Winnacunnet girls soccer hands Bedford its first loss of the year

BEDFORD – Nick O’Brien has expressed to his Winnacunnet High School girls soccer team how important it is to not let down in the first five minutes after a goal.

That goes just as much for when the opponent scores as it does the Warriors.

On Tuesday against Bedford, Winnacunnet took a two-goal in the first half, and managed not to succumb to those let downs, as the Warriors won 2-1 to hand the Bulldogs their first loss of the season in Division I action. It was also the first time Winnacunnet (5-1-1) has beaten Bedford in girls soccer.

Caitlin Trott scored twice in the first half, scoring what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 34th minute, and Emily Parks came up with eight saves, including a pair of big stops in the final 10 minutes that helped preserve the win.

“Bedford is traditionally the class of the division, so it’s nice to not only play well against them, but to pull out the win,” O’Brien said. “This is a group that works tirelessly, whether it’s training or games. I’m happy they were able to pull this out.”

Saylor Clark had the lone goal for Bedford (6-1), which came in the 61st minute after Clark collided with Parks and another Winnacunnet player. The Bulldogs senior captain got just enough of the ball for it to roll in the net before a defender could stop it.

But a lack of consistency in the first half put Bedford in a spot that it hadn’t been all season.

“Winnacunnet came in with high pressure, it shocked us a little bit, got us off our game in the first half, and once we settled down in the second half, things got a lot better,” Bedford coach Michelle Winning said. “That first half, we played consistently off our game. Once we started to put things on the ground, things looked different.”

Trott gave Winnacunnet an early lead when she blocked a clearing attempt by Bedford’s Brianna CoCo, and the ball landed where the Warriors sophomore was able to collect it with no one between her and Bedford goalie Lauren Johnson.

“I knew I had to pressure the girl in the back and see what happens,” Trott said. “Most of the time, it doesn’t work out, but every once in a while it does.

“It was just luck. I knew that she was coming up on me and I saw the goalie (Johnson) up off her line. I took it early instead of dribbling and finishing it low.”

The Warriors went up 2-0 when Sydney Murray was able to get the ball ahead to Trott, who was able to get the ball despite having CoCo shadowing her. Trott got enough separation to get a shot off that was just out of Johnson’s reach.

While the Warriors felt good about the two-goal lead, Parks knew it wouldn’t take much for Bedford to get back in the game.

“It’s always the most dangerous because if they get one back, it shifts the whole game play,” the Winnacunnet goalie said. “Going into it, I was more cautious, if anything, because I knew I didn’t want to the switch to flip on us. I had to stay as focused as I could to make sure we didn’t let up.”

Clark’s goal seemed to give Bedford some momentum, but Winnacunnet was able to stay composed right after the goal.

“After any goal, if it’s yours or another team’s, we have to respond,” O’Brien said. “In any sport, you have to be able to respond. It might not be with a goal, but you’ve got to respond in how you play.”

Parks did her part late in the game, as she made a diving save on a shot by Bedford’s Victoria Trompak, and got some luck when Gabrielle DeAngelis put the rebound over the open net.

“Get anything I could in front of it, so I went up and did the best I could to get my body up,” Parks said. “It was sort of a reactionary save and I happened to get enough to get it out. It was sort of fate on the ball at that point.”

Moments later, the Bulldogs had another chance when Mackenzie MacEachern headed a cross by Clark toward the goal. But Parks was able to leap up and hit the ball into the crossbar, and then grab the rebound before MacEachern could get to it.

“Emily is a senior and she’s an excellent player who plays year round,” O’Brien said. “She came up with a couple of good saves at the end. I credit her for her hard work and training.”

Winnacunnet is back in action on Friday when it hosts Exeter, while Bedford plays Saturday at home against Bishop Guertin.