nathalie Gahan, senior Charlotte DiRocco and sophomore Sophia Annunziata all played well on defense.
Field Hockey: The Patriots moved on to the round of 16 with a 3-0 November 2 win over Natick on Memorial Field. The team’s next game will be November 7 at seventh-seeded Algonquin at 4:30 pm.
Though Concord-Carlisle (14-4-1) dominated the first quarter, neither team could get on the scoreboard and after the first 15 minutes of action, it was 0-0. The tie was quickly broken just two minutes into the second quarter when Patriots sophomore Brynn Chafee took a nice pass from senior Captain Hadley Swenson and put the ball in the goal for a 1-0 lead.
With 1:49 left to play until the half, junior Katie Francini put a shot into the upper right corner for a 2-0 Patriots lead.
Francini scored her second goal early in the fourth quarter on a pass from Chafee.
“We played strong and hard,” said Francini. “We executed in the circle.”
Any opportunities Natick (6-8-5) had were quickly shut down by the C-C defense and junior Goalkeeper Crista Celi.
“We played great in all four quarters,” said Head Coach Jacqui Turner. “We executed well on our corners.”
The team is looking to play deep into the tournament. In 2022, the Patriots beat Lincoln-Sudbury 3-2 (overtime) in the first round and then lost to Walpole 2-0 in the round of 16.
Left out last week: the accomplishment of the ninth-grade field hockey team. They finished their season undefeated at 14-0-1. In the next-to-last game at Andover, the team was down 2-0 and it looked like their unblemished season was coming to an end. The team stormed back and scored three unanswered goals to bring home a 3-2 win. Abby Ruhmann, Charlotte Jackson and Alex Hooven scored for C-C.
Girls’ Volleyball: Concord-Carlisle traveled to Attleboro to take on Bishop Feehan in the first round of the MIAA Division One state tournament. The #8 Shamrocks were too much for the #25 Patriots, beating them 25-10, 25-20, 28-26.
C-C held its own against the taller foe, especially in the last two sets with hustle defense all over court and forcing extra points before falling 28-26 in the third set. Leading the offense was junior Middle Hitter Gabby Kakas with 10 points (seven kills, three blocks) and adding five points (four kills, one ace) was senior Outside Hitter Lily Johnson. The defensive stalwarts were sophomore Setter April Tang (14 digs), senior Bella DiRocco (13 digs) and senior Outside Hitter Isabel Jaffe (10 digs).
“I greatly appreciate the effort, energy and leadership that the seniors Maddie Smack, Ella Gardner, Isabel Jaffe, Bella DiRocco and Lily Johnson gave to C-C volleyball throughout the season,” said Head Coach Jim Crandall. “We [teammates and coaches] will miss them and wish them the best and brightest future… On behalf of the coaches and myself, we would like to thank the families and fans for their support throughout this season.”
Cross Country: The boys’ cross-country team competed at the MSTCA Frank Mooney Coaches Invitational (Large Schools) on Saturday, November 4 at the Wrentham Developmental Center. Typically, at this meet, most athletes have the opportunity to compete in grade level races against other Division 1 large schools.
The Patriots sophomore team of ninth grader Sawyer Bout (fifth place), Alexan Rivier (27th), Jay Bodenrader (41st), Declan Pomeroy (42nd), ninth grader Brady Quayle (46th), Ward Zimmerman (62nd), and ninth grader Ryan Perry (93rd) finished third behind state powers Brookline and Newton South. Bout and Rivier both earned medals for finishing in the top 30. Bout ran the third fastest Concord-Carlisle ninth-grade time ever on the Wrentham course. Also running in the tenth-grade race: Enye Sun, Rex Riessen, Suman Babu, Julian Barber, Oliver Dayton, Beckett Johnson, Jack Tyson, Charles Cheng, Owen Seston, and Jude Hedlund.
The boys’ junior team of Sam Snell (29th), Grady Flinn (30th), Henry Flint (56th), who is running in his first ever cross country season, Matthew Qian (78th), Ranai Shah (101st), Andre Haddad (106), and Will Hawes (125) finished ninth. Also running in the junior race was Isaac Yu, who had a 98 second personal record. Snell and Flinn both earned medals for top 30 finishes.
The boys’ senior team of Thomas Rivier (seventh), sophomore Charlie MacDonald (14th), sophomores Brendan Quinn (26th), Christopher Lando (29th), Joey Bodenrader (32nd), Adam Synnestvedt (33rd), and Luke Crounse (41st), finished third behind Newton South and Acton Boxborough. Rivier, MacDonald, Quinn, and Lando all earned medals. Charlie MacDonald, Brendan Quinn, and Joey Bodenrader all now have top-20 Concord-Carlisle sophomore all course 5K times. Thomas Rivier ran the 19th fastest all-time Patriots cross-country 5K time (all courses). Also running in the senior race were Liam Quinn, Captain Will Anstey, Captain Max Johnson, Nate Harmon, George Yates, and Thomas Retterer-Moore.
Next Saturday, the boys’ cross-country team will compete at the MIAA Division 1, Wave B, State tournament meet at the Gardner Municipal Golf Course in Gardner, Massachusetts. Ten athletes will represent Concord-Carlisle at this meet; seven will compete. The ten athletes are seniors Thomas Rivier, Liam Quinn, and Christopher Lando, junior Sam Snell, sophomores Charlie MacDonald, Brendan Quinn, Joey Bodenrader, Adam Synnestvedt, and Luke Crounse, and ninth-grader Sawyer Bout.
The top seven teams in Division 1B will move on to the Division 1 State Championship meet on Saturday, November 18 at Fort Devens.
This will be the last meet for all but the top 10 athletes. The top 10 will compete at the MIAA Division 1B State meet in Gardner on Saturday, November 11.
The girls will also be running on Saturday, November 11 in the MIAA Division 1B State Meet. Only the top 10 athletes will be competing in the All-State Meet on Saturday, November 18 at the Devens Athletic Complex.
Golf: The team competed in the Division One State Tournament held at Greathorse in Hampden on October 31. The Patriots finished tied for 11th, with Needham shooting a 343. Junior Will Spring tied for 29th with an 80 to lead the C-C golf squad. He was followed by junior Erika Redmond (84), ninth-grader Jake Erston (89), and ninth-grader Sophie Redmond, sophomore Ahrin Desai, ninth-grader Glen Murdough rounded-out the Patriots all shooting 90.
