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NASHUA, N.H. | Down 1-0 to battle-hardened and undefeated Pinkerton with 10 minutes to go, Londonderry coach Shawn Diaz had to make a change.

His decision: switch from the 4-4-2 to a more attack-minded 3-5-2 formation, moving central defender Steve Carroll to central midfield. The gamble paid off as Carroll set up the game-tying goal in the 76th minute, then scored the game-winner less than two minutes into overtime to lead Londonderry to a shocking 2-1 win in the Class L semifinal.

Robbie McLarney raced down field, beat a defender to the ball and fired it past the goalie to the left side of the net in the 94th minute of overtime to give No. 4 Londonderry a 1-0 victory over Manchester Memorial in the Class L quarterfinals. "It was fantastic," said Londonderry coach Shawn Diaz. "We have been on such a great run the second half of this season. This is the first time in my five years we have made the semifinals."

Peter Drivas took a pass from Jordan Ward and scored with less than a minute remaining to give Pinkerton a 3-2 victory over Concord in the Class L quarterfinals.

The No. 1 Astros trailed by a goal at the half, but rallied back with three goals in the second frame. Ward added a goal while and Omar Khartabil also had a goal and an assist.

Despite being outshot 20-6, No. 11 White Mountains stunned No. 2 Sanborn, 2-0, in the Class M quarterfinals. It was the second straight year the Indians were upset in the quarters. "We outplayed them," said Indians coach Al Magnusson. "It was phenomenal how many shots we had. It was unfortunate."

One goal short.

The Pentucket boys soccer team missed the state tournament by that margin yesterday, playing Triton to a 0-0 tie. The Sachems needed to win to clinch a postseason berth. Pushed to the brink of elimination with five games to play, the Sachems beat Ipswich, Rockport, Amesbury and Newburyport to set up yesterday's season finale.

In NHIAA preliminary round play, Pinkerton beat Spaulding 3-1. The Astros, missing four starters due to illness and injury, were led by goals from Peter Drivas, Alex Germaine and Corey Grant. Pinkerton will play a 1:30 home game on Oct. 28 against eighth-seeded Concord.

North Andover midfielder Drew Pickul, a three-year starter, was named to the 14-player All-Cape Ann League boys soccer team.

He's joined on the first team by junior goalie Evan Weagle, who has enabled Georgetown to more than double its 2006 win total, Pentucket's talented junior forward Jake Buzzell, and North Reading senior tri-captain Josh Rocco, who was a CAL All-Star last fall.

A year ago Georgetown was wrapping up a monumental second-half collapse in which the Royals lost seven of their last eight games to fall out of tournament contention at 4-9-4 (the only other game was a 0-0 tie).

Bill Tarbox's recent 58th birthday dinner involved more soccer talk than pizza consumption.

Among all the analysis and strategy, the group found time to take bites. But not many.

"My mom (Gail) and my wife (Ruth) have to put up with a lot," said Fred Tarbox, Bill's son. "All we talk about is soccer. It's constant."

The Sachems (6-7-4) extended their winning streak to four games | all of which were absolutely necessary to keep the squad from falling out of contention for a state tournament berth. Brian Cormier and Evan Miller scored Pentucket's goals. Jamie Costello had an assist. Sachems coach Christian Langlois credited Jack Kern for his defensive play.

Michael Sachs took a pass from Gareth Dudney in the ninth minute and scored the only goal of the game for North Andover in a 1-0 defeat of previously unbeaten Wilmington. Goalie Michael Levy reported four crucial saves.

Lawrence beat Whittier 3-0 with a pair of goals from Francesco Cuesta and another from Edwin Gutierrez. The Lancers defense was led by Kelvyn Rangel, and Eric Abarca, Oscar Mora and Nelson Nicolsond played well for Lawrence. Whittier keeper Andy Lesiczka stopped 13 in the loss.

Sanborn advanced last night to the quarterfinals of the New Hampshire Class M tournament with a 3-1 win over Littleton. The Indians will play Friday against White Mountain. Rob Palumbo scored two and Logan Moore chipped in one to lead Sanborn. Jeff DiManna had a good game on defense along with Josh DiBurro, and Mike Delano had a superb game on the offensive side.

Sophomore Tyler Rutledge helped Salem end the season on a good note, scoring three goals in the Blue Devils' 4-1 win over Nashua South.

"I think he's turned the corner (as a player)," coach Tony Karibian said.

Haverhill beat Andover 3-1 with stellar play from the Hillies defense. Peter Maranto, Alex Hussein and Steve Leszicka scored for the winners. Alex Herlich scored the Golden Warriors' lone goal. Andover keeper Mike Birecki (19 saves) put up a great effort for the Warriors.