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# Fast start helps Manchester Central girls soccer beat Exeter, move on to D1 final
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/fast-start-helps-manchester-central-girls-soccer-beat-exeter-move-on-to-d1-final/
- Published: 2018-11-02T11:30:27.000Z
- Updated: 2018-11-02T11:30:27.000Z
- Description: EXETER - The Manchester Central High School girls soccer offense stole the show early, and the defense held on late, to power the Little Green to a 3-1 win over Exeter in the Division I girls soccer semifinals at Bill Ball Stadium. The win sends Central back to the state championship game after it w
- Author: Michael Abelson
- Tags: Division I, Exeter, girls soccer, Manchester Central, playoffs, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

EXETER - The Manchester Central High School girls soccer offense stole the show early, and the defense held on late, to power the Little Green to a 3-1 win over Exeter in the Division I girls soccer semifinals at Bill Ball Stadium.

The win sends Central back to the D1 championship game after it won the title a year ago.

The No. 2 Little Green pounced early and never looked back. Sophomore Erin Flurey chipped the ball over Exeter goalie Megan Olszewski to put the Little Green up in the seventh minute. Six minutes later it was senior Paige LaBerge firing a shot at goal that slipped through the hands of Olszewski and into the net. The lead was all the breathing room the Little Green (16-2) would need.

“One of the things we wanted to do was see if we could strike early and put them back on their heels,” Central coach Peter Lally said. “Fortunately, we were able to do that.”

With the early lead, the Central defense went to work at shutting down an Exeter attack that average nearly four goals a game this season. Junior keeper Jessica Lewis made three saves for the Green but none were all that difficult as the backline in front of her kept the Blue Hawks (15-3-1) at bay.

A veteran heavy unit, the midfield and defenders for Central were phenomenal at keeping Exeter to the outside and away from the box.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game,” LaBerge said. “We didn’t play them in the regular season, but Exeter is always a great team. We’re always ready for that. Really focused on locking them in, making sure we’re clearing the ball but making passes at the same time.”

Flurey scored a second goal off the rebound of a LaBerge shot, in the 72nd minute, to seal the victory for the Little Green.

“What you see is what you get,” Lally said of Flurey. “She is one of the finest soccer players in the state, and so is Paige LaBerge. The interesting thing is that Erin is about 5-2 and Paige is about 5-11, and they complement each other very well. We scored a number of goals this year, and they accounted for a little less than half which tells you, you can’t just watch those two because someone else is going to do it.”

Exeter did get a goal, from sophomore Taylor Pierce, but it came with less than two minutes to go when Central had already secured the victory.

“We were in their half a lot, but our offensive third, we couldn’t quite make that final push to get anything on their goal,” Exeter coach Megan Young said. “

The win sends Manchester Central to its second straight title game, where the Little Green will face No. 1 Londonderry on Sunday at Stellos Stadium in Nashua at 2:15 p.m.