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# Bedford girls lacrosse gets the job done against Exeter in D1 playoffs (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/bedford-girls-lacrosse-gets-the-job-done-against-exeter-in-d1-playoffs-video/
- Published: 2024-05-31T22:30:22.000Z
- Updated: 2024-05-31T22:30:22.000Z
- Description: BEDFORD - When the Bedford High School girls lacrosse team was on Thursday, things were going well. When the Bulldogs took their foot off the gas a little bit, Exeter was able to make it interesting. Fortunately for No. 2 Bedford, it was pedal to the metal long enough that those interesting moments
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bedford, Exeter, girls lacrosse, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

BEDFORD - When the Bedford High School girls lacrosse team was on Thursday, things were going well.

When the Bulldogs took their foot off the gas a little bit, Exeter was able to make it interesting.

Fortunately for No. 2 Bedford, it was pedal to the metal long enough that those interesting moments didn't do too much damage, as the Bulldogs picked up a 15-8 win over the No. 7 Blue Hawks in the Division I quarterfinals.

The win puts Bedford, the defending champions, back in the semifinals for the seventh year in a row, where the Bulldogs will face No. 3 Bishop Guertin at 4 p.m. Saturday at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

"We had a really good three periods," Bedford coach Christine Hodgdon said. "We were a little sloppy, a little gassed, I think, in the fourth, so we made some errors on defense. I was really pleased with the shot selection and sharing the ball. I thought we did a good job finding opportunities to score. Exeter’s goalie (Lily Blood) did a great job at contesting a lot of those shots."

Olivia Matthews led the way for Bedford (14-3) with six goals, including a pair late in the first half that helped the Bulldogs get back on the right track. After taking a 7-1 lead through one quarter, Bedford went scoreless for almost seven minutes to open the second.

Despite struggling on the draw, Exeter (10-9) was able to control possession for long stretches, and went on a 3-0 run, to make it a 7-4 game.

But just seven seconds after Karli Scherpf scored to make it a three-goal game, Matthews answered to get the lead to 8-4 and then added another goal 27 seconds after that.

Bedford controlled the third quarter as well, keeping Exeter scoreless and putting the game away with a 7-0 over that 17-minute stretch. The Blue Hawks cut back into the lead in the fourth quarter, but by then, with the clock running for a time, it was too late.

"I think they put it all on the field," Exeter coach Angela Palmer said. "We tried to make adjustments as we went along. We did watch a lot of film, so we had prepared and worked really hard in practice. They knew it was do-or-die , and I couldn’t be more happy with how they played."

Teagan Steele added two goals and four assists for Bedford while Maddie Kiely scored three goals. Nat Dennon had two goals and an assist and Audrey Prunell and Megan Muir added a goal apiece.

Kiely was also dominant on the draw, helping the Bulldogs win 21 of 26.

"That’s a part of our game we’ve been working on really hard," Hodgdon said, "and our players do a nice job of taking time away from the field to make it something we use to our advantage."

The run to open the game, where the Bulldogs got seven goals from five players in the first quarter, helped ease any concerns for Bedford's coach.

"Seeing us in the first quarter, that put us at ease, knowing we were having some flow, we were in a good rhythm," Hodgdon said. "Everybody was getting in the mix and getting a lot of touches, and that’s what you want to see at the beginning of the game. I was really pleased with that."

Exeter got two goals and an assist from Scherpf while Sophia Wilhelm and Izzy Steiner each had a pair of goals. Ellie Dean and Alex Girard also scored and Blood finished with 11 saves.

"It’s hard when you play a team like this," Palmer said. "We have a very young team, we only had five girls return from last year, and we’ve had to build this team from scratch. We started with the defense and I think that shows. The defense outdid themselves. Now we’ve been working on the offense, but it’s one building block at a time."