BEDFORD – Bow High field hockey got the rematch it wanted and hunted for all year. Nearly 365 days since losing to Souhegan in last season’s Division II championship, the Falcons held a shot at redemption on Saturday night.
Undefeated and top-ranked Souhegan beat three Division I teams and outscored opponents 69-12 in 2026. No. 2 Bow, the underdog, hadn’t found a way to beat the Sabers in the regular season but was otherwise the most dominant field hockey program in the division, with back-to-back title-game appearances aligning with an extremely talented foe.
The defending champions proved to still be the best this time around, however, and defeated Bow, 2-1, in the D-II final at Bedford High School.
“We play a different style of game from them, and things just didn’t fall our way with that style of game,” Bow coach Sarah Vaughn said.
Bow would need something special to do what had proven yet difficult to date. It was made harder by the fact that Souhegan took a commanding lead early.
Souhegan set its foundation 10 minutes into the game. Senior Oriannah Dart assisted her younger sister, sophomore Mariellah, on the Sabers’ second penalty corner attempt of the game. All night, the two sisters were tricky to stop as they tried different trick-play set pieces to try to fool the defense.
Bow (16-3-0) held the Sabers (17-0-2) at bay in the second quarter and limited their chances with smart play out of the circle. But coming out of halftime, Mariellah Dart assisted Ella Russell for Souhegan’s second goal and 2-0 lead.
Souhegan’s two-goal advantage was too much for the Falcons, even if Bow came close in the end.
Officials dished out four cards for foul play — three of them concurrent — to Souhegan, but Bow still couldn’t capitalize. Finally, the Falcons gained life when sophomore Ainsley Herrick grabbed a rebound after a save on a shot by junior Peyton Vaughn. Herrick played it smart and gave the ball some lift to put it out of reach of the shifting Souhegan goalkeeper.
Even down to the last minute, Bow fought to stay alive, but the Falcons did not get a shot off as the clock ticked to zero. Souhegan celebrated.
Bow is graduating seven seniors: Madelyn Hebert, Kaylee Jacques, Shire Kelley, Cadence Malone, Aubrey Merrill, Gianna Trott and Vera Virta. Coach Vaughn commended their efforts throughout their varsity careers and hopes they left with pride in what they accomplished.
“Athletics is about building relationships, work ethic, memories and good sportsmanship, so we take the winning out of it,” Vaughn said. “They achieved all of the other most important factors.”