This is part two of the fall sports preview, focusing on boys and girls soccer, girls volleyball, boys football and unified soccer. To see part one, including boys and girls cross country, golf and field hockey, click here.

Boys Soccer

Photo by Kevin Donovan

Coming off an impressive 11-2-3 season, the boys soccer team has one goal: bringing a state title back to Durham. The team ended the regular season in 3rd place in Division II, giving them a first-round bye. The Bobcats will host the winner of Merrimack Valley and Kearsarge on Saturday, November 2nd. The semi-finals will be on Wednesday, November 6th at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter. This is the second season in a row that the Bobcats will finish with two or less losses. The team is lead by leading scorer Caden Leader (‘21) and his older brother Reed Leader (‘20). Caden Leader said that he’s satisfied with how the season went but felt there were a few games the team should’ve won, when they just fell short. He added that the team’s goal is to win the championship, and he believes they are capable of doing so. “We just have to play our game against every team that we go up against,” said Caden Leader. “We just gotta stay focused on our goal to win [the championship], keep the intensity up, and not let down during games.”

Girls Soccer

Photo by Ellen McCaleb

Finishing with a winning record of 9-6-1, head coach Cyd Scarano’s Bobcats will enter the NHIAA playoffs as the 6 seed. The girls will play a preliminary round match on Thursday, October 31st against Kearsarge at 3 PM. The team, led by Charlotte Cousins (‘22), Nathalie Pare (‘21), and Calla Tucker (‘21) finished the season out strong winning 5 out of their last 6 games. Lizzy Robinson-Kiang (‘22) said that despite the winning record, the team was unsatisfied with certain games. “There were games that we thought we were going to win, but then when we actually stepped out onto the field we just didn’t have the energy or motivation.” Robinson-Kiang said that she believes her team has the potential to go far in the playoffs if they can overcome the struggles of not having the, “energy or motivation to win” that hurt them in the season. If they get past the preliminary round, Oyster River will play at Bow on Sunday, November 3rd.

Girls Volleyball

Photo by Isabelle Fradillada

Looking to return to the Division II Final Four for the second straight season, the girls volleyball closed out the season strong with a 3-1 victory over rival Coe Brown on senior night in front of a packed crowd. The team finished with a record of 13-3, with their only losses coming to the top three teams in Division II. The team enters the playoffs sitting in fourth place, and will play their first game on Saturday, November 2nd at 6pm at home against Plymouth. The team is lead by Corrine Quaglieri (‘20), Magdeline Sylvester (‘21), and Emma Hampton (‘23). Ella Cavicchi (‘21) said that she believes all 3 of the team’s losses were games that could’ve been won. “We just didn’t show up to those games when we needed to,” said Cavicchi. “Our main goal will be to show up to every game because it could be our last game and we never really know. Leaving everything on the court and having no regrets [is our goal],” said Cavicchi.

Football

Photo by Maggie Sperry

In their second season as a cooperative team, the Clipper-Cats go into their final week with a record of 3-5. The Clipper-Cats will play Nashua North on Friday, November 1st at 7PM at Portsmouth High School, as the team did not qualify for the Division I playoffs. The team was, however, able to beat Winnacunnet, Spaulding, and Keene. Two of the team’s losses, coming against Dover and Nashua South, were within 10 points. According to Clipper-Cats player Alec Damsell (‘20), the team’s lack of discipline cost them in a few games this season. “We lost to ourselves, basically,” said Damsell. He added that he felt the team was overconfident at times, and there was a “lack of care” that they hope to fix before their final game of the season. 

Unified Soccer

The unified soccer team finished out the year at 0-5-1, ending the year with a 2-2 tie against Prospect Mountain. “We didn’t have a great season,” said Matthew Demarest (‘21). “But the important part is we had fun bonding as a team, and trying to get better at practice.” He continued to say that winning wasn’t important because unified soccer is more about having fun and creating good relationships with the athletes. If you are interested in playing unified sports, come to the Unified Sports Info Night on November 12th from 7-8 PM in the ORHS cafe.

Written by Alden Swiesz