LEBANON, N.H. - Lebanon boys soccer was running out of time on Friday afternoon. Trailing Pembroke 1-0 late in the second half of the quarterfinals, the Raiders needed a moment. Jesse Madory gave them one in the 74th minute, and Caelan Boynton finished the job in overtime.
Boynton converted a cross from Tucker Green early in the first overtime period to give Lebanon a 2-1 win at home and send the Raiders into the semifinals.
It was a grind from the opening whistle. The teams were scoreless at halftime, and Pembroke broke through first in the second half, taking the lead on a restart. Madory answered with a rocket in the 74th minute to tie it 1-1 and force overtime, and the extra time did not last long. Boynton finished with a goal and an assist, and Green set up the winner.
Coach Rob Johnstone said his team had to dig deep. “Pembroke clogged things up, took the lead on a restart, and pushed us to the brink. Two great goals and incredible heart and fight pushed us through,” Johnstone said.
Madory and Boynton have been at the center of Lebanon’s attack all fall. Both scored in the first 13 minutes of a 5-0 win over Kennett in September, with Boynton adding a second goal and Green also scoring, and Madory scored again in the regular-season finale against John Stark.
The win was Lebanon’s fifth straight, and the Raiders are unbeaten in seven games (6-0-1). They improve to 11-3-2, four more wins than last year’s 7-5-4 team, whose season ended in the quarterfinals. This group is now one round further.
Pembroke was a familiar opponent. Lebanon opened the season with a 1-0 win at Pembroke on Sept. 4, when Austin Engert stepped in front of a pass from the Pembroke goalkeeper and scored in the 45th minute. A year ago, Pembroke beat the Raiders 3-0 in the regular season and reached the quarterfinals. Pembroke, which beat Kennett 3-1 in Tuesday’s opening round, finishes 8-4-6.
Next up is a semifinal at Campbell. The two teams played to a 0-0 draw in Lebanon on Sept. 23, and Campbell shut out Hollis Brookline 3-0 in its own quarterfinal on Friday. The other semifinal pairs ConVal and Bow, two teams that beat Lebanon by a combined 3-0 this fall.
Scoring by period (first half, second half, overtime): Pembroke 0, 1, 0 - 1; Lebanon 0, 1, 1 - 2.
Lebanon boys soccer is next at Campbell in the semifinals on Monday, November 2, at 4 p.m.
Other relevant play on Friday, October 30:
Hollis Brookline 0 at Campbell 3 Campbell, Lebanon’s semifinal opponent, shut out Hollis Brookline, which the Raiders beat 3-1 on Oct. 16.
Milford 0 at ConVal 1 ConVal, which edged Lebanon 1-0 on Sept. 25, held off Milford, a team the Raiders beat 5-3 on Oct. 13.
Bow 2 at Oyster River 1 Bow, which beat Lebanon 2-0 on Oct. 2, won on the road at Oyster River, which beat the Raiders 3-0 on Sept. 18.
FOOTBALL
Lebanon at Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough | Friday, October 30
Lebanon football gave one of the best teams in its division all it could handle for a half on Friday night. The Raiders trailed Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough just 7-6 at halftime on the road before the hosts pulled away for a 28-6 win in the regular-season finale.
Oden Manganie was in the middle of Lebanon’s best moments, catching the Raiders’ touchdown pass on offense and coming up with an interception on defense.
Coach Kyle Colburn liked what he saw from a short-handed group. “Proud of the boys; they played well, banged up, and a lot of young players stepped up and gave us everything they had. We came out prepared,” Colburn said.
Lebanon closes its regular season at 2-6. The Raiders’ wins came in back-to-back weeks in October, a 54-0 rout of Bishop Brady-Hopkinton on Oct. 3 and a 16-6 win at Sanborn. Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough improves to 7-1.
Other relevant play on Friday, October 30:
Laconia 30 at Kearsarge 29 Laconia, which beat Lebanon 28-12 on Oct. 16, won by a point at Kearsarge, which beat the Raiders 34-12 a week ago.
Somersworth 21 at Campbell 16 Somersworth won on the road at Campbell, which beat Lebanon 38-12 this fall.
That wraps up the day for Lebanon High School sports. We’ll see you next time!