Derryfield boys lacrosse able to hold off Souhegan comeback (video)

BEDFORD - Even when the Derryfield School boys lacrosse team got up by seven goals, Cougars coach Chris Hettler felt like Friday's game against Souhegan was going to come down to the wire.

Sure enough, a 7-2 run by the Sabers made it a two-goal game in the final minutes.

Derryfield was able to maintain possession and find the back of the net enough times to hang on for a 16-13 win over Souhegan in a non-division game that was played at the NH Sportsplex in Bedford. It was the first regular-season lacrosse game played indoors in recent memory.

"It was two very similar teams," Hettler said. "They have got three or four dominant guys, we have three or four dominant guys. We talked about that before the game, what was going to make the difference was what kind of legs are we going to have in the fourth quarter. They found a way to do it."

Ryan Etzo led Derryfield (1-0, No. 5 in the NHHSS Coaches Poll) with five goals and two assists while Chas Dean and Chili Cabot each had four goals, with three of Cabot's coming in the fourth quarter. Quinn Silvio had a goal and an assist and Cole Giersch and Kyle Carpentier had a goal apiece while Alex Murray and Will Mancini each had an assist.

Carpentier also won 21 of 32 faceoffs while Jaxson Snyder made six saves in the first half and Ryan Caparrelli made nine saves.

Connor Holland had five goals and two assists for Souhegan (1-1, No. 9), including three straight in the final 3:52 of the third quarter to start the Sabers on their late run. Riley Lawhorn added four goals, with two of those coming 1:07 apart to make it a 14-12 game with 3:26 remaining.

Danny Quan, Tony Garrant and Chris Weeden added a goal and an assist apiece and Nate Fritz made four saves.

But after taking a 4-3 lead into the second quarter, Souhegan struggled getting possession and Derryfield capitalized. The Cougars went on a 6-0 run to take a 9-4 lead with 3:12 remaining in the first half.

"When we went up big in the second quarter, there was just so much time left," Hettler said. "You knew how quickly they could score because they can just run through guys. We had to take smart decisions with the ball."

The Sabers cut the lead to one at halftime, but the Cougars scored three straight to take their largest lead, 12-5, with 7:33 left in the third.

"We came out pretty good, but we’re super thin, we have a lot of injuries," Souhegan coach Keith Bertrand said. "We have a young defense. We’re starting two freshmen and a sophomore and a junior, and our goalie is a senior, but he played one game. I’m proud of their effort. We were down by seven goals and we battled back."

Holland started the rally by scoring with 3:52 remaining in the third, and after a Derryfield penalty, the senior added a man-up goal just 11 seconds into the advantage. Moments later, the Cougars were called for another infraction, and this time, Holland needed just three seconds to score to make it 12-8 going into the fourth.

"I think everyone here attended the Connor Holland breakout party," Bertrand said. "He is the most underrated player in New Hampshire. He is a big guy. He was a big contributor for us as a sophomore and he would have had a great year last year. He stepped up huge."

Cabot scored to open the quarter to make it a five-goal game again, but after killing off a penalty, Lawhorn got the goal back with 8:26 to play. Another Derryfield penalty gave the Sabers a chance to get within three, but Mancini forced a turnover and found Cabot in transition for a shorthanded goal that put the Cougars up 14-9 with 7:02 to play.

Souhegan wasn't done. Holland found Quann for a goal with 5:51 left and Lawhorn tacked on two more goals to make it 14-12 with 3:26 left in the game.

But Carpentier won the ensuing face off, and Etzo found Giersch to get Derryfield's lead back to three. Carpentier won another faceoff and Cabot scored just 42 seconds later.

"Kyle Carpentier figured out the faceoff circle," Hettler said. "He was winning balls to himself and possessions were huge. It kept the ball away from them and it allowed us to rest a little on offense. It was an unbelievable effort."

Souhegan got a goal at the buzzer to finish out the scoring.

Both teams return to action on Tuesday, when Souhegan hosts Exeter and Derryfield hosts Goffstown.