In a tough matchup Tuesday night, October 11th, 2022, Oyster River High School (ORHS) (10-2-2) beat their rival Coe-Brown Northwood Academy (CBNA) (9-3-1) 3-1 at home. Coming off a 1-1 tie at home versus Hollis-Brookline (10-3-1) last Tuesday and a 2-0 win at Milford (5-9-0) last Thursday, the team was confident going into Tuesday’s game.
Just before the start of the game, the team huddled together in front of their goal. They had 3 objectives: have fun, take chances, and, most importantly, stay positive. However, Oyster River knew they needed to start out strong to compete with Coe-Brown. Having lost 2-1 at CBNA earlier in the season, the beginning of the game was critical. “We knew we needed to score, and we knew we needed to start hard. We’ve been kind of starting a little bit flat-footed… We knew we needed to do better,” said Eisenhaure, in reference to the team’s performance in recent games.
During the first half, both teams started strong. With lots of contact and back-and-forth play, the score remained 0-0 for most of the first half.
But, in the 35th minute, Eisenhaure scored with an assist from #25 Torin Saunders (’25), giving Oyster River a 1-0 lead. “You gotta take chances to score, and I had been shooting all game up to that point… [Saunders] was willing to pass the ball back… [but] eventually, with the amount of dominance we were showing in that game, we were going to score. It didn’t need to be me, but it was gonna happen for somebody.”
However, one minute later, Coe-Brown scored their first goal, tying the game 1-1 just 3 minutes before half-time.
At the half, Oyster River knew they needed to continue their momentum despite CBNA’s goal but the team didn’t need to make changes to their play style to accomplish that. Going in the second half, Perry said, “We still had some momentum even after [CBNA] scored to tie it. We were ready.”
With the student section and other spectators cheering, both teams headed back out onto the turf for the second half. The large crowd at the game helped ORHS keep up their energy and composure throughout the night. “We wanted to make sure we maintained our composure throughout the whole game, which is always a big factor when there’s a big crowd at home,” said Eisenhaure.
In the 47th minute, Perry was fouled in CBNA’s goalie box, leading to a penalty kick. After a lot of team movement and pushing the ball up the field, Perry said, “We finally got it close enough to where they had to do something, and they just fouled me.” Perry stayed calm, although under pressure with the crowd watching, and took the penalty kick.
Perry scored, bringing the score to 2-1, and giving the lead back to ORHS.
Perry’s goal propelled the team through the rest of the game. “Once we scored that, the other team was not as into [the game] as we were, and we didn’t really give the ball to them at all after that. They didn’t have any chances, so I think that kind of sealed the deal,” said Perry.
Although CBNA made many attempts to score as the game continued, no attempts were successful, and Oyster River’s 2-1 lead remained well into the second half.
Oyster River continued to pressure CBNA, whose defense had few substitutions in the second half. This allowed Perry to connect with the ball quickly after he returned to the field, reenergized after being subbed off for a portion of the second half. “I used my energy against them when they didn’t have any,” said Perry.
In the 73rd minute, Perry scored with an assist from Eisenhaure. This goal, Perry’s second, brought the score to 3-1, locking in the win for ORHS.
CBNA continued their scoring efforts through the final minutes of the game, but to no avail.
After a long-fought game, Oyster River High School topped Coe-Brown Northwood Academy 3-1, breaking CBNA’s 4-game win streak. Perry says, “We’re all really excited after that win, and we’re ready for the next game.” The team is excited to get back onto the turf and is staying positive with playoffs approaching. Come support the team for their next game tonight at home versus Pembroke at 7pm, with senior night at 6:30pm!
– Justin Partis