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# Defense, late run helps Bedford beat Pinkerton to reach D1 girls lacrosse final (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/defense-late-run-helps-bedford-beat-pinkerton-to-reach-d1-girls-lacrosse-final-video/
- Published: 2022-06-06T14:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2022-06-06T14:30:00.000Z
- Description: EXETER - The Bedford High School girls lacrosse team went into Saturday's Division I semifinal against Pinkerton with a game plan on defense, and like the Bulldogs have done throughout the season, they made it work. With Bedford's top two defenders focused on Pinkerton's top two offensive threats, t
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bedford, girls lacrosse, Pinkerton, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

EXETER - The Bedford High School girls lacrosse team went into Saturday's Division I semifinal against Pinkerton with a game plan on defense, and like the Bulldogs have done throughout the season, they made it work.

With Bedford's top two defenders focused on Pinkerton's top two offensive threats, the Bulldogs held the Astros scoreless in the first half and for the final 15 minutes of that game.

That defensive success, combined with a game-ending 7-0 run over the final 13 minutes, helped get the No. 2 Bulldogs a 12-3 win over the No. 3 Astros in semifinals at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter. The win sends Bedford to the title game for the first time since 2018, where it will face No. 1 Bishop Guertin at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Exeter.

"We prepped really hard and they executed, and that was the key," Bedford coach Christine Hodgdon said. "It was the most fluid and selfless they really have played all season. It’s hard when you play a variety of talent, and we really shared the ball well and that made the difference.

"I’ve got really smart kids back there that really settled into their role and can rise to that occasion to take away those threats. We prepped really well, we knew who their threats were, and we just executed that defensive game plan."

With Sydney Grogan keeping an eye on Allison Lamphere and Sabrina Tipping following Caitlin Seleny all over the field, Bedford (16-2, No. 2 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) successfully disrupted Pinkerton's offense in the first half.

"Sydney is the matchup," Hodgdon said. "She’s so good at recognizing when she needs to play her tough or when she can play off, and understanding their offense. We really worked on what it looks like so she can apply that pressure off-ball when we needed to jam her up. (Lamphere) is really good off-ball. With Seleny feeding her, that’s been their bread and butter, and we just prepped for it."

And whenever Seleny got the ball, Tipping was not far behind her.

"She’s an amazing one-on-defender," Grogan said of Tipping. "She got the role of Caitlin Seleny, which is a difficult task. She stepped up to the challenge and shut down her one-vs-on crease rolls, which she likes to do a lot."

The only shots the Astros (14-4, No. 3) had in the first half came on free positions and they turned the ball over 10 times in the opening 25 minutes.

"Turnovers killed us, groundballs and the draw hurt us," Pinkerton coach Katie Blair said. "I liked how in the first half, we only allowed three goals. Our defense played really well."

After Bedford scored twice in the game's first two minutes, Pinkerton's defense buckled down behind the play of goalie Lauren Sweeney, who finished with 17 saves, including the 300th of her career. Regan O'Brien (three goals, three assists) finally broke through with 37.9 seconds left in the half to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead going into the break.

"We got off to a good start, but we just couldn’t finish," Hodgdon said. "Sweeney was really reading the ball well and we were giving her some easy looks. We had three goals on three assists, we just had to get back to that, and we got back to that."

But not before Pinkerton's offense got some like, as Hailey Schnider and Hannah Lisauskas scored off assists from Seleny in the first 3:27 of the second half to make it a 3-2 Bedford lead.

"Good teams are going to score, which Pinkerton is," Grogan said. "We threw the first punch coming out of the gate and they threw a punch back. You just have to respond to that punch."

Bedford responded, getting back-to-back goals from Julian Bell (four goals, three assists) and Eliana Enners (two goals) just 34 seconds apart to go up 5-2\. Lamphere got her lone goal of the game on a free position with 15:05 remaining to make it a two-goal game, but Bell answered with a free-position score of her own to get the lead back to three.

Pinkerton was able to get the ball back after the goal, but goalie Abigail Weidner came up with a pair of saves and the Bulldogs were able to get the ball back and take a timeout with 9:03 remaining.

Enners scored out of the timeout and she moved into the circle to take the draw down the stretch, helping Bedford the final six controls. That goal started a run of three in just 1:06 for the Bulldogs that pushed the lead to 9-3.

Bedford added three more in a span of 1:20, with O'Brien making it 12-3 with 3:39 to play.

"We settled into the game and it was really those key draws," Hodgdon said. "Elie Enners came up big in the last 10 minutes of the game, just continuing to give us opportunities to finish."