Defending champion Bow field hockey team loses in overtime in semifinals

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EXETER – There will be a final game in Division II field hockey, but it’s hard to imagine it will feature more skill, scoring or drama than last night’s semifinal between top-ranked Lebanon and defending champion Bow.

Goals came in flurries, from all angles and from multiple sources. There were ties, comebacks and an overtime. And in the end there was a game-winning goal from Lebanon sophomore Emily Perryman 3:41 into the extra period to give the Raiders (14-1-1) a 4-3 win and a spot in the final against No. 3 Windham on Sunday at Bedford High. And after reaching the title game the last two years, fourth-ranked Bow (12-4) finishes one step short this time around.

Last night’s nail-biter was really no surprise. After all, the two teams met just two weeks ago and Bow came away with a tight 2-1 decision, Lebanon’s only loss of the year.

“It reminded of the last game, but I think this was an even better game for teams because we both continued to score,” Bow Coach Lyndsey Cook said. “And this game was on turf, it was fast, it was a championship type of game.”

“That is a really great team, and the only team I didn’t want to face was Bow,” Lebanon Coach Debra Beach said.

It was easy to see why Beach was worried about Bow when it took a sudden 2-0 lead late in the first half. The Falcons had just managed their first shots on Raider goalie Emily Foster (four saves) with about four minutes left in the half, but then maintained that pressure until it produced a penalty corner with two minutes on the clock. Lindsey Nerbonne controlled the initial pass off the corner, spun with the ball and fed Katie Lawson. Lawson, who was outstanding all game, then unleashed a rocket that Sierra Welch tipped past Foster for a 1-0 lead with 1:51 remaining before halftime.

The goal boosted the Falcons, and just moments later they were swarming the Lebanon cage again. Kelsey Mumford found some open space inside the area, got off a shot that skipped past Foster and gave Bow a 2-0 edge with 1:33 on the clock.

“If anybody let up for a second there was a goal going in,” Cook said.

That proved true just 23 seconds later when Lebanon struck back. Shauna Rankin-Byrne started the scoring play with a push up the right side and finished it with a diving putback off a rebound to make it 2-1.

“That goal was huge,” Beach said. “It sent the message to them that we weren’t down, they hadn’t kicked us down, and we we were still coming back.”

The goal certainly stung the Falcons, but they tried to forget about all the scoring during halftime anyway.

“We were always trying to be on the attack and keep being offensive and we tried to go back into the half like it was 0-0,” Cook said.

It did go back to a tie game 6:31 into the second half when Lebanon’s Megan Willeman sent a bounding shot past Bow goalie Amy Zahensky (nine saves) to make it 2-2. The Falcons responded immediately with an offensive surge that lasted until Nerbonne blasted home a shot off a penalty corner to give the Falcons a 3-2 lead with 11:55 to play. It was another great moment in what has been a season, and career, full of special moments for Nerbonne.

“Lindsey is so unselfish with the ball, she’s always trying to keep the team encouraged, she’s humble, she never puts anyone down and the girls love her,” Cook said. “She’s a great captain and a great player.”

Despite the late deficit, the quality of opponent and the stakes, however, the Raiders didn’t panic after Nerbonne’s blast.

“They were fine because they know can score,” Beach said of her team. “All season long being behind hasn’t been a problem. They don’t worry about going down a goal or who scores first, they just worry about who has the greater number at the end.”

The tying goal came with 6:30 left in regulation on a long shot from Taylor Friedman, who only minutes earlier was smacked (inadvertently) by a follow-through on a Nerbonne swing. Both teams had chances in the final minutes of regulation, but both goalies came up with saves and Bow’s Mikayla Allen just missed scoring when her tough-angle shot rolled wide.

Lebanon’s Perryman looked like she had created too tough of an angle on her game-winning shot, and she looked like she may have been outside the area, as well. But the sophomore released the ball in time, slapping it across her body and inside the far post to give Lebanon the win.

“It was a good season for all of us,” said Cook, who is in her first year as coach. “We just wish we could have made it to the end.”