MANCHESTER — Perfection isn't easy, especially when the tournament's Cinderella teams stands in the way of a championship.

The slipper wouldn't fit on this day, however, and top-seeded Bow downed No. 15 Raymond 3-0 to cap its second perfect season in less than a decade in claiming the Division III boys' soccer title at Southern New Hampshire University on Sunday.

The Falcons (20-0) got on the board just 5:13 into the game when Jason Underhill scored on a penalty kick, and then got some insurance 10:22 into the second half on a goal by Daniel Crisman, the first of two for him.

With the Rams (9-10-1) riding a wave of momentum into the game after a string of upsets, it seemed the first challenge for Bow was to score first. Once they did, the Falcons kept control of the game and didn't let the lead slip away.

“That was huge, no question,” Bow coach George Pinkham said about scoring first. “Just as huge was after the half when we got that second goal.”

The final goal of the game came in the 70th minute to make it 3-0. The Falcons also went 20-0 when they won the title in 2002.

The loss ended an improbable run by the Rams that featured wins over second-seeded Berlin, No. 7 Campbell and third-seeded Gilford, a perennial Division III power.

“They came from nothing,” Raymond coach Jeff Montembeault said. “They battled. They're a great group of kids. Any high school coach would want them.”

Underhill's penalty kick was awarded after a Bow player was taken down by a Raymond defender in the penalty box. Underhill fired the shot into the lower right corner and Rams goalie Brandon VanDeWalle (5 saves) couldn't get to it.

The lead was just 1-0 at the break thanks to a diving save by VanDeWalle on a header by Ian Avery about midway through the first half, but the Falcons got some insurance about 10 minutes into the second half.

Underhill had the ball on the right side of the box and passed it to Crisman in the middle. Crisman was then one-on-one with VanDeWalle and he slipped a shot under the charging goaltender to make it 2-0.

“Big players have to step up and that's what they did,” Pinkham said about his two stars.

That goal came just minutes after Raymond had its best scoring chance of the day. Benjamin Sytulek was sent in a step behind the Bow defense and got a shot off in the box, but it went just wide of the net. Falcons goalie Jordan Birtz finished with three saves.

Crisman was set up in the box by Taylor Gosse in the box for his goal. This time he picked a spot in the corner in worked a shot around VanDeWalle to make it 3-0 with 10:31 left to play.

Edmunds lifts Wilton-Lyndeborough