Portsmouth's Sean Miller chases after Bedford's James Caparell during Saturday's Division III championship game.

Here’s a look at what went on this weekend in Week 12 of New Hampshire High School football.

Division I Final

No. 2 Exeter 23, No. 1 Pinkerton 13

• Exeter stuns Pinkerton; wins Division I title – New Hampshire Football Report
• Laurent’s legwork gives Exeter upper hand – Portsmouth Herald
• Exeter stuns No. 1 Pinkerton – Union Leader
• Exeter upsets Pinkerton – New Hampshire Notebook

Division II Final

No. 1 Bishop Guertin 16, No. 2 Dover 7

• Bishop Guertin wins 7th DII title in 8 seasons – Nashua Telegraph
• Once again, it’s BG at the top – Union Leader
• BG football wins 4th straight D-II title – New Hampshire Notebook
• Dover falls one win short – Foster’s Daily Democrat

Division III Final

No. 4 Portsmouth 41, No. 2 Bedford 6

• Portsmouth rolls over Bedford to win D2 title – NH-HighSchoolSports.com
• Portsmouth wins first title in 30 years – Union Leader
• PHS routs Bedford for first football title since 1981 – Portsmouth Herald
• Portsmouth crushes Bedford in D-III title game – New Hampshire Notebook

Technorati Tags: Bedford, Bishop Guertin, Division I, Division II, Division III, Dover, Exeter, football, Pinkerton, playoffs, Portsmouth

Portsmouth's Billy Lane and Jack Mackey celebrate a touchdown during Saturday's game. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.

BEDFORD – Billy Lane ran for 128 yards and three touchdowns and the Portsmouth High School football team finally captured that elusive Division III title, beating Bedford 41-6 on Saturday.

It was the Clippers’ fourth straight title game appearance – the previous three ended in losses to Souhegan – and fifth in six years, and the first title for Portsmouth since 1981, when it won the Division I title.

Lane scored two of his touchdowns in the first half as No. 4 Portsmouth (8-3) built up a 20-0 lead and the Clippers’ defense held No. 2 Bedford to minus-5 yards of offense in the first 24 minutes. The Bulldogs finished with minus-63 yards rushing, thanks to five Portsmouth sacks of quarterback James Caparell.

While Caparell was 16 of 30 for 231 yards and a touchdown, he was forced out of the pocket several times and was plagued by a number of drops. Bedford (7-4) got a big game from Brian Collins, who caught seven passes for 132 yards, but not much else offensively.

“We had a real hard time moving the ball, obviously, and they were bringing a lot of pressure,” Bedford coach Kurt Hines said. “We just couldn’t stop them. The pressure they brought with four down linemen and the backers, that was huge. They did a real good job.”

Bedford's James Caparell tries to get away from the pass rush during Saturday's game.

Bill Hartmann was 10 of 17 for 133 yards and a score for Portsmouth, while Peter Hamblett had a touchdown rushing and another score receiving.

“I think the kids really wanted it,” Portsmouth coach Bill Murphy said. “I think we had something to prove. The ball got rolling and when the ball got rolling, everybody fed off each other. I didn’t expect that. I hoped to win, but I didn’t expect that we’d be able to do as well as we did.”

Portsmouth (8-3) got off to a slow start, as both of its first two drives ended in a lost fumble. Bedford (7-4) let the Clippers off the hook both times, getting nothing out of the takeaways.

The game was scoreless in the second quarter when Portsmouth cranked up the pressure on defense. A third-down sack of Caparell and a short punt gave the Clippers the ball at Bedford’s 41, and on the first play, Lane took the option pitch from Hartmann and went the distance to put the Clippers up 7-0.

Another third-down sack forced a Bedford punt, but the Bulldogs appeared to get a break when Hamblett fumbled the fair catch and they recovered. But an inadvertent whistle before the fumble forced a replay of the down, and this time, Collins couldn’t get the punt off, giving Portsmouth the ball at the Bulldogs’ 16-yard line.

Lane scored again on the first play to make it 14-0, and two Bedford fumbles led to field goals by Charlie Duprey, making it 20-0 Portsmouth at halftime.

