ConVal boys’ soccer rallies for win over Kingswood

ConVal senior captain Garret Rousseau gets a header against Kingswood during the Cougar boys’ soccer team’s 4-2 win over the visiting Knights in Peterborough on Tuesday.

ConVal senior captain Garret Rousseau gets a header against Kingswood during the Cougar boys’ soccer team’s 4-2 win over the visiting Knights in Peterborough on Tuesday. BEN CONANT / BEN CONANT PHOTOGRAPHY

ConVal's Ethan Danforth makes a move with the ball.

ConVal's Ethan Danforth makes a move with the ball. BEN CONANT—BEN CONANT PHOTOGRAPHY

ConVal senior captain Ryan Close, center, celebrates with his team after scoring his second goal against Kingswood.

ConVal senior captain Ryan Close, center, celebrates with his team after scoring his second goal against Kingswood. BEN CONANT—BEN CONANT PHOTOGRAPHY

ConVal’s River Allen stops on a dime as Kingswood’s Evan Harrington defends.

ConVal’s River Allen stops on a dime as Kingswood’s Evan Harrington defends. BEN CONANT / BEN CONANT PHOTOGRAPHY

ConVal senior captain Ryan Close scores on a header to give the Cougars their first goal Tuesday.

ConVal senior captain Ryan Close scores on a header to give the Cougars their first goal Tuesday. BEN CONANT / BEN CONANT PHOTOGRAPHY

ConVal junior Max Cail dribbles through the midfield. 

ConVal junior Max Cail dribbles through the midfield.  BEN CONANT / BEN CONANT PHOTOGRAPHY

ConVal goalkeeper Anthony Gutwein punts the ball.

ConVal goalkeeper Anthony Gutwein punts the ball. BEN CONANT / BEN CONANT PHOTOGRAPHY

ConVal senior captain Garret Rousseau gets a header against Kingswood

ConVal senior captain Garret Rousseau gets a header against Kingswood BEN CONANT—BEN CONANT PHOTOGRAPHY

ConVal’s Brayden Boyce defends Kingswood’s Tait Marbury.

ConVal’s Brayden Boyce defends Kingswood’s Tait Marbury. BEN CONANT / BEN CONANT PHOTOGRAPHY

By BEN CONANT

For the Ledger-Transcript

Published: 10-09-2024 1:02 PM

Ryan Close and the ConVal boys’ soccer team simply believed they were going to win Tuesday’s game against visiting Kingswood.

Even when they were down 2-0 in the first period, well before Close got ConVal on the board by heading in the Cougars’ first goal, they were confident.

“I knew the whole game,” senior co-captain Close said after the 4-2 ConVal win. “We weren’t going to lose. I had the confidence the whole entire game. We were winning, regardless of the score early.”

ConVal’s script-flipping against Kingswood is a microcosm of their season. Early on, the Cougars had trouble closing out games even when they started strong, leading to four tie games on the season. But on Tuesday, ConVal did just the opposite, starting slowly before exploding for a win.

The Cougars were playing their third game in four days, fresh off a more-challenging-than-expected victory over winless Laconia the night before.

“We played on turf yesterday and it didn’t go as we wanted it to,” said senior co-captain Garret Rousseau. “We got the win, but definitely our starters played a little bit longer than we wanted to. So a lot of the boys were tired, but I’m proud of the boys in the way they came out.”

The Knights scored seven minutes into the game when junior captain Nate Cloos corralled an uncleared cross in the box, turned and fired. They’d add another with 15 minutes remaining in the half on a grounder of a goal kick that was stolen and scored by senior Calvin Sanft. That 2-0 deficit, however, was nothing for the Cougars.

“Early season, we gave up a couple ties, ties we shouldn’t have given up,” Close said. “And I think responding to that, we stay together as a unit, as a team, we’re all friends off the field, all friends on the field, and I think that showed in this game, responding to adversity.”

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In first-half stoppage time, Close leaped above the scrum for a face-first header goal off a River Allen corner that gave ConVal all the momentum they needed; it was the start of four straight Cougar goals.

Two minutes into the second half, ConVal drew an indirect kick on an obstruction call and executed a misdirection quick-tap, with Pietro Souza initiating before Allen struck an equalizer that curved wide around the Kingswood wall and into the net.

Rousseau gave ConVal the lead with 30 minutes remaining, rocketing a shot off a high-arcing volley. Close would add an insurance goal to put Kingswood away for good.

ConVal (6-1-4) is on a seven-game unbeaten streak and seems to be steadily improving as the season goes on. They have some excellent tests on the horizon, with Milford (9-1-1) in town Thursday, former coach Josh Smith and Bow next week and Campbell (9-1-1) on Oct. 22.

“I think if we stay as a team, we could do some damage,” Rousseau said.

“Every single game, we’ve made improvements, regardless of what area of the game it was in,” Close said. “Every game, we’ve made improvements, and I think we’re going to keep on improving and building upon that. And we got a big one this Thursday against Milford, building towards playoffs, because we all know the end goal we want to achieve and we’re putting the building blocks down to get there.”

ConVal hosts Milford at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.