Vermont battles back to beat New Hampshire in Twin State All-Star boys lacrosse game (video)

HANOVER – The Hanover Lions Twin State All-Star boys lacrosse game features the top players from the senior class from both New Hampshire and Vermont.

The New Hampshire team found out firsthand how goalie Evan Andrews (Harwood Union) got on the team.

Andrews made 17 saves in three quarters, including nine in the fourth quarter, to help Vermont hold off a comeback by New Hampshire for a 17-13 win Saturday at Hanover High School. It’s the first time Vermont has won the Byrne Cup, awarded annually to the winning team, since 2022.

[Check out the photo gallery from the Twin State All-Star Games!]

“He was phenomenal,” New Hampshire coach Jordan D’Onofrio (Manchester) said of Andrews. “We had been talking about different ways we wanted to attack in the offensive end and we started getting some good opportunities, and he stood on his head. He made a lot of great saves.

“It’s an all-star game and these some of the best players in each state. (Andrews) did a tremendous job, made some timely saves. We peppered him for a time there and he was able to come up with the saves.”

Andrews and Connor Brigham (St. Johnsbury), who played the first quarter, combined to make 21 saves while James Murphy led all scorers with five goals as Vermont outscored New Hampshire 8-2 in the second quarter to take control of the game.

Cavin Benjamin (Hartford) added two goals and three assists and Noah Bruttomesso (Rutland) had two goals and two assists while Luke Bushey (Milton) scored twice and had an assist and Ethan Wideawake (Rutland) also had two goals.

New Hampshire got four goals from RJ Proulx (Derryfield) while Colin Foley (Bishop Guertin) and Evan Capello (Bedford) each scored three times. JP Torgersen (Hollis Brookline) had two goals and an assist while Noah Taylor (Hollis Brookline) also scored.

Cam Ayotte (Londonderry) and Brady Doldo (Derryfield) each added an assist while Cole Norris (Oyster River-Newmarket) made six saves despite playing just the first quarter. With four goalies on the roster, New Hampshire played each one for a quarter, which were 15 minutes long.

New Hampshire got out to a 4-0 lead just 5:20 into the game and was up 5-2 going into the second quarter.

Torgersen gave the Granite State a 6-3 lead with 11:41 to play in the second but Vermont scored four straight goals to take a 7-6 lead with 5:57 left in the quarter. Proulx tied it up just 55 seconds later, but Vermont went on a 3-0 run to end the half up 10-7.

“I think we started pressing a little too much,” D’Onofrio said. “We were trying to push too much and force some things that weren’t there. We had our way in the first quarter and the things we were doing well weren’t there in the second quarter. We failed to adjust fast enough. They did a great job of scoring in bunches, which takes the wind out of your sails, especially on a hot day with longer quarters.”

New Hampshire cut the lead to two late in the third quarter on goals by Foley and Capello, but Murphy got one back for Vermont before the end of the quarter and Benjamin scored early in the fourth to make it 14-10.

But New Hampshire was able to keep Vermont scoreless for almost 10 minutes as it chipped away at the lead. Proulx and Foley scored just nine seconds apart to make it 14-13 with 5:37 to play.

Paulo Vazquez (Bishop Guertin) won the ensuing faceoff – he was 13 of 16 on the afternoon – but New Hampshire turned the ball over before getting a good look. Murphy then scored twice in 35 seconds to end Vermont’s scoreless streak and make it 16-13 with just over three minutes remaining.

New Hampshire had a manup opportunity in the final two minutes, but Andrews came up with a pair of saves to keep it a three-goal game before Bruttomesso scored with 38.7 seconds left to put it away.