Bedford’s offense finally started to move in the third quarter, but after the Bulldogs drove down to the Portsmouth 32, Caparell was strip-sacked and Portsmouth Ricky Holt recovered to end the drive.

The Bulldogs forced a three-and-out and got in the end zone on a 36-yard pass from Caparell to Collins, but an injury to kicker Mike Gardiner forced Bedford to go for two. Caparell’s run came up short, making it 20-6 Portsmouth with 4:39 left in the third.

The Clippers answered right back on Hartmann’s 14-yard scoring pass to Hamblett and Portsmouth poured it on in the fourth quarter.

“They’ve gone through disappointment a number of times and they’ve worked hard for this,” Murphy said. “This is something that we’ve really wanted and we’ve come that close. We got over the hump. Once we got the ball rolling, we fed off the emotion.”

Technorati Tags: Bedford, Division III, football, playoffs, Portsmouth

The Bedford defense brings down Hollis/Brookline's David Caponigro during Saturday's game.

Here’s a look at what went on this weekend in Week 11 of New Hampshire High School football.

Division I Semifinals

No. 1 Pinkerton 38, No. 4 Salem 20

• Pinkerton too much for game Salem – Union Leader
• Pinkerton surges late, returns to title game – Eagle Tribune

No. 2 Exeter 17, No. 3 Nashua South 7

• South falls in Round 2 – Nashua Telegraph
• Grant runs wild in Exeter semifinal win – Portsmouth Herald
• Blue Hawks ride the Grant Express into title game – New Hampshire Notebook
• Grant’s 266 rush yards pace Exeter – Union Leader

Division II Semifinals

No. 1 Bishop Guertin 29, No. 4 Timberlane 26

• BG punches another title game ticket – Union Leader
• Fahey leads BG into DII final with game-winning call – Nashua Telegraph
• Guertin will play for state championship – Lowell Sun

No. 2 Dover 24, No. 3 Spaulding 21

• Last-second field goal sends Dover to D-II title game – Foster’s Daily Democrat
• Soph’s super kick lifts Dover into title game – Union Leader
• Dover kicks last-second FG, beats Spaulding in D-II semis – New Hampshire Notebook

Division III Semifinals

No. 4 Portsmouth 34, No. 1 Goffstown 8

• Senior carries Clippers to title game – Portsmouth Herald
• Clipper defense stands tall in semifinal win – Portsmouth Herald
• Portsmouth hopes fourth time is a charm – Union Leader

No. 2 Bedford 21, No. 3 Hollis/Brookline 20

• Bedford sneaks past Hollis/Brookline to reach D3 football final – NH-HighSchoolSports.com
• Conversion makes difference for Bedford – Union Leader

Division IV Final

No. 1 Trinity 30, No. 2 Plymouth 14

• Trinty wears down Plymouth – Union Leader
• Trinty wins D-IV title, beats Plymouth – New Hampshire Notebook

Division V Final

No. 1 St. Thomas 49, No. 3 Windham 28

• Top-seeded Saints turn back gritty Windham – Eagle Tribune
• Monette, Rogers lead undefeated Saints to D-V title – Foster’s Daily Democrat
• St. Thomas Aquinas reigns – Union Leader

Division VI Final

No. 1 Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough 29, No. 2 Epping-Newmarket 7

• It’s perfection for ILM – Union Leader
• Epping-Newmarket falls short in Division VI final – Portsmouth Herald

Technorati Tags: Division I, Division II, Division III, Division IV, Division V, Division VI, football, playoffs, roundup

Bedford's James Caparell tries to get away from Hollis/Brookline's David Caponigro during Saturday's game.

BEDFORD – James Caparell ran for two touchdowns and Dylan York returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score as the Bedford High School football team got past Hollis/Brookline 21-20 in Saturday’s Division III semifinal.

The win puts the No. 2  Bulldogs (7-3) in the championship game for the first time, where they’ll face No. 4 Portsmouth (7-3), a 34-8 winner over top-seeded Goffstown.

