BY CHRIS QUARTARONE
The Bow boys varsity soccer team beat up on 11th-seeded Souhegan, earning a trip to the Class I state final following a 4-2 win at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.
Bow forward Ryan Obolowicz scored three goals, giving him 31 on the season.
“It really wasn’t just me. Everyone had a hand in the win,” he said.
Bow forward Dorian Hohm fed a fine pass to Obolowicz for the first goal 10 minutes into the match.
Soon after, Souhegan defenseman Mathieu Bemis took down Hohm in front of the Sabres’ goal.
The referee awarded a penalty shot to Bow, and when he argued with the referee, Bemis was given a red card and kicked out of the game.
“I wish Matt could take what he said back,” said Souhegan assistant coach Tom Bellen. “It makes it tough to win a game when you’re a man down.”
But Bow missed the penalty kick high over the cross bar, and Bow head coach George Pinkham thought momentum had returned to Souhegan.
“In the first half we weren’t winning balls. With our missed penalty kick, it kept Souhegan in the game,” he said.
Indeed, Souhegan tied the game with only a few minutes left until halftime.
It took Bow 15 minutes of second-half play to score again.With 25:37 left Obolowicz scored his second goal after Kyle Geddes sent a beautiful lead pass toward the net.
It took Bow less than one minute to score a third time. Fifty-six seconds later, in fact, Hohm beat Souhegan goalie Adam Tofte for a 3-1 Bow edge.
Brian Raffio assisted Obolowicz’s last tally with 7:30 left in the match.
When the final whistle blew, Bow players rushed Bow goaltender Al Grip in celebration.
The team prepares for its last match, which takes place Saturday, Nov. 3, at 4:30 p.m., again at Bill Ball Stadium.
“If we come out on Saturday and play our game, I think we have a good shot (to win),” said Obolowicz.
• • •
Bow won its quarterfinal-round match on Friday, Oct. 26, defeating No. 7 seed John Stark, 2-0.
Bow forward Ethan Archundia pressed John Stark with countless crosses into the goalie box, but the teams went into halftime locked in a scoreless tie.
Five minutes into the second half, Bow forward Dorian Hohm sent a ball in front of the net, and Ethan Archundia controlled and kicked it past John Stark goalie Ben Titcomb for the game’s first goal.
“Once they scored the first goal we didn’t pick it up when we had to,” said Mark Bograd, John Stark’s head coach.
Obolowicz scored Bow’s second goal on an assist from midfielder Kyle Geddes with around 13 minutes remaining.
John Stark forward Ross Macklin did his best to create scoring chances, but the Bow defense remained rock-solid.
“I thought we stayed with them, but we couldn’t build anything on offense,” said Bograd.