ConVal girls soccer earns playoff spot

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The record is exactly the same as last year’s was at the end of the regular season.

The ConVal girls soccer team closed out the 2012 season with a 4-11-1 record to match the win total from each of the last three years.

But there is one thing that sets this season apart for the Cougars. This time around they qualified for the Division II tournament. ConVal will be the 16th and final seed in Wednesday’s preliminary round and have the difficult task of traveling to top ranked Oyster River for what will surely be an up hill battle.

In 2011, the team finished one spot out of the 16th seed and despite having the same record, this time around ConVal did just enough to get in.

They shared the same record with Trinity, but because of a tie with Division I Keene, which was shortened to just one half due to lightning, the Cougars had an extra half point to give them the edge in rating for the playoff spot. In the beginning of the season, it did not look good for the Cougars. They were losing close games and lopsided ones. But a 2-1 victory over No. 2 Souhegan on Sept. 19 gave them a little bit of confidence.

While it wasn’t always perfect for the Cougars, they showed glimpses of being a talented group with the potential to make a run at the playoffs. That Souhegan game was definitely one of them, as were their close losses to Lebanon, Coe-Brown and Hollis/Brookline. ConVal played nine games decided by two goals or fewer, but the team only managed to win two of them.

The biggest issue in their losses came in the goal scoring department. The Cougars only managed three goals total and were shut out eight times, including Saturday’s regular season finale loss to John Stark. The team had played better in the first meeting with the Generals on Sept. 11, only falling 1-0.

But it did not matter what happened in Saturday’s homecoming match-up. With a 2-0 victory over Manchester West on Wednesday, ConVal all but assured its inclusion in the postseason. Trinity had put the pressure on after defeating Merrimack Valley on Tuesday. The Cougars responded with their win on Wednesday, forcing Trinity into a must win situation in its finale at Coe-Brown on Friday.

In Wednesday’s win, Haley Zanga scored both goals for the Cougars. The first one came at the 12-minute mark of the first half off a feed from Maura Rapposelli. The lead remained at one until Zanga scored with 10 minutes left. Senior Marena Brock made nine saves in the win.

So following Trinity’s loss, the Cougars had clinched the 16th seed.

And while Wednesday’s playoff opener at Oyster River, scheduled for 3 p.m. is a tough draw for the Cougars, it is a good step for the program. The last time a ConVal team qualified for the postseason was 2008 when they were 14th and lost to Hanover. So not one player on the team had experienced postseason soccer. Since the five win season in 2008, ConVal had back to back 4-12 campaigns and last year’s mark of 4-11-1.

Saturday’s game with John Stark marked the final home game for Brock, who just joined the program this season, and Caroline Trowbridge.