> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Bishop Guertin girls lacrosse gets past Bedford to return to D1 final - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/bishop-guertin-girls-lacrosse-gets-past-bedford-to-return-to-d1-final/ - Published: 2024-06-02T16:45:22.000Z - Updated: 2024-06-02T16:45:22.000Z - Description: EXETER — Entering last year’s Division I tournament as the four-time defending champion, the Bishop Guertin High School girls lacrosse team’s effort for five-straight titles ended when Portsmouth upended the Cardinals in the semifinals. Bishop Guertin’s goal ever since then was to reclaim its spot o - Author: Dan Doyon - Tags: Division I, Bedford, Bishop Guertin, girls lacrosse, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 EXETER — Entering last year’s Division I tournament as the four-time defending champion, the Bishop Guertin High School girls lacrosse team’s effort for five-straight titles ended when Portsmouth upended the Cardinals in the semifinals. Bishop Guertin’s goal ever since then was to reclaim its spot on top of the Division I mountain, and the Cardinals will get that chance against the team that eliminated them a year ago. The third-seeded Cardinals broke open Saturday’s semifinal contest against defending-champion Bedford with a four-goal spurt in the second quarter en route to a 14-11 win over the No. 2 Bulldogs at Exeter High School’s William Ball Stadium. “I was on the team freshman and sophomore year, so we obviously have a championship mentality and I think that junior year was a little bit of a slump for us,” Bishop Guertin senior Arianna Kouchalakos said. “But I knew this year was going to be great.” Kouchalakos netted a game-high six goals to lead Bishop Guertin (16-3) to a return date with top-seeded Portsmouth (16-2) in Tuesday’s Division I championship game in Exeter. The Clippers advanced with a 12-10 win over No. 4 Souhegan (14-5) in Saturday’s night cap. Portsmouth won last year’s semifinal by a score of 14-12 and this season’s regular season matchup, 12-11, in overtime. “There was absolutely a motivation to get back to this game and be in the championship game again,” first-year Bishop Guertin coach Callie Santos said. “I think it’s been a motivator. We’ve talked more about this year in what our girls needed to do to be here on championship weekend and to be at the championship game. “They’ve executed and worked so hard to get where they needed to go.” Bedford (14-4) fought back from an early 4-1 hole on goals by Olivia Matthews (four goals) and Madeline Kiely (five), but the Cardinals took full control with a 4-0 run midway into the the second quarter. Kouchalakos began the goal surge with 4:47 left in the first half and was followed 31 seconds later when Mariella Tomasello found Skylar Naftali. Abby Lynn added a goal and Kouchalakos book-ended the run to leave Bishop Guertin with an 8-3 lead late in the second quarter. “Just being able to control it on the circle and to get it down, settle it or push it on the fast break,” Kouchalakos said. “We were able to put away almost every single shot we took. Our shooting percentage was super high (Saturday) and that just really just helped us out. Bishop Guertin’s outburst allowed them to protect it’s 8-4 halftime lead by playing a ball-controlled offense in an effort to bleed the clock in a third quarter that saw the Cardinals leading 9-5 heading into the fourth. The Bulldogs didn’t go down without a fight, as they closed to within 10-7 before Kouchalakos and Lynn responded with goals to give Bishop Guertin a 12-7 cushion with 7:55 left in regulation. Kouchalakos added two more goals to increase the lead to 14-8. “We lost our opportunity in the second and third quarters,” Bedford coach Christine Hodgdon said. “We needed to play hard and fast like we did in the fourth and the first and we failed to do that.” Bishop Guertin junior goalie Maddy Eder-Linell had her hand in frustrating the Bulldogs by making 10 saves. “We’ve worked all season for this and to see it pay off is awesome,” Eder-Linell said. “Our motivation has carried us throughout the entire season and to see it work throughout the season and to be able to just win this year is everything.”