The Concord Christian boys’ and girls’ soccer teams traveled to Pittsfield Middle High School’s Drake Field for a doubleheader Division IV matchup against the Panthers on Wednesday afternoon. The Kingsmen left with two wins, no goals conceded and a total of 17 goals scored on the day.

The girls’ soccer match featured two very opposite teams in terms of performance going into the game. The Kingsmen had started extremely strong with four wins, scoring 32 goals and conceding none in those four. The girls’ team is on track for another deep run in the playoffs this year after falling short in the semifinals last season.

On the other hand, the Panthers have had a rough start to their 2024 season, with six losses and still in the hunt of their first win.

The boys faced off in a less starkly differentiated match. The Panthers’ had fielded a young squad this year looking to build the program, and it’s paid off so far. They have already improved upon their record last season with a 2-1-2 record so far compared to last season’s record of 0-14-0.

Concord Christian’s boys lost in the quarterfinals of last year’s playoffs after achieving a 13-2-3 record. This year, it’s still too early to draw conclusions, but it’s safe to assume that their experienced coach, Craig Anthony, is guiding the team to compete in the postseason after winning the championship two seasons ago.

Girls’ soccer

Concord Christian Academy ran away with the matchup with Pittsfield in a lopsided 10-0 game.

The Kingsmen played solidly out from the back and had a smooth two-touch passing strategy that led to them dismantling the Panthers’ defense. They have improved their unbeaten record to 5-0-0 and have yet to concede a goal this season, dominating their opponents left and right.

“In a way, everybody’s (goal) is to get the championship game; that’s the goal. But there’s a lot of teams in our way,” said CCA coach Josh Winans. “We’ve got to get our things straight before we even have thoughts of going on a long run in the playoffs.”

The Panthers’ loss was disappointing, but the attitude on the field did not change throughout the game. They continued communicating and looking for attacking options up top despite the strong defense they faced and as their legs weighed heavy.

“I was very proud of both my goalkeepers. I’m really proud of every single player I have out there. I’ve really asked a lot of my older girls, especially in the midfield, to step up,” said new Pittsfield coach Jen Tyrell.

Previous head coach Doug Cheney took a step back from coaching soon after the beginning of the season. The team now finds itself helmed by Tyrell, who assumed the role a week ago and has begun the process of making adjustments and laying the groundwork for how the team should play.

“We are trying out a new formation, seeing good things about that every day. Working on the little things and trying to clean everything up, we’re getting good opportunities, so we want to keep getting those and then capitalize on a few,” she said.

There is a long road ahead for a Pittsfield girls’ soccer team that remains in the hunt for their first win, but with time Tyrell aims to turn things around.

Boys’ soccer

Concord Christian had started this season 1-2-0 going into the game at Pittsfield and now finds itself even after an uncharacteristic start. The boys also held the Panthers at bay and scored a 7-0 win.

Four minutes into the game, senior midfielder Conlin Moore opened the scoring with a strong curving ball into the right side of the net, assisted by sophomore Noah Cook. A few minutes later he scored again thanks to quick one-two touch passing plays and clinical finishing.

“I thought we moved the ball well today, and that’s key to us and trying to gel as with a lot of new players starting today, just moving the ball, hitting the right spots,” said Anthony.

The Panthers then conceded a penalty from a hand ball shortly after that was scored by senior center back Logan Duffy to establish a 3-0 lead. Duffy scored once more before the end of the half off of a looping high free kick that looked like he meant to cross.

“Our outside strikers were cooking out there because they were taking what they were giving us. They weren’t forcing it, and they were getting themselves in good positions,” said Anthony.

The Kingsmen were able to manage the game and net three more goals in the second half. However, the scoreline did not reflect the effort put in by the Panthers, especially in the second half, nor the difficulty of CCA’s task in defending their attacks.

“I told them that we just have two choices. We can either accept the fact that, ‘OK, it’s already four and they’re gonna win,’ and we can just let them do whatever they want, or we can decide to play for some pride,” said Pittsfield head coach Logan LaRoche.

Pittsfield had a total of five shots on goal that were saved by senior CCA keeper Jayden Young. On the other half, despite the seven goals, Pittsfield’s goalkeeper, Trevor Danton, had 11 saves and was not forced to make more thanks to the defenders blocking many as well.

“It’s such a luxury to have confidence in your goalie and you know, sure, he let up six today, but I feel like on most goalies, it would have been a lot more. He’s fundamentally sound. His positioning is really, really good,” said LaRoche.

Offensively they had a few chances that they were not able to build upon in the final third, and a lot of those came through senior midfielder Brayden Pelletier.

“He’s fun to watch. I love watching him play the game,” said LaRoche about Pelletier. “He’s incredibly smart, his IQ of not just this sport, but really any sport that he plays is remarkable. And he’s really taken it to heart this year to try and be a leader, not only vocally, but by example.”

The Panthers are now 2-2-0 on the season and still have nine games left on the schedule. The young team’s improvement upon last season and the desire to win is visible and palpable. On the other hand, the Kingsmen showed that they are still a force to be reckoned with in Division IV soccer.

“They played really well. Their coach is doing a great job. They’re a young team. They got some they got some really young players out there, and it was nice to see them play as well as they did, play as hard as they did,” said Anthony.