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Underclassmen power Londonderry into state finals

Monday, November, 07 By Jeff Hamrick

MANCHESTER — Brian Greene summed it up as well as anyone could have: “Andre was just trying to find someone. It just came into the back. I was right there and it went onto my head.”

What it was, was a pass from Andre Simmond that Greene headed into the Pinkerton net, providing the winning goal in second-seeded Londonderry’s 2-1 victory over the third-seeded and defending champion Astros in last night’s Division 1 semifinals at Southern New Hampshire.

Tied at a goal apiece at intermission, Simmond had a fee kick from about 40 yards out 40 seconds into the second half. The junior hit the ball squarely and it found the leaping Greene on the right side of the net and the sophomore rerouted it past Pinkerton goalie Peter Siragusa.

““I was just trying to put it in the 6-yard box and hope someone was there” said Simmond, who also assisted on Londonderry’s first goal.

Pinkerton, which dropped a 5-2 regular-season deciscion to the Lancers, grabbed an early lead on a goal by Tim Wood. The play began on a corner kick by Dustin Beamon that Wood knocked past Londonderry goalie Craig Foley to give Pinkerton (14-3-1) a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute.

It took less than two minutes, however, for Londonderry to tie the score on a header by junior Matt Cooper.

“The fact of the matter is they’re a damn good team,” said Pinkerton coach Kerry Boles, who was trying to win the program’s fifth state title in his 20 years at the school. “They had us running around all night long. We tried doing some things, and we had certain things we wanted to do. They just outhustled us to the ball. They were one step ahead of us. They’re very skilled and they’re very fast.”

Londonderry, looking for its first state title since 1996, will play top-seeded Manchester Central. The Little Green (16-0-1) played Londonderry to a 1-1 tie on Aug. 18.

“I think it’s the game everyone has been waiting for,” said first-year Londonderry coach Jeff Colbert, who was part of a Lancer championship as a senior in 1996.