HENNIKER – The goals were pouring in and the John Stark girls’ lacrosse team scrambled to slow Winnacunnet’s attack.
The Generals held a one-goal lead entering the second half, but that was far behind them with five and a half minutes left and a six-goal deficit staring them in the face. That’s when Winnacunnet midfielder Ali McNamara blazed toward the net and collided with Stark netminder Sam Porter. McNamara absorbed a hard upper-body blow, but the shot she fired before the collision trickled into the net as she hit the ground.
Nobody was injured in the play and any hope the Generals had of assembling a comeback seemed to be lost. The Warriors scored another pair of goals before the final horn and handed John Stark a 12-3 loss at New England College on Monday.
It was a tale of two halves in the truest sense. John Stark (9-4) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 7:46 of the game, with goals scored by Hannah Chartier, Jill Douzanis and Olivia Sohl. Winnacunnet gathered for a timeout and scored twice in a two-minute span, cutting the Generals’ lead to a single goal.
The teams traded scoring opportunities through the final 12 minutes of the half, but the momentum shifted to the Warriors (13-1), who could have earned a lead at halftime had it not been for some timely saves by Porter. The sophomore finished with nine saves in all.
“The great saves were saving us when Winnacunnet had opportunities,” Stark Coach John Warner said. “But they started winning draws and sometimes it’s all about the draws here.”
Winnacunnet owned the faceoff circle from the beginning of the second half on, and finished with 11 in all to Stark’s three. The Warriors, led by senior attacker Meg Dzialo with five goals, notched three goals in the first 11 minutes to gain a 5-3 lead and did not regress from there.
“They just found double cuts and picked through our defense and they were on fire,” John Stark captain Mackenzie Nase said. “They scored a couple of big ones to start the half and put us on our heels a little bit.”
It was the first meeting of the year between two of the premiere teams Division II and has the potential to be a preview of another meeting in the playoffs. The only team with one loss this spring, Winnacunnet added its fourth straight win since falling to Portsmouth (13-2) back on May 13.
John Stark was riding a five-game win streak before Monday’s game as it fights for position in the upper tier of D-II. For now, Stark will focus on its final two games of the season with Spaulding and Manchester Memorial before the tournament begins on May 31.
“We’re all working hard and just melding better as a team,” Nase said. “(This game) definitely exposed a lot of our weaknesses that we will work on at practice and in the coming games.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3339, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)
Pinkerton 20, Concord 9
Key players: Concord – Becca Proulx (3 goals), Delana Erickson (3 goals), Brenna Vandersea (goal), Nicole Toler (goal), Olivia Branch (goal)
Highlights/key moments: Fabi McLeod made several saves in net and defender Madysen Audet played well in transition, but the Astros topped the Tide to snap a four-game losing skid.
Coach’s quote: “This is the best we have done against Pinkerton in awhile. The girls played great together. We had awesome transitions and good opportunities.” – Concord’s Steph Johnson
Records: Pinkerton 11-5; Concord 7-6
Spaulding 10, Merrimack Valley 9
Key players: MV – Talia Dinger (3 goals, great draw control), Brannigan McNeil (2 goals, assist), Abby Grandmaison (2 goals), Kallie Fisher (2 goals), Ellie Acquilano (assist), Chloe Rattee (assist)
Highlights/key moments: The Raiders won their first game of the season at the hands of the Pride.
Records: Spaulding 1-14; MV 3-9
Coe-Brown 11, Stevens 4
Key players: Coe-Brown – Ben Heyliger (3 goals), Ben Watson (3 goals), Mitchell Wade (goal), Zac Sheehan (16 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears received goals from six different players, extending their 4-1 lead at halftime by netting seven second-half goals in the season finale.
Records: Coe-Brown 4-10; Stevens 0-12
Concord 9, Nashua North 1
Key players: Concord – Griffin Gilbert (6 IP, 3 H, 7 K), Ryan Tessier (3 hits, 2 runs), Zach Miles (2 hits, 2 runs), Noah Wachter (2 hits, 2 RBI), Kurtis Stadnicki (2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Concord did its damagne early, scoring one in the first, two in the second and two more in the fourth. The Tide put the game out of reach by plating four runs in the sixth.
