Goffstown boys soccer scores late to take out Coe-Brown

GOFFSTOWN – Goffstown High School boys soccer coach Randy Lovering had a friendly debate with players Mike Fortin and Ethan Skinner after earning a 2-0 home victory over Coe-Brown Northwood Academy Wednesday.

While Fortin and Skinner connected on the game-winning goal, Lovering had a hand in making it happen as well.

With time running out in regulation, Fortin lined up for a free kick from 35 yards out, looking to break the scoreless deadlock. Before he took the kick, Fortin heard Lovering whispering to him from the near sideline. Lovering told Fortin to aim for Skinner on the back post.

Fortin followed Lovering’s instructions. His free kick found Skinner, who headed the ball into the Bears’ net with 6:35 remaining.

“They’re taking credit but I’m telling them I’m taking credit for it. I’m sorry,” Lovering said with chuckle.

Coe-Brown (4-3-1) responded to Skinner’s tally by pushing its players up field in an effort to put pressure on the Grizzlies defense. That decision helped Sam Heidenreich find space in the penalty box and put home an insurance goal for Goffstown inside the final two minutes.

“At the end, when we’re down one, you’ve got to go for it so we opened ourselves up a bit and then Sam got that second goal and he’ll do that,” Bears coach Christian Gompert said. “He’s a very good forward. That’s the risk we took.”

Fortin said the Grizzlies felt they deserved their two late goals considering how they had played for most of the game.

“We had good possession and we had a good amount of chances,” Fortin said. “We just hadn’t finished them and then we finally got the chance that we needed and we finally got it and delivered.”

The Grizzlies (7-1) had six shots on goal while Coe-Brown recorded three. Both teams had just one shot on goal through the first half.

One of Coe-Brown’s best chances to score came in the first half. Corbin LeBlanc fired a turnaround shot from the top of the box in the 24th minute but the ball sailed wide left.

The Bears’ other notable scoring opportunity came early in the second half during a scrum in front of the Goffstown goal. Several Coe-Brown players tried to poke the ball past Grizzlies goalie Tyler Santoro but Goffstown’s defense was able to clear it away.

“These are the kinds of games that could have gone either way,” Gompert said. “We had our chances and they had theirs.”