Fall Sports

On the Pitch: Nashua South boys soccer trying to mold together on the fly

In this era of high school sports, where travel teams and off-season camps are as popular as playing for a varsity team, it's not uncommon for the core members of a team to play together almost all year.

The team that steps onto the field or court together for the first time at tryouts is typically behind its competition when the season starts. The familiarity and team dynamics take time to put together, and it's some times talent and grit that keep a program competitive.

Jared Barbossa knows that's the case with his Nashua High School South boys soccer team. The Panthers coach believes his team can play with any team in Division I, but getting them to do so has been a season-long, and beyond, project.

"We have a lot of new guys," Barbossa said. "We have all these new guys who never played high school soccer and now they're getting into the groove.

"(Daniel Ruiz) is one of our top players and he's new, he's a junior, and he'd never played high school soccer before. Rony (Reyes) who is our right back, and Camilo (Jurado) who is our left back, those guys are the ones who keep the ball alive, and it's the first time they've ever played high school soccer."

The good news for Barbossa is that those players - Ruiz, Reyes, Juardo, Dan Dukeshire - are juniors and would likely be together again for another year and would benefit from this year's experience. But at 5-5-1, the Panthers aren't out of the mix for a first-round playoff game at home, and if South can start taking advantage of some of the opportunities its had, it could make some noise.

In most of their losses, the Panthers have missed early chances, only to watch the opponent take advantage of its opportunity and send South into a tailspin.

"If we put those away, we're a difficult team to handle," Barbossa said. "The confidence goes down a little bit, and then when the other team gets an opportunity and puts it away, it’s like 'oh man.' If we get the first opportunity and we can put those away, we're in good shape."

Turning around

The Merrimack boys soccer team got off to one of the hottest starts this season, winning its first five games. But then the Tomahawks hit a rough patch, tying Concord before losing three straight, including a 6-0 loss to Londonderry.

"It's a combo of things," Merrimack coach Ryan Farnsworth said. "On our end, it's been injuries. They've definitely plagued us. It's getting the team back into the swing of things. It's the middle of the season and people are going to be fatigued. It's being able to fight through that that's going to separate the good teams."

It looked like the Tomahawks turned a corner in a 3-1 win over Timberlane on Friday, but then Merrimack (6-4-1) came out Monday and lost to Bedford 6-0. In its four losses, Merrimack has been outscored 15-1.

"There's still a lot of games left and anything can happen in Division I soccer, and everything does happen," Farnsworth said. "When opportunity knocks, we've got to make the best of it."

Getting seperation

Nothing is wrapped up yet, but the Pinkerton girls soccer team is almost locked in on the No. 1 seed in Division I.

The Astros (11-0) are the only undefeated team in the division and hold a two-game lead in the loss column over Londonderry and Manchester Central. And since Pinkerton has the head-to-head tiebreaker over both teams, along with fourth-place Bedford (8-3), it might as well be a three-game lead for the Astros.

The remaining schedule won't be a cakewalk - Pinkerton still has to play Concord and Exeter next week - but the combined record of the five teams left on the schedule are 22-21-7.

Ups ...

Since opening the season 0-3-1, the Exeter girls soccer team has gone 4-1-1. After playing the next three games at home, the Blue Hawks finish the season with three road games, including ones at Pinkerton and at Bedford.
The Bow boys soccer team suffered its first loss of the season, a 2-1 setback at Campbell on Sept. 8, and since then, the Falcons have won seven straight and haven't allowed a goal in their last four.

... And Downs

The Plymouth boys soccer team had won six in a row, and opened the year by winning eight of nine, but saw that streak end in a 7-0 loss to Lebanon on Oct. 1. The Bobcats only two losses this year have been to the Raiders, by a combined 10-0.
The Hollis Brookline girls soccer team was 9-1 heading into last Friday's game against Goffstown, a winless team that lost to the Cavaliers 5-1 the first time they played. But the Grizzlies were able to pick up their first win of the season, 1-0.