LACONIA – Coe-Brown senior defenseman Joey Alie was injured for the Division III state championship. Like many of the Bears’ seniors, for those who helped build a winning culture and led the team to its first state title game in program history, the loss to Plymouth hurt.

The game did not go as planned. The top-seeded, previously undefeated Bears (17-1) trailed the No. 2 Plymouth Bobcats (15-2) at halftime, 4-3. Despite equalizing in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats pulled away and won it all, 7-5.

“Remember this feeling, what this feels like. It sucks,” Alie said he told the underclassmen after the game. “But, this is what fires us up. We come back harder next year.”

He reminded them of all the hard work it took to get to the championship, and that they will have to do it all again and more to return.

Both goalies played solid games and kept the score close. Coe-Brown senior goalie Jack Matson had seven saves by half and kept his team in the game until the very end with 12 in total. 

On the other side of the field, the Bears’ offense was stunted and struggled to find its characteristic rhythm, even though the Bobcats drew five penalties throughout the game. Coe-Brown’s offense was held to its second-lowest goal total of the season in the biggest game of its season.

The Bobcats caused havoc on the Bears’ midfield by winning face-offs, generating turnovers with strong stick checks and maintaining possession to stay ahead. Plymouth’s head coach, Glenn Mausolf, explained that his team wanted to put the pressure on early and lock it down, and it worked as planned. 

The two schools had not faced each other in the regular season, and according to Bears head coach Tony DePalma, his team was just outmatched physically in the final game. “They just had energy today ... and it really showed in the fifty-fifty balls. That really showed in key moments of the game. The credit goes to them,” he said.

They went back and forth, but Plymouth just seemed to have a slight edge throughout the better part of three quarters. The game remained a low-scoring affair headed into the fourth quarter, as the Bears trailed, 5-4.

Freshman attacker Glenn Papineau led Coe-Brown in shots and scored one goal, while senior midfielders Liam White and Ryan Rodler scored one and two goals, respectively. 

Rodler was similarly torn up over the loss – his last in a Bears uniform. But as one of the leading seniors on the team, he was proud of what he and his teammates accomplished.

 “I think the biggest thing is that Coe-Brown lacrosse has arrived, man. We’re here, and we’re here to stay. This is a serious bunch of boys you’re looking at, and we don’t mean to leave anytime soon,” Rodler said. “These boys are going to plan to be back and they’re going to be back again.”

The large crowd of Bears fans, some of whom had joined after the school’s varsity softball state championship appearance in Plymouth, kept cheering for every small advantage their team got, and urged its boys to keep fighting. 

The first taste of a Division III Boys’ Lacrosse State Championship for Coe-Brown was bitter through 39 minutes, still searching for its first-ever lead. 

Finally, with 8:50 remaining in the fourth quarter, senior attacker Gil Bean equalized on a chaotic play in the circle, which brought fans to their feet as the crowd chanted, “CBNA! CBNA!”

The tie did not last much longer, as Plymouth roared back with two more goals to close out the game and walked away victorious. Bobcats senior attacker Nolan Galvin scored the seventh, and his fourth on the night, to claim victory for his team.

Sometimes, losing after making it all the way is what you need to be prepared to win it all, DePalma explained. The gauntlet run by the Bears was difficult, but now they know what it takes to get to a state championship.

“We are a young team, and I think this gives us invaluable experience to grow. We expect to be back next year, we hope to be back every year,” he said.

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com