Copyright keenesentinel
The FAC 12U travel soccer team capped off a stellar regular season by knocking off the previously unbeaten Derry Eagles to clinch the top seed in this weekend’s NHSA state tournament. FAC opens the tournament Saturday morning at the NHSA fields in Pembroke in a semifinal match against No. 4 Bedford. The winner moves into the championship game Sunday morning. FAC will be looking to beat Bedford for the third time in three meetings this season. To clinch the top seed and finish unbeaten in league play, FAC (6-0-1 in league, 9-2-1 overall) jumped out to a 3-1 halftime lead on its home field at Keene State College’s Owl Stadium complex. Mason Esslinger had a highlight reel goal when he popped in a ball from 20 yards out into the far top corner. Graham Scaggs finished with two goals and an assist, while Cillian Bailey added a goal and an assist. Scaggs’ second goal answered a second-half goal by Derry that made it a one-goal game at the time. Two other FAC teams wrapped up their seasons over the weekend. The FAC 10U team got a late goal from Declan Snowling to edge Nashua United, 1-0, while the FAC 13U team lost to Lightning SC, 6-0, to miss out on the playoffs. Snowling’s goal in the final two minutes of play came off a rebound of a shot by Alex Silver and lifted the FAC 10U team to its fourth straight league win and sixth win in its last seven matches. After starting 0-3, FAC ended up 6-4. There are no playoffs at the 10U level.
