Exeter remains perfect, beats Bedford for fourth straight girls soccer title

MANCHESTER – When it comes to dynasties, New Hampshire high school girls soccer is at the top of the list.

That list got a little bit longer on Saturday, when No. 1 Exeter dominated from start to finish in a 5-1 victory over No. 3 Bedford in the Division girls soccer final. It was the Blue Hawks’ fourth-straight title, and their sixth in seven years, but this championship was unlike any of the others.

For the first time, Exeter finished a season undefeated at 19-0.

“It was just a perfect ending to a great season,” Exeter coach Megan Young said. “These girls have been great all season long. To go undefeated in Division I, being the defending champs, it’s an accomplishment onto itself. To put this on top of it, it’s just perfect.”

The Blue Hawks are the fourth girls soccer team in New Hampshire high school sports history to win at least four consecutive titles, joining Manchester West (five), Derryfield (six) and Souhegan (nine).

And by winning its sixth title since 2006, Exeter trails only those three programs in long-term success.

Here are the numbers:

• From 1989-2010, Derryfield reached the finals 17 times, going 13-4 in Class IMS, Class MS, Class S and Division IV. The Cougars won six straight titles (Class MS and S) from 1996-2001, and played in the final eight straight years.
• From 1982-2005, West reached the finals 20 times, going 15-5 in Class L and back when girls soccer was one division. The Blue Knights won five titles in a row from 1989-93, and from 1985-99, won 12 of 15 titles.
• From 1992-2003, Souhegan reached the finals every year, going 10-2 in Class I. The Sabers won nine in a row from 1992-2000.

“They do remind me a lot of what (West) was like,” said Bedford coach Michelle Winning, who was part of the Blue Knights’ dynasty in the early 1990s. “They’re a great team and Meg is doing a great job with them. They’ll keep being strong. They have a great feeder system. Somebody is going to beat them someday. It just wasn’t us (Saturday).”

It didn’t take long for the Blue Hawks to take over Saturday’s final.

Casey Estey put Exeter on top just 7:48 into the game, scoring off an assist from Casey Scott. And just 34 seconds later, Estey set up what proved to be the game-winner for Maggie Couett, giving the Blue Hawks a 2-0 lead with 8:22 gone off the clock.

Abby Short made it a 3-0 game in the 25^th minute, converting a pass from Couett, and it looked like Exeter was going to cruise to the title, to everyone but the teams on the field.

Bedford had fallen behind 2-0 in the semifinals against Londonderry, but rallied for a 4-3 win to get to the championship game, and both sides were recalling that game at halftime.

“I told them three goals wasn’t enough and we needed to get back on the board,” Young said. “We talked about it before the game and we brought it back up at halftime, that this game wasn’t going to be over until that final whistle.”

The Bulldogs got a goal from Johanna Celli in the 32^nd minute to make it a 3-1 game and steal a little bit of momentum from Exeter.

“The thing about this team that’s so fantastic is that they fight until the end,” Winning said. “I didn’t have any doubt that they would keep going. I knew this team was going to keep going until the final whistle, and they’ve done that all year.”

It took Exeter less than five minutes to put the game away in the second half. Katie Day made it 4-1 with a goal in the 45^th minute, as the Blue Hawks fired 20 shots at the Bedford goal in the second half. For the game, Exeter held a 30-4 advantage in shots, forcing Bulldogs goalie Brooke Barrett to make 10 saves.

“She is a freshman and she has made tremendous progress this year,” Winning said of Barrett. “She was solid this year. Those goals that were scored on her were great goals. We call on her a lot and I don’t doubt that if she weren’t back there, the score would have been a lot more.”

Estey added a second goal in the 74^th minute to close out the scoring, and from there, it was only a matter of waiting for the celebration to begin.

“This is the first undefeated season (for Exeter),” Young said. “To do that in Division I is such an accomplishment because there are so many competitive teams. We haven’t done that before, so that was pretty special and to end it this way makes it pretty perfect.”