Exeter 7  Holderness 5
Wed., 5/19, Exeter - Exeter played a very controlled and solid game against a high level opponent on its way to a 7-5 victory. This game featured two of the top teams in Eastern New England, and the quality of play did not disappoint the large gathering of fans that came to see this competition. After a ball control defensive start of the game, Exeter struck first a full seven minutes into the first quarter. In one of the few man-up situations of the game, recently voted All-American attackman Tom Petty fed game ball winner Bobby Goulding on a well-executed play. One minute later, Sloan Smith rifled home a shot off a Tim Redmond pass and the Big Red was up 2-0. Holderness answered at the 2:22 mark of the first quarter with their first goal of the game, and Exeter's defense would not allow their 2nd goal to be scored until two quarters later when there were just over two minutes left in the 3rd period. Goalie Julian Rodier, the close defense of Tom Rubel, Dylan Cox, Alex Zani, and Jon Reed, and both short and long pole midfield defenders led the defense during this outstanding two quarters of play. Kudos should also be extended to Chris Davis, Kirk Bansak, Chris Mottau, and Eric Horan for their excellent work on ground balls. Controlling the ball was an important part of this game, and each of the aforementioned players made several key plays to keep Exeter in possession. Also, Chris Mottau and Kirk Bansak were great at clearing the ball from defense to offense just using their speed and athleticism. Meanwhile, a Tom Petty unassisted goal in the 2nd quarter gave Exeter a 3-1 halftime lead in this low scoring affair. Even in the 2nd half, Holderness was very patient on offense despite being a couple goals behind, and they really kept testing the defensive play of Exeter's short stick defenders. In particular, Bobby Goulding, Kirk Bansak, and Chris Mottau played exceptional short stick defense to constantly thwart Holderness' offensive attempts from up top. Tom Petty scored unassisted again at the 7-minute mark of the 3rd quarter to give Exeter a 4-1 cushion. When Holderness responded a few minutes later, Exeter answered right back with a beautiful cut from Connor Seery to keep Exeter ahead by three going into the 4th quarter. Bobby Goulding controlled the all-important faceoff to open the 4th quarter, and then he received a great crease feed from Tim Redmond to score his 2nd goal of the game. Three minutes later, and with less than 8 minutes remaining in the game, Tim Redmond again assisted on a goal when he found Tom Petty for his third of the game. At his point, Exeter led 7-2 and looked in complete control. To Holderness' credit, they picked up the pace and pressure for the final minutes of the game, and they were able to mount a 3-goal burst over a five minute span. However, Exeter was able to gain control of the ball at the 2-minute mark, and ran the clock out by great ball movement within the attack area. This was a quality win over a very good team.

Team	1st quarter	2nd quarter	3rd quarter	4th quarter	Game Total
Exeter	2	1	2	2	7
Holderness	1	0	1	3	5

Game Ball Winner(s) - Bobby Goulding

Game Scoring - Goals - Petty(3), Goulding(2), Smith, Seery

                           Assists -Redmond(3), Petty(2)

Saves/Shots on Goal - Rodier 7/12