Concord boys soccer stifles Dover to pick up win

CONCORD - Dover High School boys soccer coach Ronan O’Doherty put it simply after his team’s loss to Concord Tuesday at Memorial Field.

“When you don’t score, you can’t win,” O’Doherty said.

Concord tallied two goals in each half to earn a 4-0 victory over the Green Wave in its home opener.

Senior goalkeepers Liam Devanny and Thomas Dean combined for five saves to earn the shutout. The Crimson Tide (2-0) have outscored their first two opponents, Dover and Salem, a combined 6-1.

“Defense is going to be the strength of this team and we’re going to build from there,” Concord coach Scott Dunlop said. “We’re going to build out of the back and go forward.”

Dunlop said his team was inconsistent and frantic at times over the opening 40 minutes Tuesday but Concord still took a 2-0 lead into halftime.

Becket O’Neil, a junior midfielder, opened the game’s scoring in the fourth minute when he scored in the middle of the penalty box with a shot into the left corner of the Dover goal. Aiden Donnelly, a senior midfielder, created the Crimson Tide’s two-goal cushion with a goal of his own in the 38th minute.

“It definitely calmed my nerves,” Donnelly said. “That’s my first varsity goal so that was exciting. After that, it put me more mentally focused for the second half.”

After discussing during halftime, among other things, the need to improve their on-field communication, the Crimson Tide dominated possession and struck with two quick goals in the second half.

Duvan Morikawa-Montenengro dribbled his way around two Dover defenders and scored at the 45-minute mark to create a 3-0 Concord advantage. Teammate Gopal Timsina capped the game’s scoring two minutes later with his penalty-kick goal.

Concord registered five of its seven corner kicks and five of its 10 shots on goal in the second half. Dover (1-2) logged one of its five shots on goal in the second half and both of its corner kicks came over the opening 40 minutes.

“Second half, we just clicked more,” Donnelly said. “We were able to do triangles around players - started moving the ball. We looked a lot stronger in the second half attacking and stuff.”

Dover’s best chances to get on the board came during the first 40 minutes. Dover freshman Nicholas Henao Vasquez had two promising header shots in the box denied by Devanny. Fellow Green Wave freshman Noel Huliselan saw his header following a corner kick corralled by a leaping Devanny in the 36th minute.

“We had a couple of opportunities,” O’Doherty said. “You don’t get too many opportunities so you’ve got to put them away.

“If you’ve got a goal or two, maybe the tone and the tenor of the game changes a little.”