Laconia Sun Local Sports, November 6

Girls Soccer

D-IV State tournament

Littleton 6, Moultonborough Academy 3

Littleton got out to a fast 3-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game and cruised into the finals. Panthers Coach Kelsie Eckert said it was a tough start. “Our goalie is one of the best in the state, but they've got some very fast midfielders and jumped on us quick.” She went on to say that she was pleased with the effort.  “We played hard and didn't give up. In fact, we outscored them in the second half, 2-1.  We displayed great mental fortitude and I'm proud of them.”  

Goal scorers for the Panthers were Shayla Sturgeon, Ellie Marchand and Kiara Eveleth.  Moultonborough is a young team with no seniors, and it was a great accomplishment that they made it to the semifinals for the first time in school history.  They also put more goals on Littleton than any other team this year. 

D-III Tournament

Hopkinton 4, Belmont 0

Hopkinton soared past the Red Raiders and cruised into the finals as Hopkinton scored early and often. Coach Mark Dewalga heaped praise upon his players for a great season. “These girls are troopers. Early on we did not know what to expect or if we would even play. But they went out there, met every challenge, followed the guidelines and worked very hard for this final four appearance.” He singled out a few of his players. “Becca Fleming played great at striker, and we had two freshman that did well and got some great experience with Darcy Stone in the midfield and Quinn Jewel at sweeper. Deanna Bourque was also amazing for us and our goaltenders were stellar, with Emma Cochran and Maddie Lima.” Dewalga is looking forward to the basketball season and knows his girls will meet that challenge as well.  

Volleyball

D-II Tournament

Gilford 3, Campbell 0

Tell me if this sounds familiar: Gilford is headed back to the state championship game. The only match they lost this year was to Plymouth and it was the first one they lost in a couple of years. The Eagles dominated this match in straight sets as Riley McDonough led the way with 28 assists, nine digs and three kills, and Lindsay Sanderson was lights out with seven kills and eight digs. Kate Sullivan had eight kills from the middle and Ashley Sanderson had 14 digs. Also chipping in was Serena Pugh on the outside with seven kills and 10 digs and a block while Maggie Shute had four kills and two blocks. Coach Amy Tripp is very happy to be back in the finals. “This season has been an amazing challenge and we're happy to be right where we are. The girls are playing at a high level and continue to challenge themselves.”

In the other semifinal, John Stark beat Saint Thomas Aquinas in straight sets, earning the right to travel to Gilford to take on the Golden Eagles on Saturday night at 6.