Caparell scored on runs of 1- and 27-yards and York’s kickoff return came right after the No. 3 Cavaliers (7-3) had taken a 14-7 lead on an interception return by Max Friedman in the second quarter. York’s touchdown tied the game at 14 and wiped out any momentum the Cavs had gained.

“You tell them the best way to take the wind out of their sails is to take one to the house right after they score,” Bedford coach Kurt Hines said.

Bedford opened the second half with a 57-yard scoring drive that ended in Caparell’s second rushing touchdown of the day, but H/B answered with a 16-play, 84-yard drive that ate up 7:31 of the third quarter and ended on a 1-yard run by Sean Connors with 52 seconds left in the quarter.

But H/B coach Milt Robinson elected to go for two and the Cavs came up short on the play, trailing 21-20.

H/B's Max Friedman breaks up a pass to Bedford's Brian Collins.

With the way the Cavs defense was playing, and the fact that H/B had missed an extra point earlier in the game, Robinson decided that he could take the gamble and go for two points and the lead at that stage.

“I believed in my offensive line, which is what this team was built on, and I wanted to take the lead at that point,” he said. “I’m an aggressive coach and I go for it. I thought our offensive line could push us those 2 ½ yards.”

After getting pushed around by Bedford in a regular-season loss, H/B went back to its the running game. The Bulldogs held the Cavs to just 77 yards on the ground in the first meeting, but gave up 214 yards rushing this time, 155 of which came from Colin Pellerin.

“They started to hit us with those outside runs,” Hines said. “They’re a good program and they did a great job. We knew we’d be in for a battle.”

The battle started early, as H/B took the opening kickoff and went 60 yards on 10 plays, going up 6-0 on a 2-yard run by Pellerin.

But the Cavs missed the extra point, and when Bedford found the end zone on a 1-yard run by Caparell early in the second quarter, the point after gave the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead.

H/B moved into Bedford territory on its next drive, but was forced to punt and Connors kick went out of bounds, giving the Bulldogs the ball at their own 19. A penalty and a 2-yard loss by Jordan Garron backed Bedford up to its own 7-yard line before H/B’s Max Friedman jumped a route, intercepted a Caparell pass and returned it 23 yards for a score. Pellerin got in the end zone on the conversion and the Cavs led 14-7 with 6:02 left in the first half.

But the lead wouldn’t last long, as Dylan York returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for the tying touchdown and the teams went into halftime knotted at 14.

“Letting them get a big play after we got a big play was tough,” Robinson said. “Letting them score on the first drive of the (second) half was tough.”

The Bulldogs were poised to put the game away late in the fourth quarter, getting a first down at the Cavs’ 11, but H/B’s defense made the stop and got the ball back at its own 26 with 1:55 to play.

Needing just to get in field goal range, the Cavs threw three incompletions, and on fourth down, quarterback Kyle Gervais was as he threw hit by Joe Thibeault, giving the ball back to Bedford.

“I told them (before the game), go out and have fun,” Robinson said. “That’s what we do this for. It’s a good football team and I’m sad for them that we’re not still playing. I’d like one more practice with these guys.”

As for Bedford, it picked up a win in its first playoff game and will host the division final Saturday at 1 p.m. against Portsmouth.

“It’s a dream come true,” Hines said.

Technorati Tags: Bedford, Brookline, Division III, football, Hollis, playoffs

Bedford's Erik Martel covers his face after scoring the only goal on Wednesday's Division II boys soccer final. The goal gave Bedford a 1-0 win over Lebanon.

Some history was made locally this fall. Three soccer teams won their respective division titles and the Hollis/Brookline volleyball team won Division I in its second season playing up. Bishop Guertin’s boys and girls cross country teams both came out on top of Division I, while Milford’s Courtney Hawkins won the Meet of Champions.

Go to the jump for a complete list of the champions of the fall.

