For the third time in just five games, the Londonderry High girls’ soccer squad saw a 1-0 decision go to their opponents when they lost to the Manchester Central booters by that tiny margin in the Queen City Wednesday, Oct. 7.
The loss to the 9-2 Central contingent stung all that much more because the lone goal was netted in the final minute of regulation time with overtime seemingly a sure thing.
“A similar thing happened last year, when they beat us on a counter-attack after a corner,” said coach Derek Dane. “A great game played at a high tempo. The second half was a tale of two halves. We played in
Central’s half for the first 20 and then in our half for the second 20. They reacted faster to a ball played back into the box after a corner.”
Brianna Furtado made herself the home team’s hero by netting that winning goal unassisted, with the Lady Lancers’ record slipping to 8-3 with their second consecutive loss.
Jackie Luckhardt made eight saves in the Londonderry net, with Central keeper Lindsay St. Pierre turning aside six blasts in her cage.
“A hard way to lose a game, but I’m proud of the work rate and passion that we showed. If we take that level of play into our remaining games, we’ll be in good shape,” Dane said
Coach Dane’s dames returned to game action Tuesday, Oct. 13, after Londonderry Times press time, with a trip to Manchester, this time to take on the Memorial Lady Crusaders on their home pitch. After that, they’ll return to their home field on Friday, Oct. 16, for a meeting with the Nashua North Lady Titans, who have a record hovering around .500.