Wearing masks, playing up, facing undefeated opponents – none of it has slowed down the Bow girls’ lacrosse team this spring.
“It’s a weird year to have a very good team,” Falcons coach Chris Raabe said.
Bow is in Division III, but with schedules based on location instead of divisions as a health and safety measure, the Falcons have only played D-II schools so far this season, but they are a perfect 5-0 against those schools. That includes Tuesday’s 19-4 home win against Merrimack Valley (3-1), which won its first three games by an average of 12.3 goals per game.
Bow sophomore Alex Larabee finished with a game-high seven goals and one assist and junior Jess Chamberlin had four goals and two assists. Olivia Selleck (two goals, three assists), Barrie Guertin (two goals, assist) and Ava Kehas (two goals) also had good days for the prolific Falcons offense. Amelia Coe, Gracie Bresson, Stephanie Gosselin and goalie Meaghan Danahy (five saves) led the Bow defense.
“That was some of the best goaltending we’ve seen all season,” MV coach Katherine Stearns said of Danahy.
Bow went to eight straight finals from 2002-09 and won four of them, but the Falcons haven’t been back since. This looks like the kind of team that could make a deep postseason run, but its hard to get a good feel on the division when the teams are not playing each other.
“We’re super happy to be playing, but it would be nice to just be in Division III and see where you stand,” said Raabe, who is in her 21st season as Bow’s head coach. “Nobody really knows who’s who, but that could be super exciting come playoff time.”
The Falcons will play two games against Kearsarge, a traditional D-III power, next week, and they close their season with two games against D-III Hillsboro-Deering. But the Hillcats are in their first season of varsity lacrosse and likely won’t give Bow much of a challenge. The D-III matchup that is the closest and might be the most competitive for the Falcons would be against neighboring Hopkinton (4-0), but they aren’t scheduled to meet during the regular season.
Anya Dinger (two goals), Alexa Prewitt (goal) and Emily Koufos (goal) scored for Merrimack Valley. Aurora Rollins and Kileigh Davis split time in net.
“The girls played well, but they did get discouraged,” Stearns said. “That can happen, but you just have to say, ‘What are we going to work on for Thursday’s game (when MV hosts Bow),’ and don’t give up. And they may have gotten discouraged, but they did not give up, so that was good to see.”
Kearsarge 18, Coe-Brown 7
Key players: Kearsarge — Megan Norris (7 goals, 2 assists), Caroline Camp (4 goals), Ellie Camp (2 goals), Libby Angus (2 goals), Tori Montagna (goal), Devin Phyllides (goal), Ellie Scharpf (goal), Abby Nadeau (defense), Adi Whitty (defense)
Records: Kearsarge 2-1; Coe-Brown 0-5
Concord 10, Souhegan 6
Key players: Concord — Sam Nichol (4 goals), Danny O’Brien (2 goals, 3 assists), Joey Tarbell (3 goals), Eaton Tarbell (2 goals), Nate Doherty (assist)
Highlights: Nichol scored the first two goals for Concord and the Tide had a 3-1 lead after the first quarter at Memorial Field. Souhegan responded in the second and things were tied at halftime, 4-4, but Concord’s defense held the Sabers scoreless in the third quarter and the Tide took a 7-4 lead behind goals from both Tarbells and Nichol.
Records: Concord 3-4; Souhegan 1-6
Bow 12, Merrimack Valley 10
Key players: Bow — Sam Ralston (2 goals, Brodie O’Neil (4 goals), Andrew Robbins (3 goals), Ethan Tobler (goal), Ben Berube (goal); Merrimack Valley — Noah Miller (5 goals)
Highlights: Bow trailed for most of the game, but the Falcons got some timely saves and goals in transition to put together a six-goal run and take their first lead early in the fourth quarter before holding on for the win in Penacook.
Records: Bow 3-2; Merrimack Valley 2-3
Hopkinton 11, Hillsboro-Deering 3
Key players: Hopkinton — Hayden Lynch (3 goals, assist), Aidan Burns (2 goals, 2 assists, 7-for-7 faceoffs), Sam Brown (goal, 3 assists), John Despres (2 goals, assist), Ethan Molnar (goal, assist, 5-for-6 faceoffs), Steven Reddy (great defense, 4 GB, 2 caused turnovers), John Sullivan (great defense, 5 GB), Eli Standefer (6 saves, 0.857 save %); Hillsboro-Deering — Dylan Barrett (goal), Rylee Goulette (goal), Jacob Davies (goal), Jared O’Connor (23 saves)
Highlights: Hopkinton had an 8-0 lead by halftime and controlled the ball for most of the game. H-D did a nice job finding the net in transition, and its zone defense forced the Hawks to shoot from outside.
Coach’s quote: “We went into today’s game focusing on our offensive output and getting a lot of movement while controlling the ball. I think we did just that. We stayed on their hands on defense and pushed the ball well in transition. Some new players to the team stepped up all over the field. We are excited to have another local Division III opponent in H-D, and look forward to seeing their program grow.” — Hopkinton’s Deacon Blue
“We are aiming to be better everyday this season and so far we are doing that, including today with no subs.” – H-D’s Howie Roever
Records: Hopkinton 3-2; Hillsboro-Deering 0-4
Concord 18, Goffstown 4, 5 inn.
Key players: Concord — Sarah Taylor (3-for-5, 2 HR, 4 runs, 5 RBI), Lillian Rienstra (2-for-2, HR, 2 BB, 2 RBI), Elizabeth Blinn (2-for-3, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, run), Maddy Wachter (2-for-5, double, 3 RBI, run), Delaney Duford (2-for-4, 2 runs, SB), Kyleigh Gray (2-for-3, BB, run), Alice Rosenberg (5 IP, W, 6 H, 4 ER; hit, 2 BB), Olivia Crawford (4 runs), Kennedy Ramos (3 runs), Libby Brown (1-for-1), Grace MacDonald (1-for-1, RBI) Goffstown — Leah Berdeen (HR), Lillian Trnka (HR)
Highlights: The teams combined for five home runs, with Taylor bashing a pair and Rienstra clouting one in a perfect day at the plate to lead Concord’s 16-hit attack. The Tide put up a crooked number in each of the first four innings – including scoring eight in the third – to end the game early.
Coach’s quote: “The bats did all the talking today. These kids are a lot of fun to watch!” — Concord assistant coach Sandy Smith
Records: Concord 7-1; Goffstown 3-4
Savanna Andersen scattered three hits and struck out five, and she had a triple and two RBI at the plate, to help the Concord JV softball team to a 14-2 win at Goffstown. Alison Dupuis (two doubles, home run, three runs, three RBI) led the offensive explosion for the Tide and got help from Lily Kazanowski (hit, run, RBI) and Grace Smith (hit, run, RBI), while Sarah Jenness was outstanding at first base to anchor the defense.
Amelia Bockius, Skylar Clay and Thea O’Rourke led the Hopkinton Middle School softball team to a home win against Hillsboro-Deering.
The Concord Crush U14 girls’ team defeated Hampton Riptide, 13-8. Crush goalie Maddie Beauregard played well and made multiple kick saves; Amelia Crumrine and Lila Doherty led the offense and moved the ball well to create scoring opportunities, and Leah Foulds anchored a solid defensive effort.
The Irish Electric Pirates defeated Banks Chevrolet, 11-7, in Concord Northeast Majors action. Chase Crowell hit a grand slam for Irish Electric and Bryce Nichols had a hit and pitched well. Isaac Black had two hits for Banks and Cam O’Rourke had a hit and pitched well.