Late goal lifts Manchester Central past Bedford and into D1 boys soccer final

MANCHESTER – If the Manchester Central High School boys soccer team was to knock off Bedford in the Division I semifinals Thursday, it was going to have to play a strong first half.

When the fourth-seeded Little Green lost to the No. 1 Bulldogs during the regular season, Central fell behind in the first 40 minutes and couldn’t recover.

When the teams were scoreless at halftime of Thursday’s playoff game at Southern New Hampshire University, Central coach Chris LaBerge felt his team was in a great spot.

“We had to show that we could play with them, and I thought in the first half, we were able to do that,” he said. “After that, it was pretty even and wide open. There were chances on both sides and we were fortunate that we stuck ours in.”

Samuel Binogono headed in a corner kick from Alex Carignan in the 73^rd minute to lift the Little Green to a 1-0 win over Bedford. The win puts Central in the final for the fourth straight year, where the Green (14-4-1) will face No. 3 Hanover (17-2), which beat No. 2 Londonderry 1-0 in the other semifinal.

For Bedford, it was the first loss since the Bulldogs fell to Hanover, 2-1, in the Division II championship game in 2010, a span of 38 games. It also kept Bedford, which won the Division II title last year, from making its third-straight championship game appearance.

“Nothing but absolute pride in our performance and the way we battled for everything,” said Bedford coach Stuart Pepper. “We’ve had 38 games where we’ve been unbeaten, eventually something is going to go against you. We’ve had some fortune along the way, but it’s just a shame it has to happen in a semifinal.”

Bedford (18-1) had its best chances in the first half, but Central goalie Noah Edmunds was up to the task. Midway through the half, Bedford’s Erik Martel had an open path to the goal, but his shot went right to Edmunds, who made the save.

With four minutes to go until halftime, Martel lofted a ball to the far corner of the goal, where Anders Holt was waiting alone. Holt got his head on the ball, but Edmunds came over to make the save.

“Noah played great,” LaBerge said. “He’s one of those kids we’ve been working with for four years. He’s come a long way and he was a key player for us.”

Play opened up in the second half and the teams traded chances, but neither could capitalize until late.

Central lined up for a corner kick with a little more than seven minutes to play. Carignan sent a line drive into the box and Binogono stepped in front of a Bedford player to head the ball into the near corner of the net.

“We’ve been dangerous on corners all year,” LaBerge said. “They shut us down last game. They have some good defensive players.

“It was just one of those things where the ball came to (Binogono) and sometimes you get fortunate. I’m not going to say we scripted it. You try to put it in a dangerous spot and hopefully one of your guys gets to it. Sam got to it and he doesn’t usually score with his head, but you can tell he wanted that one.”

Bedford fought back, but Central was able to keep the Bulldogs from getting any good chances over the final seven minutes.

“It was a great game,” Pepper said. “Two quality teams who matched up well, and it was going to come down to one break in the box and who could finish. They had that break, but we had opportunities. We had the edge in opportunities, but we just couldn’t finish.”

Central will try to avenge another loss from the regular season, as the Green fell to Hanover, 1-0, on Aug. 28. Central and Hanover will play in the Division I final Sunday at 6:15 p.m. at SNHU.

“We’re different teams,” LaBerge said. “We’ll be looking to push the score and they’ll be looking to counter. They’re a sound defensive team. They’ve been to these pressure games. It’s not like these teams aren’t used to the pressure. It will be another tough one.”