John Stark girls soccer rolls past Oyster River to win D2 championship

EXETER – The John Stark High School girls soccer team knows how to use its time wisely.

After beating Bow in the semifinals last Thursday, the Generals stuck around Stellos Stadium to watch some of the other semifinal between Oyster River and Hanover.

John Stark had beaten Hanover twice during the regular season, but hadn’t faced Oyster River and coach Heather Doucette saw something she thought her team could exploit.

“We got a chance to watch Oyster River (on Thursday) and we knew if we could put pressure on their center backs, there was an opportunity, that they might miss kick,” she said. “Our game plan was to put a lot of pressure on them.”

The No. 3 Generals had no idea how well that plan would work, as they capitalized on a turnover by No. 5 Oyster River minutes into the game and cruised to a 4-0 win over the Bobcats in Sunday’s Division II championship game at Bill Ball Stadium.

The title is the first for the John Stark program, as the Generals scored three goals in the first half – two in the first 11 minutes – and held off an Oyster River charge to open the second half.

Morgan Hawkes finished with two goals and Brooke Shatney and Aria Ulmer also scored to lead the Generals (17-3).

“This is what we’ve been working toward for the last four years,” Shatney said. “It’s awesome to do it senior year.”

John Stark started the game with the wind at its back and took advantage from the start.

Hawkes got the scoring started, taking advantage of an Oyster River turnover to split two defenders and put a ball high and to the right, past a diving Susan McDonough (nine saves) in the third minute to make it 1-0.

“We are young despite having six seniors,” Doucette said. “We have a lot of younger players who are starting for us and getting solid minutes, and for us to get a couple of goals, it gave the team a lot of confidence.”

The Generals got a little help from the wind moments later, as a shot from about 30 yards out by Shatney carried a little further than McDonough seemed to anticipate. The ball snuck in on the near side post and John Stark led 2-0 in the 11th minute.

“Honestly, no, not at all,” Shatney said of whether she thought her shot was going in. “I thought it was going to go out of bounds, but it curved back in.”

It was the type of goal that Doucette has become accustomed to seeing from the senior.

“Brooke’s goal, seriously, and sure enough (it went in),” the coach said. “She scored one like that against Bow. She’s a phenomenal player.”

Oyster River was on its heels for most of the half, but wasn’t able to get anything on goal. The Bobcats defense solidified and managed to thwart a handful of John Stark chances.

But with under two minutes to play in the half, the Generals put the ball in the box and three Oyster River players, including McDonough, went after it. The ball was deflected away, right to Ulmer, who tapped it into the open net for a 3-0 lead.

“At halftime, when we were in the locker room, we said it’s a 0-0 game,” Shatney said. “They want it as bad as we want it and they’re going to come back. We came out harder than we did at the start of the game.”

The Bobcats were able to keep possession early in the second half, but John Stark goalie Avery Gorhan (six saves) came up with a save in the first minute of the half. Moments later, Oyster River’s Sierra Carpenter put a corner kick on goal, but Gorhan stepped up and punched the ball away.

Oyster River had a couple of other chances midway through the half, including a corner kick, but couldn’t capitalize. Hawkes got her second goal of the game with 12:06 left to put it away.

“It means so much to our school and we got a lot of support from our fans, which is awesome for the girls,” Doucette said. “They worked so hard this season. I’ve got six great seniors. Brooke Shatney and (Cara) Easter dominated and showed some of their premier play. Meg Blancette and Jocelyn Dimond had the game of their lives. We brought it all together.”