Around the Granite State: Gilford, St. Thomas advance to D3 girls lacrosse final

The second-seeded Gilford High School girls lacrosse team dominated Saturday’s Division III semifinal against No. 3 Hopkinton, winning 18-2 at Bank of NH Stadium in Laconia to return to the championship game for the second year in a row.

Liv Keenen had six goals and an assist to go with four caused turnovers and nine draw controls while Abby Watson had four goals and five assists, including her 200th career point, to go with four draw controls for the Golden Eagles (14-2).

Leah Davignon added three goals and Addy Normandin scored twice while Calia Blackey, Mackenna Clayton and Camryn Coutts finished with a goal apiece.

Lilly Winward made three saves, and as a team, Gilford collected 29 groundballs and had 18 caused turnovers.

The Golden Eagles will take on No. 1 St. Thomas in a rematch of last year’s title game at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

No. 1 St. Thomas 17, No. 5 Bow 6

The Saints returned to the D3 championship game for the third year in a row by beating the Falcons in the second game Saturday at Bank of NH Stadium.

Charlotte De Tolla led the way with seven goals and Talula Gregg added six goals, including her 100th career point, all of which have come this season for St. Thomas (16-1).

Kensley Harris, Julia Bryan, Reece Anderson and Lizzy Holden had a goal apiece for the Saints and Chloe Baker finished with five saves. Ava Lyder, Lena Shaheen and Payton Baker played well defensively.

D3 Boys Quarterfinals

No. 6 Campbell 8, No. 3 Bow 7 (3OT)

Cruz Sandquist scored twice, including the game-winning goal in the third overtime, and had an assist to lift the Cougars past the Falcons.

Matt DeCarli also had two goals while Nate Lencki had a goal and two assists and Tyler Breton had three assists for Campbell (12-5). Zac Hannah added a goal and an assist and Sage Anctil also scored while Will O’Brien made six saves.

Campbell advances to the semifinals for the fourth year in a row where it will face No. 2 Plymouth at 5 p.m. Thursday at Bank of NH Stadium.

No. 2 Plymouth 11, No. 10 Lebanon 3

The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead and put the game away late to knock off the Raiders in a quarterfinal played at Plymouth State University.

Nolan Galvin had three goals and two assists while Cooper Legacy and Pyton Long had three goals and an assist to lead Plymouth (13-2). Luke Legacy also had two goals and two assists while Ben Valenti and Brodhi Rousseau had an assist apiece.

Cullen McNair, Cooper Mack, Logan Libby, Ryan Killion, Robbie Thorne, Harper Preston and Jack Hutchins played well defensively for the Bobcats.

Lebanon (9-7) got a goal apiece from Abe Pearson, Bentley Lang and Benji Madory and V.J. Stiles had an assist.

D1 Boys Playoffs

No. 9 Dover 14, No. 8 Nashua South 11 (Friday)

The Green Wave jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first half only to see the Panthers make it a one-goal game with just over four minutes remaining.

Dover scored twice in the final 80 seconds to secure a preliminary-round win, it’s first playoff win in D1.

Logan Carter had five goals and two assists and Tobey Desroches had five goals and a helper to lead the Green Wave. Parker Ketcham had two goals and five assists and Cooper Ketcham also scored twice and had three assists.

Kyle Behan added a goal and an assist and Ben Tower also had a helper.

South (8-11) got three goals each from Owen Roy (one assist) and Grant Imbeault. Cody Jackson, Tyler Benzekri and Grayson Flaherty had a goal and an assist apiece while Brendan Skelley and Joe Kudla each had a goal.

Broden Landstiener had two assists and Jake Lynn finished with 12 saves.

No. 1 Pinkerton 14, No. 9 Dover 1

Kyle Ushkevich had five goals and an assist to lead the Astros past the Green Wave (9-11) in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Jackson Farrell added a goal and four assists and Matt Gormady had three goals and two assists for Pinkerton (15-4). Jeff Gormady also scored twice and had an assist and Ben Quintiliani had two goals.

Aiden Jones added a goal and teamed with Dylan Stingel to win 90 percent of the faceoffs. Gavin Burwell made 11 saves while Caleb Hobden, Nate Smith, Jackson Chalmers, Jackson Chase and Brady Blaszka played well defensively.

The Astros move on to the semifinals at 7:15 on Thursday, where they will face either No. 5 Merrimack or No. 4 Exeter, who play their quarterfinal on Monday at 5 p.m. Both games will be at Bill Ball Stadium.

No. 3 Bedford 21, No. 6 Londonderry 7

The Bulldogs led 15-1 at halftime and cruised past the Lancers and into the semifinals for the second year in a row.

Bennett Matthews had five goals and four assists and Brody Helton also scored five times and added a helper for Bedford (14-5). John Purnell and Evan Capello each had four goals and an assist and Luke Purnell scored twice.

Parker Gupta chipped in a goal and Cam Santos an assist while Ethan Conn made three saves and Matt Benn had two saves. Dylan Riccio went 23 of 26 on faceoffs.

Londonderry (10-8) got two goals apiece from Odin Delorey and Trey Campbell while Colby Walden had two assists. Brody Campbell, Owen Huard and Parker Lewis each had a goal.

Bedford will now take on No. 2 Bishop Guertin in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Bill Ball Stadium.

No. 2 Bishop Guertin 19, No. 7 Concord 2

Owen King had five goals and four assists to lead the Cardinals to the win over the Crimson Tide.

Michael Ponto added two goals and five assists and Beau Dubois scored three times for Bishop Guertin (14-5). Cam Hayden and Hudson Schmitt each scored twice and had an assist while Drew Redfern also had two goals.

Jack Redfern, Brady Donohue and Jeremy Warren added a goal apiece and Liam Connerty had an assist.

D2 Boys Quarterfinals

No. 6 Portsmouth 8, No. 3 Timberlane 7

The Clippers scored three goals in the final 35 seconds to erase a two-goal deficit and knock off the Owls.

Reilly Collins had two goals and two assists, with both of his goals coming during the final run to tie the game at 7 with 28 seconds left. After a faceoff win, Sam Biddle found Masi Shone for the game-winner with five seconds remaining.

Henry Purcell added two goals and an assist for Portsmouth (14-5) and Sawyer Bouvier had a goal and an assist. Cortland Barr and Jack Martin added a goal apiece and Nash Conklin also had an assist.

Timberlane (12-5) got three goals and an assist from Landon Petry and two goals and an assist from Rocco Psareas. Gio Recesso (one assist) and Gavin Dubois added a goal apiece while Joseph Hughes finished with 22 saves.

The Clippers return to the semifinals where they will take on No. 2 Winnacunnet at 5 p.m. Thursday at Bedford High School.

No. 2 Winnacunnet 12, No. 10 Hanover 5

Beckett Rath scored five goals to as the Warriors beat the Bears to return to the semifinals for the second straight year.

Alec Mitchell added three goals and an assist and Spencer Zigler and Liam McNally had a goal and two assists apiece for Winnacunnet (13-3).

Braden Nowek had two assists and Brian McCown and Anthony Magri recorded a goal apiece while Brock Emery led a solid defensive effort.