LEBANON, N.H. - Lebanon boys soccer is heading into the tournament on a roll. The Raiders beat John Stark 2-0 at home Friday in their regular-season finale for their fourth straight win.
Lebanon finishes the regular season 10-3-2, already three more wins than last year’s 7-5-4 team that reached the quarterfinals. The Raiders are unbeaten in their last six games (5-0-1) and have not lost since a 0-2 home loss to Bow on Oct. 2.
Defense has been the backbone. Friday was Lebanon’s eighth clean sheet of the fall, and goalie Bently Lang came into the game with seven shutouts. The Raiders have allowed 13 goals in 15 games while scoring 33.
The win capped a strong week. On Tuesday, Lucas Plummer and Liam Sullivan scored twice each in a 5-0 win at Coe-Brown, and Sullivan’s second goal came with 12 seconds left in the first half. Coach Rob Johnstone said afterward, “Coe-Brown entered having beaten top-ranked ConVal and tied top-4 Bow in its last three games, and also needed a win to stay in playoff contention, so a great result for us.”
John Stark drops to 6-7-3. The Raiders now wait to learn their tournament seeding.
Other relevant play on Friday, October 23:
Hollis Brookline (10-6) 2 at Bow (10-4-2) 5 Bow, which beat Lebanon 2-0 on Oct. 2, closed its regular season with a win.
Milford (6-6-4) 0 at Oyster River (9-3-4) 3 Oyster River, which beat Lebanon 3-0 on Sept. 18, shut out Milford, a team the Raiders beat 5-3 on Oct. 13.
Plymouth (6-5-5) 1 at ConVal (12-2-2) 6 ConVal, which edged Lebanon 1-0 on Sept. 25, rolled past Plymouth, which tied the Raiders 2-2 on Oct. 9.
FIELD HOCKEY
Lebanon at Hanover | Friday, October 23
Lebanon field hockey’s season ended Friday afternoon with a 0-5 loss at third-seeded Hanover in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
The sixth-seeded Raiders earned the trip with a 1-0 win over Merrimack Valley on Tuesday. Claire Kelly scored off an assist from Paisley Rancourt with a minute left in regulation, on Lebanon’s 12th penalty corner of the game, and goalie Taylor Youngman made four saves.
Hanover, which also beat Lebanon 8-0 on Sept. 1, completed the season sweep and moves on to face Bow in the semifinals.
Lebanon finishes 10-8, a big jump from last season’s 4-12 team that missed the playoffs. The Raiders posted seven shutout wins and beat St. Thomas 3-2 on Oct. 6. St. Thomas reached the semifinals Friday.
Coach Amanda Valliere saw growth coming before the season. “Increased numbers is very exciting for the future of field hockey at LHS. Looking to the captains for strong, positive leadership and for the team to continue to build its identity,” Valliere said.
Other relevant play on Friday, October 23:
Kingswood (9-8-1) 2 at Souhegan (15-0-2) 3 Top-seeded Souhegan, which beat Lebanon 3-0 on Oct. 9, stayed unbeaten.
Plymouth (8-7-1) 1 at St. Thomas (10-5) 2 St. Thomas, which Lebanon beat 3-2 on Oct. 6, edged Plymouth, a team the Raiders also beat by a goal.
Oyster River (8-8-1) 0 at Bow (15-1) 5 Second-seeded Bow, Hanover’s semifinal opponent, cruised past Oyster River.
FOOTBALL
Lebanon vs. Kearsarge | Friday, October 23
Lebanon football fell 12-34 to Kearsarge at home Friday night. The Raiders drop to 2-5 with their second straight loss, after falling 12-28 at Laconia a week earlier.
Kearsarge came in on a three-game losing streak and snapped it, improving to 3-4.
Lebanon’s two wins came in back-to-back weeks this month, a 54-0 rout of Bishop Brady-Hopkinton on Oct. 3 and a 16-6 win at Sanborn. The Raiders have scored 12 points in each of their last two games.
Lebanon closes the regular season against one of the top teams on its schedule. Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough is 6-1.
Lebanon football is next at Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough on Friday, October 30, at 7 p.m.
Other relevant play on Friday, October 23:
Campbell (6-1) 30 at Monadnock (5-2) 24 Campbell, which beat Lebanon 38-12, won a close one at Monadnock, which beat the Raiders 38-8.
Sanborn (0-7) 0 at Somersworth (6-1) 42 Somersworth shut out Sanborn, the team Lebanon beat 16-6 this month.
GIRLS SOCCER
Lebanon at John Stark | Friday, October 23
Lebanon girls soccer closed its regular season with a 2-3 loss at John Stark on Friday.
The Raiders scored twice for the first time since a 3-0 win over Manchester Memorial on Sept. 29, but John Stark found one more goal. Lebanon finishes the regular season 3-9-3, and John Stark improves to 8-4-4.
Lebanon’s wins came against ConVal, Manchester Memorial and Kingswood. The Raiders are winless in five games (0-4-1) since that 1-0 win at Kingswood on Oct. 6. Last season Lebanon went 6-4-6 and reached the quarterfinals.
Coach Breck Taber knew finishing would matter. “Doing the basic things well and playing up to our ability will be key to our success. We need to play as a cohesive unit and work hard off the ball. Capitalizing on goal-scoring chances will be critical,” Taber said before the season.
Other relevant play on Friday, October 23:
Bow (12-1-3) 0 at Hollis Brookline (14-1-1) 2 Hollis Brookline, which beat Lebanon 2-0 on Oct. 16, beat Bow, which tied the Raiders 1-1 on Oct. 3.
ConVal (1-13-2) 0 at Plymouth (6-5-5) 4 Plymouth, which beat Lebanon 2-1 on Oct. 9, shut out ConVal, one of the Raiders’ three wins.
That wraps up the day for Lebanon High School sports. We’ll see you next time!