MANCHESTER -- Two notable things happened in Saturday's Division I girls soccer state championship that hadn't happened in a while.
When the Warriors beat Pinkerton Academy 2-1 in the Division I state championship game, they not only ended the Astros' season-long unbeaten streak but claimed the school's first title in 42 years. A penalty kick goal by junior Sophia Guimaraes with 7:12 remaining in the game served as the game-winner.
"We've been collectively staring at a banner in our gym that says 1983," said Warriors coach Nick O'Brien, who was born in 1984. "We've been wanting to change that."
Winnacunnet's 1983 crown came when the NHIAA girls soccer tournament was all one class. The school's 2025 title avenged a 3-1 loss to Pinkerton in the 2024 final and capped a magical 8-0 run that included four tournament wins, including three of the upset variety. The Warriors were seeded eighth for the postseason.
No. 2 seed Pinkerton had buzzed through a 13-0-3 regular season then two more shutout wins in the tourney.
"This team (Winnacunnet) was so resilient," said O'Brien. "Not only to get back here, but how we executed that game was what you ask as a coach. Just a special team."
"They (the Warriors) were at their best in the postseason," said Pinkerton coach Danielle Rappa, "so we knew they were going to play great against us. And they really did. They played a great game."
Specifically, the Warriors came out strong. Aggressors in the first half, the Warriors scored first on Mia Lantaigne's blast to the top right corner of the net. The Astros evened things before halftime on Audrey Earhart's header, off a well-placed pass from Camryn McNulty.
From there, both teams settled in -- a far cry from last year's final when Pinkerton struck first and carried play.
"We knew what needed to happen," said Winnacunnet senior Taylor Burness. "We knew it was going to be hard. Pinkerton figured us out in the first five minutes last year ... We needed to adjust to how they play so we could defend them better."
Guimaraes's penalty kick was a thing of beauty, a grounder to goalkeeper Sydney Mlynarski's right that snuck just inside the post. O'Brien never saw it -- he never watches his players' PKs during games -- but had total confidence in Guimaraes.
"She's nails," said O'Brien. "Absolute nails. When you need a big moment like that, a PK like that, with a state championship on the line with about six minutes left, like ... no doubt."
So what's with the coach's practice of looking away from PKs? A good-luck thing? he was asked.
"It is now," he chuckled.
Mlynarski was credited with eight saves, to seven for the Warriors' Julianne Banks.
Winnacunnet finished 14-3-3 overall. As a returning state finalist, the Warriors faced added pressure during the season, said O'Brien, and the middle part of their schedule was difficult.
"That certainly prepped us for this moment," said O'Brien. "A lot of really good lessons, a lot of really tough, tough lessons. ... the group came together in the end, really started to come together in those last four games of the regular season. And that transferred into this run."
Rappa told her players, including five graduating seniors, to hold their heads high. And for good reason.
"I just told them, 'It's hard right now, but you have to look back and be proud of back-to-back championship appearances. And we had an undefeated regular season.'"
cduffy@unionleader.com