Nashua South girls lacrosse gets memorable road win over Londonderry (video)

LONDONDERRY – The Nashua High School South girls lacrosse team hasn’t had many good things to remember from trips to Londonderry.

On a day that felt more like the last week of the regular season than the first, the Panthers finally made some good memories.

Ella Benzekri scored 10 goals, including three to end the first half and give South some separation, and the Panthers held off the Lancers in the final 10 minutes Thursday for a 16-10 win over Londonderry.

It was the first win for South (3-0, No. 8 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) on the Lancers’ home field in at least a decade.

“I think the kids just wanted this game,” South coach Ciki McIntire said. “They remember last year, losing on this field. It feels like every time we come to this field, we have bad memories, in field hockey and lacrosse. They, mentally, were prepared to battle. The 50-50 balls and the draw controls were a big difference.”

And so was Benzekri, as the junior also scored the final three goals of the game for the Panthers to put it away, and an assist. Karina O’Donnell had three goals and an assist while Maren Lowell had two goals and two helpers and Morgan Udzanovich a goal and three assists.

Maddy Matylewski added an assist and Keira Walsh made five saves behind strong defensively play from Maizie Barker, Brynn Tefft and Nevaeh Eppolitto.

“I was really proud of the way they competed from beginning to end,” McIntire said. “We didn’t really have any lulls. This was kind of first big competition, so it was good to see them respond. I knew Londonderry would be tough, gritty, athletic. They have some really good players, so I knew it would be a back-and-forth battle. It was really nice to see them step up and put some of the things we’ve been working on into play.”

The Lancers (0-2) got four goals from Meg Daileanes and three from Ashleigh Leone while Ava Naar had a goal and an assist. Lilah Melia, Natalie Washington, Lauren Allen and Madison Wholley also had a goal apiece and Abbigail Cook made 12 saves.

“I thought they played with a lot of hustle,” Londonderry coach Kelsey Derhak said. “That’s what we’ve been working on this year, getting our IQ up there and playing a full 50 minutes. Our transitions supported us to getting to the goal on fast breaks.”

At times, the Lancers were able to take advantage of their speed and depth to score in transition, taking a 4-3 lead late in the first half. But South was able to control the draw over the final minutes before halftime, leading to a 4-0 run that gave the Panthers a 7-4 lead.

South was able to stretch that lead to 12-6 over the first 14 minutes of the second half by controlling draws, stretching out possessions, and then taking advantage when Londonderry’s defense tried to apply pressure.

“At halftime, we talked about staying composed and taking our time,” McIntire said. “It was a track meet for a little bit there and our middies were dying. It’s about trying to get them trained to take their time and take a breath. Londonderry started pressuring out and that forced us into our offense.”

The Lancers made adjustments on the draw, and after Benzekri scored with 10:54 to play to put South up by six goals, Londonderry got the draw and Wholley found the back of the net just 52 seconds later. The Lancers won the next draw as well and Daileanes capitalized with another goal 30 seconds after that.

“The draw is it’s own game within the game,” Derhak said. “You play chess with it. They do one thing, you’ve got to try to counter. Ella is a great player and you’re just trying to put some pressure on it, make it a true 50-50 ball and send my kids after it.”

South was able to get the next one and Lowell scored to put the Panthers back up five, and with time winding down, it was a lead that proved to be too much for Londonderry to overcome.

“We were struggling a little bit with where to be on defense and had miscommunication,” McIntire said. “We had a couple of different people in there and was trying to work on something, and they needed to fight through that. We gave up a few goals in the process. We still have a ton to work on, but it’s a good start.”