Field Hockey

Division I: No. 4 Winnacunnet 1, No. 2 Manchester Memorial 0

• Warriors defend field hockey championship - Portsmouth Herald
• Winnacunnet just kept improving as season progressed – Portsmouth Herald
• Winnacunnet repeats as champs – Union Leader

Division II: No. 3 Bow 2, No. 4 Merrimack Valley 1

• Bow tops Merrimack Valley for title – Union Leader
• The moment arrives – Concord Monitor

Division III: No. 2 Derryfield 2, No. 5 Stevens 1 (OT)

• Derryfield takes crown in OT – Union Leader

Girls Soccer

Division I: No. 1 Exeter 4, No. 3 Concord 1

• Exeter extends dynasty – Union Leader
• A final loss, but plenty gained – Concord Monitor
• Exeter girls win 5th state title in 6 years – Portsmouth Herald

Division II: No. 1 Souhegan 2, No. 2 Hanover 1 (OT)

• Sabers top Marauders in OT – Milford Cabinet
• Souhegan wins title on super strike – Union Leader
• Souhegan girls get back on top – Nashua Telegraph

Division III: No. 1 Bow 2, No. 2 Campbell 1 (OT)

• Bow takes title on Duval’s OT goal – Concord Monitor
• Campbell’s title dreams fade away – Nashua Telegraph
• Bow secures elusive championship – Union Leader

Division IV: No. 1 Sunapee 2, No. 2 Littleton 1 (OT)

• Creative corner kick is title-winner for Sunapee – Union Leader
• Sunapee Lady Lakers win Division IV state soccer championship – InterTown Record

Boys Soccer

Division I: No. 1 Manchester Central 2, No. 2 Londonderry 1 (2OT)

• Londonderry falls in state final in 2-OT thriller – Eagle Tribune
• Masumboku corner kick wins title for Little Green – Union Leader

Division II: No. 1 Bedford 1, No. 2 Lebanon 0

• Late goal lifts upstart Bedford to first state title – Valley News
• Martel’s goal gives Bulldogs first title – Union Leader

Division III: No. 1 Bow 3, No. 15 Raymond 0

• Bow Falcons finish perfect season – Union Leader
• Bow concludes perfect season with the title – Concord Monitor

Division IV: No. 7 Wilton-Lyndeborough 2, No. 5 Sunapee 1

• A pair of champions – Milford Cabinet
• A sweet repeat – Monadnock Ledger Transcript
• Edmunds lifts Wilton-Lyndeborough – Union Leader

Volleyball

Division I: No. 2 Hollis/Brookline 3, No. 1 Merrimack 1

• Hollis/Brookline takes volleyball crown – Nashua Telegraph
• Hollis/Brookline takes title – Union Leader

Division II: No. 1 Gilford 3, No. 2 St. Thomas 1

• Gilford tops St. Thomas in volleyball final – Portsmouth Herald
• Gilford caps perfect season with state title – Laconia Citizen
• Simply perfect! – Gilford Steamer
• Persistence pays off for Gilford – Union Leader

Division III: No. 5 Moultonborough 3, No. 2 Farmington 2

• ‘Fearless’ Panthers made their mark on Division III – Laconia Citizen
• Farmington’s D-III title comeback comes up just short – Foster’s Daily Democrat
• Panthers bring it home – Meredith News

Cross Country

• BG wins boys, girls D-I championships – Nashua Telegraph
• Hawkins wins MOCs – Milford Cabinet

Technorati Tags: boys soccer, cross country, Division I, Division II, Division III, Division IV, field hockey, girls soccer, playoffs, volleyball

Hollis/Brookline and Bedford will meet in the Division III semifinals Saturday.

The high school football playoffs will begin on Saturday for Divisions I, II and III, and there were no surprises when the NHIAA released the pairings on Monday.

Pinkerton Academy is the top seed in Division I for the second straight year, while Bishop Guertin is the top seed in D2 once again. Goffstown is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and is the No. 1 seed in D3 for the first time. Missing from the Division III postseason are Souhegan (first time in 15 years) and Milford (first time since 2003).

Division I

Pinkerton finished the regular season 8-0 in the division and the top-seeded Astros will host No. 4 Salem (5-3) in the semifinals at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Pinkerton won at Salem during the regular season, 49-14.

