RallyNorth.net

Wed, Nov 01, 2017 04:00 PM @ Salem

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Concord	1	0	1
Salem	0	0	0

Salem's dream season ends with semifinal loss

Wednesday, November, 01 By By Mac Cerullo

NASHUA - Salem's gameplan going into Wednesday's N.H. Division 1 state semifinal was simple enough, hang back on defense for the first half and don't let Concord's Chea Chebo get any shots.

The No. 3 seeded Blue Devils executed the first part of that plan to perfection, holding No. 7 Concord to just two shots before the break. The problem was, Chebo had one of those shots, and it was a staggering, deep bomb from more than 30 yards out, freezing the keeper before curling into the top left corner of the goal.

That goal turned out to be the difference, as Concord held on in the second half to win 1-0 and advance to the Division 1 state final for the second time in three years.

"I thought we played very well, we had three or four chances in the box in the first 15 minutes [of the second half]," said Salem coach Justin Golden. "We knew all week this was a one-goal game, either team was going to take this 1-0 or 2-1. That was our mantra all week that we need to fight to the end, because this was anybody's game."

Salem had its opportunities along the way. Midway through the first half, junior Josh Fichera got a breakaway after a nice header to beat the defenseman, only for Concord goalie Liam Devanny to come out and stuff the shot at point blank range.

Blue Devil goalie Anthony Bellomo, who made seven saves in the game, also saved Salem's bacon midway through the second half. With 22 minutes to play, Concord took advantage of a bad pass in the box and escaped for a 2 on 3 break all the way down the field. Taylor Sliverstein got a pass through to Chebo, who had a wide open look at the net until Bellomo came out and stuffed him, saving the Blue Devils from going down two goals.

Salem's best scoring opportunity late came with about two minutes to play, when a Blue Devil player was tripped up in the box. Salem probably could have argued for a penalty kick, but the referee didn't agree, and the Blue Devils didn't get a serious look at the goal again.

Salem wraps up its season 13-4-1, and Golden said after the game that this marked the program's first final four appearance in the 40-plus year history of the program.

"It was a fantastic year," Golden said. "We won nine one-goal games, so we knew throughout the whole year we'd been in these pressure-packed situations. Just very proud of the guys winning as many games as they did."