On the Pitch: Bishop Guertin girls soccer happy for a hiccup

The Bishop Guertin High School girls soccer team couldn’t have asked for a better time to suffer a loss.

But after getting out to a 4-1-1 record to open the season, including allowing just three goals in those six games, the Cardinals were among the clouds.

“We were feeling pretty good about ourselves,” Bishop Guertin coach Pat Mulchay said. “We played a team that wanted it more than us. Every single 50-50 ball, they beat us, and they deserved to win without a doubt.”

The Cardinals fell to Timberlane 2-0, but that might not have been the worst of it, because they then had an entire week off to stew about the loss.

“It was eye-opening for us because we couldn’t just walk on the field and expect to win the game, which sometimes you start to think,” Mulchay said. “It was a great teaching tool. We lost and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday was some of our most spirited and intense practices.”

Mulchay hoped that attitude carried over onto the field, and it did, as Bishop Guertin returned to action Monday with a 6-0 win over Alvirne. Meghan Cramb had a hat trick and Marie Laplante had a goal and four assists to help the Cardinals (5-2-1) bounce back in a season in which they’ve set some lofty goals.

In each of the past two years, Bishop Guertin has reach the semifinals, only to be knocked out by Bedford in 2014 and Exeter in 2013.

“We have a very strong senior group that is very hungry and eager to get over that semifinal hurdle that we’ve experienced,” Mulchay said. “We have 11 seniors and last year we graduated 12, so we always seem to have a good senior group that’s been through a lot of success.”

Many of them just experienced a championship season while playing for the school’s lacrosse program, and have tried to get that to translate onto the soccer pitch.

“I’d say 90 percent of our girls play basketball in the winter and then they play lacrosse in the spring,” Mulchay said. “They’re bringing that championship pedigree to the soccer season.”

Bishop Guertin heads to Dover on Thursday before hosting Keene on Oct. 5.

Crowded at the top

In Division II girls soccer, there are six teams bunched around the top of the standings, all with just one loss. Hollis Brookline, John Stark and Oyster River are tied at 8-1, while Souhegan, Hanover and Pembroke are right behind at 6-1-1. Windham is also in the mix at 6-2-1.

And to make things even more interesting, they’ve beaten up on each other. HB has wins over Souhegan and Windham, but lost to Oyster River, which lost to Windham, who dropped a game to John Stark, which split two games with Hanover … and there’s still a long way to go.

This week should bring some separation, as Souhegan plays at Pembroke and Windham, and Pembroke also plays John Stark.

Perfection on the line

Tuesday’s slate of games will feature the final two undefeated teams in Division I boys soccer meeting at Concord’s Memorial Field.

Bedford (7-0-1) will face the Crimson Tide (6-0-3), with the winner remaining as the only unbeaten team in the division. Both teams have been superb offensively and defensively this season, as the Bulldogs are outscoring opponent, 39-3, while Concord has averaged 3.8 goals per game and allowed just three all season.