Exeter (7-1) is back in the playoffs after going winless a year ago. The No. 2 Blue Hawks will play host to No. 3 Nashua South (5-3) on Saturday, also at 1 p.m. Exeter won the regular-season meeting, 45-7, one of two straight losses for the Panthers to end the season.

The winners will meet in the championship game at 12 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the home of the higher seed.

Of note: A Nashua team has played in the final in each of the last four seasons, while Pinkerton has been to six of the last seven finals, winning four.

Division II

Bishop Guertin (7-1) is the No. 1 seed, despite losing its regular-season finale at Keene, and the Cardinals will host No. 4 Timberlane (4-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Stellos Stadium. Timberlane finished in a tie with Keene (4-4), but won the tiebreaker thanks to its win over the Blackbirds during the regular season. BG defeated Timberlane 27-6 on Sept. 10. The Owls got into the playoffs despite losing their final two games to Spaulding and Dover by a combined 101-29.

Speaking of Spaulding and Dover, the two teams will meet in the other semifinal at 1 p.m. Saturday at Dover. The No. 3 Red Raiders (5-3) are one of the best stories of the football season, having won five straight division games after an 0-3 start to the season. One of those loses was to No. 2 Dover, 19-0, on Sept. 24.

The winners will meet in the championship game at 1 p.m. Nov. 19 at the home of the higher seed.

Of note: BG has played in seven straight championship games, winning six, including the last three. All of those games have been against either Exeter or Winnacunnet. The last team that wasn’t from that trio to make the final was Dover, which lost to Exeter in 2002. Since 1996, only five different teams have played for a D2 title – Exeter (11 appearances), BG (10), Winnacunnet (five), Dover (two) and Timberlane (two).

Division III

Goffstown (7-1) is the No. 1 seed entering the tournament, but the Grizzlies will have to host No. 4 Portsmouth (6-2), the only team to beat them this season. The Clippers won that game at home, 49-7, on Oct. 14, but the rematch will be at Goffstown at 1 p.m. Saturday.

No. 2 Bedford (6-2) will make its first postseason appearance when it hosts No. 3 Hollis/Brookline (6-2) also at 1 p.m. Saturday. It will be the third time the Cavaliers play at Bedford High School, and H/B lost both games, including last Saturday’s loss to Goffstown. Bedford also defeated the Cavs at home, 14-7.

The winners will meet in the championship game at 1 p.m. Nov. 19 at the home of the higher seed.

Of note: There will be a new champion in the division for the first time since 2007. Souhegan, which beat Porstmouth for the last three titles, had played in the championship game in eight of the last nine seasons. Since the 2002 season, only four teams had played in the championship game – Souhegan (eight appearances), Plymouth (seven), Portsmouth (four) and Milford (one).

Technorati Tags: Bedford, Bishop Guertin, Brookline, Division I, Division II, Division III, football, Hollis, Nashua South, playoffs

In Division IV, Trinity (9-0) is the No. 1 seed and will host No. 4 Monadnock (6-3) at 1 p.m. on Nov. 5. After missing the playoffs last year, Plymouth (8-1) is the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 3 Laconia (7-2), also at 1 p.m. on Nov. 5. The winners of both games will meet in the final on Nov. 12 at the home of the higher seed.

In Division V, St. Thomas (9-0) is the No. 1 seed and will host No. 4 Somersworth (6-3) at 1 p.m. on Nov. 5. Somersworth advanced thanks to a game that Stevens had to forfeit. No. 2 Kearsarge (7-2) will host No. 3 Windham (7-2) at 1 p.m. on Nov. 5. The winners will play each other in the final on Nov. 12 at the home of the higher seed.

In Division VI, Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough (9-0) is the No. 1 seed and will host No. 4 Newport (7-2) at 1 p.m. on Nov. 5. No. 2 Epping-Newmarket (7-2) and No. 3 Franklin (7-2) will play at 1 p.m. on Nov. 5, but the game will be played at Exeter High School. The winners will meet in the final on Nov. 12 at the home of the higher seed.

