John Stark, Souhegan field hockey play to a 1-1 tie (video)

AMHERST - The field hockey teams from John Stark and Souhegan high schools were prepared Tuesday night to settle who would have the inside track at the top seed in Division II.

Instead, they'll have to wait a little bit longer.

The Sabers scored in the opening minutes of the first half, the Generals did the same in the second half, and neither team could take advantage of opportunities the rest of the way, as they played to a 1-1 tie.

Chloe Luongo scored with 11:20 to go in the first quarter to give Souhegan (10-0-1, No. 5 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) a lead it would make stand up for the rest of the half, despite a surge in play from John Stark in the second quarter.

The Generals (10-0-1, No. 4) would finally break through on a penalty corner, as Aubrey Fischer scored with 1:06 gone off the clock in the third quarter to tie it.

"It was a fantastic field hockey game," John Stark coach Dennis Pelletier said. "Both teams had ample opportunities at the end to win it. We’re competing hard against each other. They are loaded with some talented players. We’re the new kid on the block and we play with a lot of young players. It’s an exciting atmosphere to be in for them."

John Stark had a chance for the win with no time left at the end of the fourth quarter and overtime, getting a corner in the final minute of each frame, but both times, Souhegan's defense held. The Generals finished with nine corners, while the Sabers had just three.

"I have the utmost confidence in our backs and in Annie (Raduazzo) in goal," Souhegan coach Kelli Braley said. "I don’t like see them under siege that much, but I know they can withstand.

"The intensity was there for sure. They (the Sabers) wanted to keep going. A tie is not a fulfilling result. I’d like to see them again."

Raduazzo finished with six saves for the Sabers while Edie Fischer had five saves, including two late in overtime, and Lauryn Guevin assisted on John Stark's goal.

With about two minutes left in overtime, Souhegan's Ella Barrett had a chance to put a shot on goal, but Edie Fischer came out and made a sprawling stop. The rebound went far enough away it allowed her to get back in goal and make another save on a reverse attempt by Barrett.

The Generals cleared the ball after that, leading to their final corner.

"We’re in a unique situation where we have three goaltenders who are all really good, so it’s a tough decision on my part who it is," Pelletier said. "I figured out the little sliver that puts (Fischer) above is she’s a strong communicator and she’s very consistent. That’s what she did."

Fischer was solid after allowing Luongo's goal early in the game, surviving a first quarter in which Souhegan controlled play.

John Stark was able to flip the field in the second quarter, getting four corners, and nearly tying the game about five minutes into the frame.

The Generals sent the ball into the circle and it looked like it was going to go wide of the cage. Raduazzo let the ball go, but it hit the post and bounced back into play in front of the open goal, but the Sabers were able to get to the ball first and clear it.

"The first quarter was by far our best quarter of the game," Braley said. "If we played all four quarters like that, it’s a different result. I don’t have an answer for what happened after that. Stark definitely turned it up and brought some intensity, in the second quarter specifically."

Souhegan almost took the lead back late in the third, when Barrett sent a reverse hit in from the edge of the circle. Ari Goulet was able to deflect the ball up toward the near corner of the cage, but it went just wide.