Derryfield boys lacrosse withstands comeback in win over Portsmouth

MANCHESTER - The Derryfield School boys lacrosse team is learning how to win games, and through five contests this season, the Cougars have a formula that's worked so far.

Get a comfortable lead, either in the first half or third quarter, and then ride the defense to the end.

That's what Derryfield did again Friday night against Portsmouth, getting out to a 7-1 lead in the first half and holding on long enough for a 7-6 win over the Clippers in a rematch of the last two Division II championship games. The win is the 58th in a row for the Cougars.

"These guys are finding ways down the stretch to win, and coming down the stretch in June, that’ll be key for our guys, being in situations like this," Derryfield coach Chris Hettler said. "Games like this are good for us."

Its the third time in the last four games in which Derryfield (5-0, No. 4 in the NHHSS Coaches Poll) has had a lead of three or more goals in the second half and held on to win by one.

Jon MacLean and Chas Dean had two goals apiece to lead the Cougars, while Matt Weimer, Alex Neville and Max Horton also had a goal each and Avry Truex made eight saves. Horton's goal came on a coast-to-coast play that began at Derryfield's end line with 16.5 seconds left in the first half and ended with the senior long pole scoring at the buzzer to make it 7-1 at the break.

"It was exactly what I drew up in the huddle," Hettler said with a smile. "We were going to try to do a substitution and they played it pretty well. Max was going to make a play. It proved to be the game-winner."

It was almost a back-breaker for Portsmouth (4-1, No. 5).

"That last-second goal they got was brutal," Portsmouth coach Chad Vischer said. "We had it, we had it, we had it and dag-gone-it if he didn’t get that shot off. I thought we were pretty much out of the game. They’re playing well, we weren’t playing well. We weren’t moving the ball offensively."

The Clippers were able to get back in it thanks to the play of Cole Brams and goalie Jack Waldo.

Brams finished with three goals and was almost perfect at the faceoff-x, winning 15 of 16, including the one to open the second half, which the senior converted into a goal seven seconds later. Waldo, who had eight saves, came up with some big ones down the stretch, as Portsmouth kept Derryfield off the scoreboard in the second half.

"They had some really good shots in the first half," Vischer said. "They have good shooters. We were happy Jack Waldo got a couple of saves early, got him back in the game when I’m sure his confidence was shaken a bit."

Derryfield got out to a lead in the first quarter, as Dean scored twice in 46 seconds to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead with 1:37 left in the frame. Mike Durkin (two goals) got Portsmouth on the board, making it 3-1 with 20.5 seconds remaining in the first.

MacLean made it 4-1 with his second goal early in the second quarter and Neville and Weimer scored 45 seconds apart to make it 6-1 with 6:26 left in the first half.

A Portsmouth turnover with 16.5 seconds remaining in the half gave the Cougars the ball at their own end line, and after a timeout, Horton started with the ball. He beat two Portsmouth players on the Derryfield side of the field, and after fighting off Portsmouth's Noah Diep, Horton got a shot off with three Clippers around him that found the back of the net just before the buzzer.

It turned out to be a big one, as Brams's goal to start the second half seemed to shift momentum. The Clippers added three goals in a span of 2:50 midway through the third, making it 7-5 with 5:04 left in the frame and that's where it stood going into the fourth.

"We were patient and moving the ball and playing good defense," Hettler said. "A lot of the goals they got in the second half, it was a tremendous effort on Portsmouth’s part, but a lot of those, I thought, were self-inflicted wounds.

"We had a game plan coming in and we were executing it. The emotions got to them, they’re trying to make clearing passes they shouldn’t have made, they’re trying to push transition. We had a nice lead, let’s get the ball down there, work the offense and run the clock."

Derryfield was able to do more of that in the fourth quarter, and after Brams scored to make it a one-goal game with 9:01 to play, the Cougars were successful in running big chunks of time off the clock.

But with under a minute to play, Derryfield turned the ball over, and after a couple of Portsmouth timeouts, Clippers set up their offense. A shot by Durkin missed the goal with 17 seconds left, and after the restart, Brams's shot hit the side of the net.

"We kept going with it and started getting it and the boys started believing," Vischer said. "Derryfield has a psyche factor. They’ve beaten us countless times in a row. We keep losing to them by a goal or two, it’s going to switch I hope."