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Londonderry Lancers Girls Lacrosse '17

Wed, May 31, 2017 05:00 PM @ Londonderry
Team 1 2 Final
Pinkerton 5 2 7
Londonderry 2 4 6

Pinkerton hangs on to beat Londonderry

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LONDONDERRY - In the moments after Londonderry's first round tournament loss to Pinkerton on Wednesday, senior goalie Kaitlyn Marchant tearfully embraced coach Scott Walden, who offered encouragement after her one and only season of high school lacrosse came to an end.
"He told me how much he appreciated it and how much it changed the team," said Marchant, who made nine saves in the 7-6 loss to the defending state champions. "It was an honor to play. I love the team and I wouldn't have changed anything."
Though Marchant has long been renowned as a top quality goalie, she never suited up for Londonderry High until this spring, instead focusing her efforts on track while playing club lacrosse for the Tomahawks in the summer. But after committing to Western New England University last year, she decided to give high school lacrosse a try.
Without her, this season - and especially Wednesday's game - would have turned out a lot differently for the Lancers, Walden said.
"I told her that we are 4-14 if she didn't come out and work like she did. She would constantly have me out here for hours working on everything, and she's pretty much the stalwart," Walden said. "Even today, I was saying ‘How many more saves does she have to make before we get a ground ball?' She was a wall."
Marchant was one of the key factors in Londonderry's late comeback, in which the Lancers scored four unanswered goals over the final 20 minutes to pull within one. Pinkerton had opportunities to extend its lead, but Marchant picked up some huge point blank saves to keep the Astros at seven goals.
Unfortunately for the Lancers, the comeback started just a few minutes too late, and Pinkerton was able to hold on in the final minutes to advance to Saturday's Division 1 semifinal against Bedford.
"The girls believed," said Pinkerton coach Rob Daziel. "We've had an up and down year, and we certainly just beat one of the better teams in the state. They believed, they were ready."
For much of Wednesday's game, Pinkerton dominated the possession and seemingly won every draw control and ground ball. Though the Lancer defense held strong, the Astros wore the Lancers down, scoring seven unanswered goals between the midway point of the first half and the first five minutes of the second half to pull ahead 7-2 with roughly 20 minutes to play.
Senior Dani Tompkins and sophomore Kiley Davis were the big difference-makers on offense, each scoring three goals to give the Astros what looked initially like an insurmountable lead. Meaghan Michaud had the other Astro goal.
Londonderry's comeback began when Allie Marsh scored with 19:36 to play in the second half, then got going in earnest when Sarah Duarte scored her second goal of the game to cut the deficit to three.
After several possessions ended in turnovers for both teams, sophomore defenseman Sammy LeClair scored her first goal of the season at the perfect time, making it 7-5 with 3:11 to play. Finally, Kiersten Hoglund, who was banged up after a painful collision in the first half, scored with 1:26 to play to make it a one goal game.
With all the momentum in Londonderry's favor, however, Pinkerton won the ball on the ensuing draw. A minute and a half of keep away later, the Astros had the thrilling win.
Pinkerton (14-5) will now face top seeded Bedford (16-2) at Exeter High School Saturday at 7 p.m., where the winner will face either Souhegan or Bishop Guertin in the state championship game. Londonderry wraps up its season at 14-5.

Game Statistics:

N.H. Division 1 Quarterfinals

Goals: P — Kiley Davis 3, Dani Tompkins 3, Meaghan Michaud; L — Sarah Duarte 2, Erica Tsetsilas, Allie Marsh, Sammy LeClair, Kiersten Hoglund

Assists: P — Lauren Lisauskas, Madison Peredna; L — Tsetsilas

Saves: P — Danielle Martineau 6; L — Kaitlyn Marchant 9

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