After losing to Merrimack Valley on Tuesday in Penacook, the John Stark girls’ lacrosse team came out with a different energy to open Friday’s rematch against the Pride in Weare. The strong start kept the Generals within a goal in the first half, but the second half was a different story.
The MV defense locked down after halftime, shutting out Stark and leading the Pride to a 15-7 win.
“The team defense continues to learn and grow with each game,” MV coach Katherine Stearns said.
Friday’s second half defensive effort was led by Pride seniors Emily Koufos (three goals, four draw controls) and Kaylee Magoon (two goals, assist, five ground balls) taking charge of the draw controls; Caitlyn Fortier (two goals) creating pressure in the midfield; and Alexa Prewitt (two goals, five forced turnovers) derailing the Stark clear before it ever had a chance to get going. Fortier, Prewitt, Magoon and Koufos were also causing the same kind of havoc in Tuesday’s game, and Prewitt had three goals and two assists in that contest.
Anya Dinger finished with a team-high three goals on Friday after netting a pair in Tuesday’s game. Colby Magoon had two goals and three forced turnovers on Friday, and Sarah Bodien finished with two assists. Those three all had two goals in Tuesday’s game. MV’s Abby Forbes scored one goal in both games against Stark.
“Teamwork and optimism continues to improve. Only two weeks left in the regular season and our remaining games (two against Hopkinton and two against Pembroke Academy) will be very competitive,” Stearns said.
The Generals got three goals from Kaylee Montgomery and trailed by just one, 6-5, at halftime. Molly Courturier, Olivia Dame, Riley Davis and Emma Dobbins each scored for the Generals, while Helen Connor was strong in goal. Stark finished its regular season with two games against undefeated Bow and two against Kearsarge.
Hopkinton 8,
Derryfield 7
Key players: Hopkinton — Ana Miller (10 saves) Katelyn Bouchard (great defense), Annie Higginbotham (2 goals, 2 assists), Rose Finlayson (2 goals), Hannah Hoyt (2 goals), Katie Brown (2 goals)
Highlights: After losing at Derryfield, 15-6, on Tuesday, the Hawks turned the tables on Friday at home. Hopkinton built a 6-2 halftime lead, as opposed to three days earlier when they trailed 9-1 at halftime. Miller made a game-saving save in the final minute and the Hawks’ defensive unit of Olivia Cressy, Madeleine Maughn and Francie Trafton was excellent as Hopkinton handed the Cougars their first loss of the season.
Coach’s quote: “Assistant coach Schuster and I could not be more proud of the Hawks today. They took what we worked on the last two days in practice and completely turned around the game. Today the girls played with more intelligence, poise, and with more exact execution than they did Tuesday.” — Hopkinton’s Mike Zahn
Records: Hopkinton 5-1; Derryfield 7-1
Derryfield 16, Hopkinton 5
Key players: Derryfield — Chili Cabot (4 goals, assist), Chas Dean (4 goals, 1 assist); Hopkinton — Hayden Lynch (2 goals), Sam Brown (goal, assist), Aidan Burns (goal, 5 GB, 6/12 faceoffs), Steven Reddy (great defense, 7 GB, 5 caused turnovers), Cam Bassett (great defense, 3 GB, 3 CT), Vince Waddell (great defense, 3 GB, 2 CT), John Sullivan (great defense, 2 GB, 2 CT), Danny Lee (12 saves)
Highlights: Derryfield took an early lead of 9-1 after the first quarter and upped it to 12-2 by halftime. The Hawks found their groove in the second half and almost kept things even with a second half score of 4-3. The game was fast-paced with a lot of back-and-forth transition, groundballs and faceoffs.
Coach’s quote: “We are happy to have improved from our first contest against a talented Derryfield squad (a 17-3 loss on Tuesday). Our adjustments going into the second game helped us to pressure on defense and find good opportunities on offense. I am proud of how we stepped up to the challenge and we are definitely stronger moving forward.” — Hopkinton’s Deacon Blue
Records: Derryfield 10-1; Hopkinton 4-4
Concord 6, Nashua South 1
Key players: Concord — Alice Rosenberg (7 IP, W, 1 ER, 5 H, 8 K), Sarah Taylor (RBI triple, run), Delaney Duford (triple, run), Elizabeth Blinn (double, walk, run), Lillian Rienstra (walk, SAC bunt, RBI), Maddy Wachter (RBI SAC fly), Grace MacDonald (RBI SAC fly), Quincy Bolduc (run, SB), Olivia Crawford (run, SB), Kennedy Ramos (run, SB) Nashua South — Natalie Ward (13K)
Highlights: It took the Tide a while to adjust from the slow pitching it had seen the last two games to the spins from Ward, but Concord broke through for six runs in the sixth to pull away. Rienstra’s perfectly placed suicide squeeze got things rolling. Taylor’s slicing triple and a pair of solidly struck sacrifice flies gave Rosenberg more than enough run support.
Coach’s quote: “That was a gritty win on a day when we struggled at the plate. But we found a way to get it done.” — Concord assistant coach Sandy Smith
Records: Concord 11-2; Nashua South 3-9
Hopkinton 14, Trinity 0, 5 inn.
Key players: Hopkinton — Jordyn Barrett (5 IP, W, 2 H, 2K), Kyanna Landry (3-for-3, 2 runs, double, RBI), Megan Kimball-Rhines (1-for-2, 2 runs, 3 RBI)
Highlights: The Hawks held a 5-0 lead going into the fourth and then ended the game early behind two-hit shutout from Barrett.
Coach’s quote: “Jordyn pitched well today and we got a lot of players on base.” — Hopkinton’s Dan Meserve
Records: Hopkinton 8-0; Trinity 3-5
Pittsfield 11, Belmont 7
Key players: Pittsfield — Casey Anderson (5.1 IP, W, 4 H, 1 ER, 6 K, 4 BB) Jessie MacGlashing, Abraham Marcotte, Mike Casey all had multiple hit games
Highlights: The Pittsfield offense was hot early as Jessie MacGlashing, Abraham Marcotte and Mike Casey all had multiple hits and the Panthers took an early 8-1 lead. Belmont rallied late, but Pittsfield hung to the lead to give Anderson, just a freshman, another win.
Coach’s quote: “Very happy the way Casey pitched tonight and how our young guys stepped up in a tough situation. Still lots to work on.” — Pittsfield’s Rob Stockman
Records: Pittsfield 7-3; Belmont 5-5
Concord 6, Manchester Memorial 3
Key players: Concord — David Bean (8-6 win at No. 3), Tyler Coskren (8-4 win at No. 4), Knox Brown (8-1 win at No. 5), Carter Pratt (8-0 win at No. 6) Manchester Memorial — Todd Tran (8-2 win at No. 1), Tiago Mendes (8-2 win at No. 2)
Highlights: After taking a 4-2 lead in singles, the Crimson Tide won its third straight match by taking two of the three doubles contests. Daniel Pedersen and Pratt teamed up for a 9-8 (7-4) win at second doubles while Coskren and Brown won , 8-0, at third doubles.
Coach’s quote: “Playing on their Senior Day, a veteran Memorial team brought far more energy and passion than we did on the upper courts. But the lower end of our lineup has made tremendous strides and they were the difference today. David Bean played his best singles match of the season to outlast Memorial’s super-steady number three and turn the tide definitively in our favor. ” — Concord’s Dave Page
Records: Concord 3-7; Manchester Memorial 2-7
Concord 8, Manchester Memorial 1
Key players: Concord — Eleanor Malette, Leila Spires, Joanna Dustin, Kristin Womack, Laura Houle, Emily Ahlfeld
Records: Concord 4-5