Derryfield boys lacrosse ends year with win over Hollis Brookline in D2 final

EXETER – The Hollis Brookline High School boys lacrosse team knew it was going to have to play close to a perfect game if there was any hope of beating Derryfield in Saturday’s Division II championship game.

Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, perfection was not to be found.

After a slow start, No. 1 Derryfield got its offense rolling late in the first quarter and the defense held No. 2 HB off the scoreboard until the final four minutes of a 10-3 win at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

Mike Chiasson led the way for the Cougars (19-1) with four goals and an assist and Jon Maclean had two goals and two assists, as Derryfield won its third championship, the first since taking the D3 crown in 2013. The win also helped the Cougars avenge a loss to HB in the 2014 D3 title game.

Drew Johnson, Eric Mayer and Lee Sipes also had a goal and an assist each for Derryfield, while goalie Avry Truex made four saves, as the Cougars’ defense limited the Cavs to just nine total shots.

“I looked at the way our defense was playing, and it’s going to be tough for them to score,” Derryfield coach Chris Hettler said. “I knew if we kept doing the things we’re good at, it was eventually going to go in the back of the net, that we were going to get quality shots.”

The Cougars started getting those shots late in the first quarter, as both teams struggled to maintain possession early on while playing through a downpour that had began about 20 minutes before the game.

But as the rain subsided, the Derryfield offense started to take control.

“I was hoping we’d be able to clear the ball a little more effectively,” HB coach Mike Soucy said. “If we were able to do that, we’d be able to possess a little bit more.

“We did a nice job on our movements on Wednesday (in the semifinal win over Portsmouth) and came out stagnant when we had the possession in the first quarter. Once that happens, once you’re feet stop moving, and once you stop making hard cuts, the advantage goes to the defense. Their slide package is always on point and we really struggled.”

Sipes got the scoring started with 4:04 left in the first quarter, and Maclean and Chiasson also added goals to give Derryfield a 3-0 lead going into the second quarter. The Cougars added three more goals in the second to double that lead, going into halftime with a 6-0 advantage that felt good to Hettler.

“We said if they press out (on defense), then we’re going to go, but if not, then we aren’t going to take any unneeded chances,” the coach said. “We haven’t had seven goals scored on us in a game all season, so what’s going to change now? Just make sure we don’t give them any chances and we didn’t.”

Instead of giving up chances, the Cougars dominated possession, as the Cavs (15-4) had about 30 seconds of possession time in the quarter, according to Soucy.

“People are going to look at the score and see we gave up 10 goals, but the defense was awesome,” he said. “When you’re playing five, six, seven minutes of straight defense, you’re going to get worn out at some point and make a mistake. They’re good, they’re really skilled, and a lot of that credit goes to (Hettler). They’ve built a tremendous program over there.”

Derryfield scored just four times in the second half – two goals in each quarter – but the Cougars kept the ball out of their end for so long, the game was out of reach when HB’s Garrett Klausner scored two goals in a nine-second span.

Mike Buxbaum added another goal for the Cavs with 3:26 remaining, but that capped the scoring.

“They played hard all the way to the end,” Hettler said. “A seven-goal victory in a championship game was great. I came to Derryfield 14 years ago and I never thought we could get it to this point. I’m going to take it and see how far we can go with it.”