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NASHUA — “Don’t let up,” Salem coach Kendrick Whittle shouted to his players after junior Cassie Chase scored in the 58th minute to tie her team’s Class L semifinal against Manchester Central.
Whittle’s message, however, was not enough as Salem allowed a goal 15 seconds later as No. 4 Manchester Central posted a 2-1 upset victory over the No. 1 Blue Devils yesterday.
“We were on a pretty big high and they knew they had to come back hard and they did,” Chase said. “We didn’t anticipate that. (Coach) always says not to let up. But occasionally we do because we’re so excited.
“We worked so hard this season that we feel like we deserve to be in the finals.”
Whittle added: “You’ve got to play hard after you score, even when we’re up 4-0, 5-0 — that’s usually what I say. Our defense, coming into today, we’ve allowed 10 goals all season. So to allow those two goals, it’s just not what we do. It hurts.”
Salem finished the season with a 17-2 record. Both losses came against Manchester Central.
The Blue Devils also dropped a 2-1 game to the Little Green on Sept. 15.
“I don’t think we talked about revenge,” Whittle said. “We talked about correcting the mistakes we made last time and we didn’t. I don’t feel as though we corrected to the caliber we needed to.”
Salem had its chanced to tie the game late. Chase hit the crossbar on a free kick with just seconds left in regulation.
“There was a lot of pressure at the end of a game down a goal,” Chase said about her shot over the crossbar. “I just didn’t get my head over the ball and just didn’t focus enough.”
Manchester Central’s Sarah Velasquez scored the game winner on a shot from about 12 feet out.
“It just got by us,” Salem goalie Sarah Snyder said. “I know (Sarah Raye) was trying to stop them from coming in but a player got by her and we’re not used to having Raye sweep because our usual sweeper Hanna LaRochelle is sick. I just couldn’t get out fast enough before she popped it over me,”
Londonderry loses
in PK session
Londonderry hadn’t spent much time on penalty kicks at practices this season.  
“Yesterday was actually the first day,” senior Kelley Griffin said, adding with a chuckle: “Maybe we should’ve practiced them a little bit more.”
No. 2 Londonderry fells to No. 3 Exeter on PKs yesterday, after the score remained deadlocked 1-1 after two 20-minute overtimes. Exeter won the shootout 3-1.
Lancers goalie Lindsey Bolduc looked strong in the PKs after making three nice saves during the second overtime, including one that she stopped with both hands after completely stretching to her right.
“I knew going into the second overtime that it was going to go to PKs,” Bolduc said. “In practice I had done really good (with PKs) so I was just going with what I did in practice.”
Bolduc, who was named the starting keeper about midway through the season after Kelsey Derhak broke her nose, saved the second PK shot going to her left after Exeter missed wide on its first attempt.
But the Blue Hawks were able to find the back of the net.
Meanwhile, Londonderry failed to score its final two tries after converting on its second attempt.
Londonderry coach Derek Dane was proud of his goalie’s performance.
“The group gained confidence in her,” Dane said. “You can see it on the field. She performed.”  
Griffin and Londonderry felt upset that the game  and their season — ended with PKs.
“I personally hate them (PKs) because that’s not how a team wins,” Griffin said. “It’s not a team thing. It becomes individual. Obviously you can’t continue to play because it gets crazy when it keeps going longer but nothing stinks worse than PKs.”
Exeter 2, Londonderry 1

Amanda Vaudreuil's second-half goal sent the game into overtime, and her tally in penalty kicks clinched No. 1 Salem's 2-1 victory over No. 8 Concord in the Class L quarterfinals. Gina Righini, Tayllar Righini and Sarah Raye each added a goal to set up Vaudreuil in PKs.

Top-seeded Salem dumped No. 16 Alvirne, 1-0, in its Class L soccer opener. Cassie Chase had the game's lone goal. The score was close but the Broncos had few strong scoring opportunities as Hanna LaRochelle, McKenzie Miller and Avery Neusch dominated defensively. Sarah Snyder (1 save) posted another shutout.

Cassie Chase scored twice and Jersey Burns added another as the Salem girls soccer team put the finishing touches on an oustanding regular season with a 3-1 win over Exeter in a battle between two of the top three teams in class L.

The future looks very bright for Salem's girls soccer program as exhibited by its 3-0 victory over Timberlane. Sophomore Jersey Burns contributing a goal, and Brianna Tan added a pair of assists while playing only the second half. The shutout defensive effort was led by juniors Hanna LaRochelle and McKenzie Miller.

Gina Righini has been a force setting up teammates but she proved again she can put the ball in the net with a hat trick in Salem's 5-0 girls soccer win over West.

defense performance Hanna LaRochelle McKenzie Miller, Avery Neusch, Tayllar Righini, Jess Keane.

Salem opened its season with a bang, drubbing Spaulding, 8-0. Cassie Chase, the leading returning scorer for the Blue Devils, picked up where she left off, netting the hat trick.

Salem opened its season with a bang, drubbing Spaulding, 8-0. Cassie Chase, the leading returning scorer for the Blue Devils, picked up where she left off, netting the hat trick.