Technorati Tags: Division IV, Division V, Division VI, football, playoffs

Boys soccer

• Division I quarterfinals: Bishop Guertin at Manchester Central, Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. at Gill Stadium.
• Division I quarterfinals: Keene vs. Concord, Tuesday, 6 p.m. at The Derryfield School.
• Division I quarterfinals: Exeter vs. Londonderry, Tuesday, 4 p.m. at Stellos Stadium.
• Division I quarterfinals: Merrimack at Pinkerton, Tuesday, 3 p.m.*
• Division II quarterfinals: Oyster River at Bedford, Tuesday, 2:45 p.m.
• Division II quarterfinals: Goffstown at Hanover, Monday, 6 p.m.
• Division II quarterfinals: Pembroke vs. Lebanon, Tuesday, 3 p.m. at Hanover High School.
• Division II quarterfinals: Windham at Hollis/Brookline, Tuesday, 3 p.m.*
• Division III quarterfinals: Kearsarge at Bow, Wednesday, 3 p.m.
• Division III quarterfinals: Belmont vs. Somersworth, Tuesday, 3 p.m. at Portsmouth High School.
• Division III quarterfinals: Raymond at Campbell, Tuesday, 3 p.m.
• Division III quarterfinals: Fall Mountain at Gilford, Tuesday, 3 p.m.
• Division IV quarterfinals: Moultonborough vs. Profile, Tuesday, 3 p.m. at Dow Field in Franconia.
• Division IV quarterfinals: Sunapee at Derryfield, Tuesday, 3 p.m.
• Division IV quarterfinals: Wilton-Lyndeborough 3, Lisbon 1
• Division IV quarterfinals: Littleton vs. Epping, Tuesday, 3 p.m. at the Seacoast Soccer Complex.

Girls soccer

• Division I semifinals: Winnacunnet vs. Exeter, Wednesday, 7 p.m. at SNHU.
• Division I semifinals: Londonderry vs. Concord, Wednesday, 5 p.m. at SNHU.
• Division II semifinals: Bedford vs. Souhegan, Wednesday, 6 p.m. at Stellos Stadium.
• Division II semifinals: Hanover vs. Oyster River, Wednesday, 4 p.m. at Stellos Stadium.
• Division III semifinals: Prospect Mountain vs. Bow, Wednesday, 6 p.m. at Bill Ball Stadium.
• Division III semifinals: Raymond vs. Campbell, Wednesday, 4 p.m. at Bill Ball Stadium.
• Division IV semifinals: Woodsville vs. Sunapee, Wednesday, 6 p.m. at Merrimack Valley High School.
• Division IV semifinals: Wilton-Lyndeborough vs. Littleton, Wednesday, 4 p.m. at Merrimack Valley High School.

Field hockey

• Division I final: Winnacunnet vs. Manchester Memorial, Tuesday, 8 p.m. at Bedford High School*
• Division II final: Merrimack Valley vs. Bow, Wednesday, 6 p.m. at Bedford High School*
• Division III final: Stevens at Derryfield, Tuesday, 6 p.m. at Bedford High School*

Technorati Tags: boys soccer, field hockey, girls soccer, playoffs

Souhegan's Libby Bacher advances the ball while Merrimack Valley's Brianna Durgin defends during Thursday's playoff game.

EXETER – Brianna Durgin scored the game’s only goal to lead No. 4 Merrimack Valley past No. 8 Souhegan, 1-0, in the Division II field hockey semifinals Thursday at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

No. 3 Bow knocked off No. 2 St. Thomas, 2-1, in the other semifinal, meaning the Falcons and the Pride will meet at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Bedford High School in the Division II championship game.

Durgin’s goal came with 8:47 left in the game, on a play that developed in a somewhat odd fashion. When she got the ball near midfield, Durgin found no one in front of her, so she decided to run with when it. She whiffed on her first shot attempt, but recovered quickly.

“I missed it at first, but my first instinct was to push it again,” Durgin said. “I didn’t think it was going to go in but it did. My goal was to just get up the field, but when no one was there, I figured I’d just carry it all the way.”

In the other semifinal, Bow became just the second team this season to score more than one goal against St. Thomas, doing so in a span of less than four minutes in the second half. The Falcons then held on the rest of the way to reach the championship game.

