MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Derryfield Cougars are heading to the NHIAA Division III Girls’ Lacrosse Semifinals thanks to their 13-12 quarterfinals victory over the Campbell Cougars on Wednesday.
Both teams traded goals early on, leading to a 5-5 draw at halftime. Campbell’s goal with 1:41 before the break to bring the game even would be the last goal they’d score for nearly 13 minutes of game time as the hosts would score five unanswered goals to open up the second half.
Undaunted by the streak of Derryfield dominance, Campbell would work their way back to a one-goal deficit on three separate occasions. However, Campbell would be unable to tie things up again as the hosts effectively managed to milk the clock in the final minutes.
While Derryfield Head Coach Meillissa Catenza expected that her team was capable of making a run like the one early in the second half if it played a more thorough game, she also expected a contest closer than the 14-6 victory her girls took against Campbell on May 6.
“The playoffs are always a different animal. Everyone has a clean slate and I knew it was going to be close, because everybody was going to be hungry for the win. So, I knew it was going to be a battle,” she said.
Casey Benson finished with eight of Derryfield’s goals, with Lily Handwerk getting two. Kira Geddes, Hailey Ramundo and Lilly Losey each contributed one goal.
Despite Benson’s tally, Catenza felt that the win was a team effort. Indeed, the team needed to overcome the fact that only four of its players had significant lacrosse experience coming into the season.
“Togetherness is what makes this team successful,” “I have great athletes that come together and work hard, and that’s all that I ask for.”
Derryfield will now face top-ranked Bow on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Laconia for a berth in the finals. Bow defeated Pelham 19-6 on Wednesday and earned a 12-8 regular season victory against Derryfield on April 20.
