Lynnfield posts win

The ping of a soccer ball hitting the goal post can drive the shooter to his knees in agony.

That ping, though, was a welcome sound yesterday for the seventh-seeded Lynnfield Pioneers, who escaped with a 2-1 victory over ninth-seeded Ipswich in the Division 3 North final in Lowell.

Senior midfielder Tom McLoughlin stood over the ball on a penalty kick in the first half with a chance to swing the momentum back in his team's favor after Lynnfield had taken a two-goal advantage.

Lynnfield senior goalkeeper Patrick Hurley guessed and dove in the wrong direction, but was saved by the post.

"It's very nice to have some fortune, especially when you're playing such a good team," said Lynnfield coach Brent Munroe.

McLoughlin found the back of the net early in the second half on a shot from 22 yards out, but that goal didn't have the impact that the first-half penalty kick might have had.

"We put two away quick, and that was important," said Pioneers junior midfielder Mike Kennedy. "But that shot off the post was huge."

Kennedy, the Cape Ann League Player of the Year, put Lynnfield (15-5-2) up early, heading a free kick from senior sweeper Jon White past keeper Max Williams, who, like Hurley, had shut out each of his opponents in the tournament.

The Pioneers' second goal came in the 16th minute when Nicholas Vardaro one-touched a cross from Phil Knox into the side net.

After McLoughlin's goal the Tigers (11-4-6) finished the game with a flurry of shots.

"The defense really helped me out. I couldn't do it without them," said Hurley, who only had to make three saves to preserve the victory.

Lynnfield will play Old Rochester tomorrow in the EMass final.

Division 2 North final: It was the second overtime period in fourth-seeded Concord-Carlisle's match against sixth-seeded Stoneham, and Peter Hernandez was stuck near the corner flag in the Spartans' end with not much real estate to work with.

Somehow the senior managed to turn and get a cross in, lofting a high ball over the heads of the Spartan defenders to the far post, where Davis Barber was waiting to head home the ball, giving the Patriots a tense 4-3 win over last year's Division 2 state champs.

C-C (16-2-3) overcame a 3-1 deficit late in the second half to force overtime with the Spartans (13-3-6), where Barber's goal booked its spot against Medway in the EMass final.

"We didn't quit," C-C coach Ray Pavlik said. "It's the first time in 10 games that we've ever been behind, and they just kept plugging away."