Derryfield able to outlast Portsmouth in D2 boys lacrosse semis

EXETER – In the four prior seasons, the Derryfield School and Portsmouth High School boys lacrosse teams have met in some stellar Division II championship games.

This year’s playoff matchup came game earlier in the form of Wednesday's semifinal matchup, but it didn’t detract from the allure of the clash between the heavyweights.

After losing the past two title games, No. 2 Derryfield finally got some revenge with a 10-7 victory over third-seeded, two-time defending champion Portsmouth at Exeter High School’s William Ball Stadium.

“It was a little bigger of a margin this time, but it always feels like a one-goal game,” Derryfield coach Chris Hettler said. “It was the resilience of our guys to know that we’ve kind of had to weather the storm and just keep doing what we’re supposed to be doing.”

Derryfield (17-2) returns to Exeter for Saturday’s D2 championship game at 5 p.m. The Cougars will play top-seeded Winnacunnet, which beat No. 4 Oyster River-Newmarket in the other semifinal.

“I thought our defense did a good job; we were pushing those guys a lot,” Portsmouth coach Chad Vischer said. “If we could’ve done anything better it would’ve been shooting. We just missed a couple of shots. But it’s not so much what we did wrong, it's what they did right.”

The programs have combined to win the past nine D2 championships, including last year when Portsmouth rallied from a 5-0 deficit to win 6-5 in overtime.

Derryfield experienced some deja vu after Dom Cercone (three goals) scored early in the second half to give the Cougars a 5-2 cushion. Portsmouth responded with three straight goals from Max Denneen, Andy Brown and Tyler Sifferlen to tie the game at 5-5 with 8:30 left in the third quarter.

Derryfield’s Emerson Stover (four goals) and Sifferlen traded goals to even the score at 6-6 heading into the fourth quarter.

“Jackson Hatfield did a great job in the faceoff circle to get us some possessions to somewhat control the pace of the game, but you can see how explosive they were,” Hettler said. “Within a minute, they get three straight and tie the game.”

With the game tied at 7-7 midway the fourth quarter, Cercone gave Derryfield the lead before Heath Mueller followed by circling around the cage and flipping the ball past Portsmouth goalie A.J. Craig to give Derryfield a 9-7 lead with 6:18 remaining

“I just felt like it was the right play at the right time,” Mueller said. “We just pushed ourselves. Their comeback lit a fire in us this time and we just pushed harder.”

Hettler believed Mueller’s goal put Portsmouth on its heels before Cercone end the game’s scoring with 5:20 left in regulation

“We challenged him and we said we need to step up today,’ Hettler said. “That was one of the biggest differences in the game. It gave us some breathing room and I think it shook Portsmouth because I don’t think they were expecting it.”

Derryfield now heads into its 10th D2 championship game since 2015 and is aiming to win the program’s sixth title. Derryfield dropped a 14-13 decision to Winnacunnet in Hampton last month, but beat the Warriors in their only final meeting, in 2019.

“We played great (Wednesday),” Mueller said. “We’ve just got to stay locked for Winnacunnet and I’m looking forward to it.”