Coach’s quote: “Gilbert pitched great on a tough night to pitch. We got some big hits early and then were able to have a big inning in the sixth to put things away.” – Concord’s Scott Owen.
Records: Concord 12-5; Nashua North 7-9
St. Thomas 11, Laconia 0, 5 inn.
Key players: Laconia – Jake Nelson (hit)
Highlights/key moments: The Sachems only managed one hit off of the Saints, who won their third straight.
Records: St. Thomas 8-5; Laconia 2-11
Merrimack Valley 5, Kennett 2
Key players: MV – Alan Thompson (4 IP, 1 R), Kevin Barton (1-3, 3 RBI, run)
Highlights/key moments: Barton’s double down the left-field line plated two runs to give the Pride a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning.
Coach’s quote: “Huge win to put us into the postseason discussion. Thursday at St. Thomas is (like) a playoff game for us.” – MV’s Sean Wheeler
Records: MV 7-8; Kennett 2-13
Franklin 9, Bishop Brady 3, 5 inn.
Key players: Franklin – Harrison Clark (5 IP, 3 R), Corey Nelson (double, 2 RBI), Riley Thurber (2-for-3, 3 RBI); Bishop Brady – Alex Andrews (triple, RBI, run), Kevin Anderson (2 hits, double), Nick Grimbilas (double, RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Franklin led 5-1 thanks to a three-run single from Thurber in the third, but Brady scored two runs in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit. Franklin pushed four runs across the plate in poor field conditions and the game was called after five innings.
Coaches’ quotes: “Putting up nine runs made the bad weather tolerable and gave (Clark) room to relax on the mound. Brady is tough to beat so it was nice to sweep them this year and move them under us in the playoff race.” – Franklin’s David Joyce
“It’s unfortunate the game was played in horrible field conditions. It was still a decent ballgame at 5-3 but then the field just turned to slop and it was called after five innings.” – Bishop Brady’s Skip Foy
Records: Franklin 6-8; Bishop Brady 5-10
Hopkinton 1,
Wilton-Lyndeborough 0, 8 inn.
Key players: Hopkinton – Sam Crawford (8 IP, 109 pitches, 10 K, 1 BB, 1 H; 3-for-4, double, RBI), Sam Rawson (run)
Highlights/key moments: In the top of the eighth inning, freshman Colby Marshall made a fully extended diving catch in right field to save a run and fellow freshman Crawford drove home the game-winning run with a walk-off single in the bottom of the frame.
Coach’s quote: “Crawford mixed it up. He was great on the mound. I’m proud of the guys, they battled. It was an old fashioned pitchers’ duel. This basically secures us a homefield playoff game.” – Hopkinton’s Dave Chase
Records: Hopkinton 9-5; Wilton-Lyndeborough 7-8
John Stark 18, Trinity 1
Key players: Stark – Delani Dowst (2 doubles, 2 runs), TaylorMcDonald (3 hits, 2 runs), Tyler Descoteau (3 IP, 1 H, 3 K)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals ended their brief three-game skid by posting double-digit runs on a struggling Trinity team.
Records: Stark 5-9; Trinity 2-12
Wilton-Lyndeborough 6,
Hopkinton 5
Key players: Hopkinton – Maddy McCluskey (3-for-4, run, 2 RBI), Katie Meserve (3-for-4, double), Gabby Lajeunesse (2-for-4, double, 2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: The Hawks and Warriors went back and forth all afternoon, but Wilton plated the game-winning run in the top of the seventh.
Coach’s quote: “Tough game to lose on Senior Day but we did some good things. It was a playoff-type intense game.” – Hopkinton’s Dan Meserve
Records: Wilton-Lyndeborough 9-6; Hopkinton 11-4