Bedford field hockey rolls into D1 semis with win over Merrimack (video)

BEDFORD - The reasons were there for the Bedford High School field hockey team to have a slow start in Friday's Division I quarterfinal game.

The Bulldogs had a long layoff between games after earning a first-round bye in the postseason, plus they were facing a Merrimack team they'd beaten by eight goals early in the regular season.

Instead No. 2 Bedford stormed out of the gate, taking a two-goal lead in the first quarter on the way to a 6-0 win over No. 10 Merrimack to advance in the D1 playoffs. The Bulldogs will now face No. 3 Londonderry in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

"That program has come so far," Bedford coach Kate Gaudreau said of Merrimack. "They are passing well and playing great field hockey, and we did a lot of work to prepare for this game. We were fortunate enough to have the bye and get some extra things done in practice. I was just really happy with how the girls played."

Eloise Montagano led the Bulldogs (15-1-1) with four goals, two in the first quarter and two in the third, while Teagan O'Donnell and Mary Lenti also had goals. Grace Wolf finished with two assists.

Merrimack (8-9-1) had chances throughout the game, but just couldn't get a finishing touch in a game the Tomahawks knew was going to be tough. Making their first playoff appearance since 2019, the Tomahawks got valuable experience for their returning players and were able to get seniors on the field for the final quarter.

"The girls handled it well," Merrimack coach Courtney LeFrancois said. "That was one of the things we’ve talked about, resilience, and not getting down on themselves. I didn’t see that at all with them. They kept up the fight the whole time.

"I had a conversation with them before the last quarter. I was like ‘this is our last game, would you like to have fun? Do you want everyone to play?’ They wanted everyone to play and it was nice to have fun that last quarter. We ended with all of our seniors on the field, which is nice."

Merrimack went in looking to try to slow down O'Donnell, but it was Montagano who was able to carry the scoring for Bedford early.

"Merrimack had (Jocelyn Theriault) guarding Teagan, which was absolutely the right move," Gaudreau said. "We are fortunate that Eloise is Eloise. Mary Lenti did a great job. It was nice that we had multiple scorers, multiple kids showed up."

It was still a 2-0 game deep into the second quarter when Lenti scored with 3:31 remaining in the half. O'Donnell followed, scoring off a penalty corner, with an assist going to Ella Putney, with 1:16 to go before the break.

Annabelle Cassetty played the second half and recorded nine saves for Merrimack while Sophia Richards made the start in goal and had four stops.

"Everyone gave 110-percent effort and that’s all I can ask them to do," LeFrancois said. "They had a good time. They all had a good attitude. Merrimack was happy to be here in the first place. This was our goal and we were here."

Bedford is one step closer to its goal, reaching the semifinals for the first time since 2021. The Bulldogs face a Londonderry team they beat 2-1 on Oct. 3 on the road.

"Alison Chambers is just an excellent player," Gaudreau said of Londonderry's senior captain. "She’s having a great year, we’ll just have to obviously be aware of her. They’re having a great season. They have some really strong players. Their goalie is very talented. (Londonderry coach) Nichole (Treadway) does an excellent job over there and the team has been showing up to play for her."