Sabers fall in semis – Nashua Telegraph

Bow ousts St. Thomas in semis – Foster’s Daily Democrat

Technorati Tags: Bow, Division II, field hockey, Merrimack Valley, playoffs, Souhegan, St. Thomas

Manchester Memorial's Katelyn Adinolfo, left, and Casey Smith, right, watch as Merrimack goalie Emily Devaney tries to make a save against Jenna Freitas.

EXETER – In the five seasons that Ann MacLean has coached the Merrimack High School field hockey team, the Tomahawks have gotten a little better each year.

Merrimack has made the playoffs all five seasons. In 2009, the ’Hawks won a playoff game for the first time, and last year, they finished in the top four for the first time.

This season, despite losing 11 seniors and dropping to sixth in the standings, Merrimack advanced to the semifinals for the first time. Unfortunately for the ’Hawks, the first championship-game appearance will have to wait until next year.

Despite several opportunities in the second half Tuesday, Merrimack couldn’t find a way to best Manchester Memorial’s defense and the No. 6 ’Hawks fell to the No. 2 Crusaders 2-0 in the Division I semifinals at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

The shutout was the ninth in a row for Memorial, which hasn’t allowed a goal in almost a month. Included in that stretch was a 1-0 win over Merrimack during the regular season, and given how close that game was, both coaches felt Tuesday’s game would be the same.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game,” Memorial coach Rebecca Libby said. “Merrimack has played very well throughout the season. They are an amazing team.”

Merrimack's Emily Pollard and Manchester Memorial's Desirae Leblanc battle for a loose ball.

Memorial (15-1) got a goal each from Maria Manning and Jenna Freitas and the Crusaders will make their first appearance in a championship game Sunday when they face No. 4 Winnacunnet, which knocked off No. 1 Pinkerton 1-0 in the other semifinal, at 5 p.m. at Bedford High School.

Emily Devaney made seven saves in goal for Merrimack (11-6), which will lose eight seniors from this year’s tight-knit team.

“That’s why this is really hard right now,” MacLean said. “We had a great season. Having lost so many seniors last year, we weren’t sure what the future was going to be. We did a great job.”

The ’Hawks had several opportunities in the second half, despite playing a less-than-stellar first half. Memorial controlled play and had six corners in the first half, but on each one, Merrimack’s defense stepped up and limited the Crusaders to one shot or less.

When the game went to halftime scoreless, MacLean felt her team had dodged a bullet.

“We didn’t play our best, but we definitely held them,” she said. “They had numerous corners and we held them from scoring. We said that at halftime, unfortunately the team that scores first is going to have that momentum going in. We definitely picked up the intensity.”

Unfortunately for Merrimack, the Crusaders picked it up in their own end. The ’Hawks had eight corners in the second half, and kept the ball on the Memorial side of the field for long stretches of play. But the Crusaders defense, led by Manning, Freitas and Desirae Leblanc, kept Merrimack off the board.

Midway through the second half, Memorial was able to get the ball onto the Merrimack side of the field. After a pair of corners for the Crusaders, Freitas found herself alone with the ball on the far side of the goal. Merrimack goalie Emily Devaney was able to get back into position to make the initial save, but she covered the rebound, giving Memorial a penalty stroke.

Manning lined up for the stroke and sent the ball to Devaney’s right, just out of the goalie’s reach, giving Memorial a 1-0 lead with 16:42 to play.

“She is such a consistent player,” Libby said of Manning. “She’s just amazing. Her teammates have such a trust in her. It’s hard to find another word for her. She’s amazing.”

Merrimack came right back and took control of play again, but every time the ’Hawks got close, Memorial’s defense stepped up.

MacLean pulled her defense up in the final two minutes, and a long pass got to a wide-open Freitas, who was able to beat Devaney one-on-one with 50 seconds left to make it 2-0.

“It takes a little wind out of your sails,” MacLean said of the penalty stroke. “I thought we picked it up again and got back into the game. It really felt like we were evenly matched and I thought we had a chance, I really did.”

Technorati Tags: Division I, field hockey, Manchester Memorial, Merrimack, playoffs