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# Bishop Guertin, Bedford advance to D1 boys lacrosse title game (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/bishop-guertin-bedford-advance-to-d1-boys-lacrosse-title-game/
- Published: 2024-06-06T14:00:03.000Z
- Updated: 2024-06-06T14:00:03.000Z
- Description: EXETER – With the Bishop Guertin High School boys lacrosse team already with two wins over Exeter in the regular season, Chris Cameron felt good going into Wednesday’s Division I semifinal. The Cardinals were moments away from taking the field for warmups at Bill Ball Stadium when some of those feel
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bedford, Bishop Guertin, boys lacrosse, Exeter, Pinkerton, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

EXETER – With the Bishop Guertin High School boys lacrosse team already with two wins over Exeter in the regular season, Chris Cameron felt good going into Wednesday’s Division I semifinal.

The Cardinals were moments away from taking the field for warmups at Bill Ball Stadium when some of those feelings changed.

Lightning struck nearby, starting the clock on what turned into a lengthy weather delay that postponed the start of the game by an hour and 45 minutes.

No. 2 Bishop Guertin rolled with it, scoring 1:04 into the game and led 4-0 at the end of the first quarter, and the Cardinals never looked back on the way to a 12-4 win over the No. 3 Blue Hawks. They will face top-seeded Bedford, which got a 15-2 win over No. 4 Pinkerton in the second semifinal, in the D1 championship game at 5 p.m. Saturday at Exeter.

"We were the favorite, we beat them twice during the year," Cameron said. "Sometimes when you have weather issues, or delays like that, and they’re home, that could be an advantage for them, you don’t know what to expect. These kids, they didn’t let it affect them. They came out ready to play."

Sean McGarry opened the scoring on Bishop Guertin's first possession and finished with three goals, while Caleb Yeung also had three goals and an assist. Cam Hayden and Michael Ponto each scored scored twice and Micah Dunsmoor and Jeremy Warren added a goal apiece.

The Cardinals (17-3, No. 1 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) lead grew to 7-0 by halftime, despite Exeter (13-7, No. 4) getting a 13-save performance from goalie Ethan Bernich and Will McIlroy getting the better of Paulo Vazquez on faceoffs in the first half.

"Who would have thought losing the first five faceoffs was going to go our way?" Cameron said. "We still kept it together defensively. We were very good defensively, and when we weren’t, (goalie) Will (Murphy) was great. He’s incredible."

Bishop Guertin's defense held Owen Williams and Marshall Lasewicz, the top two scorers for the Blue Hawks, scoreless on the day. Jackson Greene and Patrick Hathaway each had two goals, all in the second half, for Exeter.

"We knew who we wanted to shut down, Owen and Marshall," Bishop Guertin senior defender Finn Moran said. "Defensively, as a team, that was by far the best performance of the season. I’m pretty proud of all the guys around me. It was not a one-man job, it was all six of us and our goalie. That was our goal, so I’m glad we accomplished it."

The Cardinals will now face a Bedford team that is making its first appearance in the D1 championship game, and first overall since winning three-straight D2 titles from 2012-14\. During that run, the Bulldogs also set the state record for wins in a row with 72.

Bedford (18-1, No. 2) advanced by getting its third win of the season over Pinkerton (11-9, No. 6), including its second in 12 days. In this one, the Bulldogs were able to start faster, getting the game's first goal 1:06 in, and take a 4-1 lead after the first.

Bennett Matthews had five goals to lead Bedford while Brody Helton and Derek Kulesza each had three. Sam Barad scored twice and Luke Purnell and Kevin Sheridan each added a goal.

"We did a fantastic job executing the game plan," Bedford coach Drew Bourdeau said. "Huge credit to coach (Matt) Howe with the zone offense. We knew we were going to see that. I thought we did a really good job executing. We asked them to play disciplined and not play hero ball. I think that was the biggest thing, we played as a team, and that’s what I was hoping to get out of this."

The Astros put that discipline to the test early, as they won the four of the first five faceoffs. After Helton gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead, Pinkerton held possession for nearly four minutes, getting a stalling warning at one point.

Bedford's defense held its ground and goalie Ethan Conn made three of his eight saves in the opening quarter.

"He's a big-time baller," Bourdeau said of Conn. "His mindset going into every game, he’s just so even keel. This environment was not too big for him, and that’s what you worry about with a young goalie. He played unbelievable. I’m so proud of him and he’s just had a fantastic season. He was eating those shots up down low."

The Bulldogs took a 10-1 lead into halftime and put the game into running time late in the third quarter on back-to-back goals by Kulesza and Matthews.

Pinkerton got a goal apiece from Adam Scala and Matt Gormady, while Owen Perkins finished with 12 saves.

Bedford and Bishop Guertin will meet for the second time this season, after the Cardinals won the lone regular-season meeting in double overtime, 13-12, on April 23.

"We’ve just got to find extra possessions, that’s the biggest thing," Bourdeau said. "Even if they’re not scoring as many as they usually have, Paulo Vazquez can get you the ball, and to win these games, you have to have possessions. And it’s not long possessions, it’s the number of possessions. That’s the biggest thing we have to work on these next two days."