Manchester Central starts fast, never looks back to beat Londonderry in D1 girls soccer final

NASHUA - The Manchester Central High School girls soccer team wanted to get off to a fast start against Londonderry in Sunday's Division I championship.

Well, there are fast starts, and then there's what the Little Green did to the Lancers.

Erin Flurey and Paige LeBerge each had a goal before the game was even five minutes old, and both finished with a pair of goals, as No. 2 Central won its second straight D1 title with a 5-0 win over No. 1 Londonderry at Stellos Stadium.

Flurey scored her first goal just 41 seconds into the game, as a deflected pass helped her get behind the Lancers defense, and less than two minutes later, the Central sophomore was taken down in the box. LeBerge buried the penalty kick, giving the Little Green (17-2) all the scoring it would just 2:39 into the game.

"We decided we were going to widen the field," Central coach Peter Lally said. "It is turf, we do have some speed, and we figured why wouldn’t we utilize everything we have that’s an advantage to us.

"The wider the field the better for our kids, because the more they will run, which will force the other team to try to keep up. A lot of teams can’t keep up with us."

Londonderry (16-2-1) keep Central off the scoreboard for the rest of the first half, and even had a few opportunities to close the gap, including a corner kick with about 14 minutes left in the half that nearly found its way through the near post.

But even down two goals at halftime, the Lancers still felt like the game was within reach.

"We felt good going into the half," Londonderry coach Derek Dane said. "We felt like we had opportunities in the first half and we were going to be fine. Didn’t happen that way.

"We had to change things to get one back and in trying to get one back, we gave up one. You decide whether you’re going to lose 2-0 or 5-0. I’m thrilled with the season, I loved the effort from the girls."

Central pushed the lead to 3-0 with 27:49 remaining when a shot by Gabrielle Paradis was knocked down by Londonderry goalie Jasmine Richards, but on her way to the ground, the ball came free and trickled into the goal.

LeBerge made it 4-0 with her second with 12:19 left to play, and Flurey finished out the scoring nine minutes later with her second tally.

"They are the best strikers I’ve had certainly as a tandem," Lally said. "They’re the best strikers in the state in any division this year. Erin breaks the single season scoring record, she’s got 26 goals. Paige set the record for goals in a career with 72. It was quite a year. It really was."