Portsmouth pulls away late to beat Souhegan, win 3rd D1 girls lacrosse title in a row (video)

EXETER – The top-seeded Portsmouth High School girls lacrosse team went on a run in the second half to pull away for a 10-6 win Tuesday over No. 2 Souhegan in the Division I championship game.

The Clippers used a 5-0 run over the span of 10 minutes over the third and fourth quarters to turn a tie game into the program’s third straight D1 title and eighth title in the last nine seasons overall.

Raegan Lawton had four goals and two assists for Portsmouth (18-0) while twin sister Emery Lawton scored twice and Ginger Vinciguerra, Georgia Bouvier and Elliott Blenkinsop had a goal apiece. Sage Bussiere finished with sevens saves, including three down the stretch in the fourth quarter that kept the Sabers (17-2) from closing the gap.

Izzy Stevenson had two goals and an assist for Souhegan and Libby Kennedy also had two goals. Averie Curran added a goal and an assist and Lanai Hickman scored a goal while Molly Benson had three saves.

The Sabers took a 2-0 lead, on two goals by Kennedy, in the game’s first five minutes, but Raegan Lawton scored twice before the end of the quarter to make it 2-2. Emery Lawton scored with 3:59 left in the second to give the Clippers a 3-2 lead at the half.

Twice, Souhegan tied the game in the third quarter, but each time Portsmouth answered in under 30 seconds, including after Stevenson scored two in a row tie it at 5. Vinciguerra scored just 21 seconds later to put the Clippers ahead for good.