Souhegan girls lacrosse holds off Bedford to win D1 championship

MANCHESTER – For the first time in nine years, the Souhegan High School girls lacrosse team is back on top.

The No. 2 Sabers (18-2) used a three-goal stretch at the end of the first half to take a lead and never look back in a 10-9 defeat of No. 1 Bedford at Southern New Hampshire University on Wednesday.

“We went on a roll scoring three goals in a row,” said Sabers coach Maren Petropulos. “I think the girls kicked it in and knew we had to clean it up. We got a bit sloppy there, then got better shots on goal and our defense turned some things over.”

“In the final four we were tied, we stayed confident and didn’t worry,” said Abby Cranney, who scored three goals. “We were up in this one and still stayed calm and tried to go forward.”

Trailing 7-5 with 4:37 left in the first half, the Sabers went on a run that would extend to an eventual 10-7 lead. Emma Estabrook scored twice at the end of the first half and a tally from Samantha Jay was sandwiched in between to give the Sabers the lead.

“We called Emma our X-factor this season,” Petropulos said. “Against (Bishop Guertin) she scored twice. She’s kind of under the radar, no one really expects Emma to drive to goal or be that good.”

The Bulldogs (17-3) could only score twice in the second half, as Souhegan goalie Meg Allard made seven saves. Led by freshman Mackenzie MacEachern in the first half, who scored three goals, it seemed like the Bulldgos were in control before the late half flurry.

“It appeared to be whoever got the draw was scoring,” said Petropulos. “We switched a few things up on the draw. The second half was very defensive.”

Hannah McCarthy scored her fourth goal of the night with 1:04 to go to bring Bedford back within one, but the Sabers won the next draw to run down the rest of the clock.

MacEachern took the draws for the Bulldogs against Brigid Casey from the Sabers and they deadlocked 10-10. Both teams also went 2-for-5 from the free position shot, and most of the stats were even, but Souhegan outplayed Bedford in the second half.

“It was really sloppy, the first 10 minutes, it was sloppy on both sides,” Petropulus said. “I think our speed was the catalyst that shifted us into gear. We have so much speed out there, Abby Cranney is crazy fast, Casey (Johnson) is fast, McKenzie Robinson.”

“Their stack was really hard and we had to manage it, but once we managed the cutters and getting in front we could catch them,” Cranney said.

The Bulldogs were seeking their first ever D1 title after winning one title in D2. Souhegan had been knocked out the previous two seasons in the semifinals and was making its fourth final appearance in six years. The title is the third overall for the Sabers, who also won in 2003 and 2008.

“The quality of kids that we have, a lot of them play off season or over the summer, a lot are going to college to play,” Petropulus said. “They love this sport.”