Derryfield field hockey solves Souhegan's defense to remain unbeaten (video)

AMHERST - The Derryfield School field hockey team knew it wasn't going to get many chances to score Tuesday against Souhegan.

When the Cougars had their opportunities, they made the most of them.

Derryfield had five penalty corners, and scored off three of them, to capture a 3-0 victory and had the Sabers their first loss in a Division II game.

Anna Templeton deflected a shot by Lindsey Stagg into the goal with 12:13 left in the first half to give the Cougars (11-0-1) the only goal they would need; it was also the first goal Souhegan (10-1) had allowed all season. Stagg added two goals of her own, making it 2-0 less than five minutes later, and then closing out the scoring with 7:05 remaining in the game.

"We weathered the storm at the beginning," Derryfield coach Lenny McCaigue said. "We bent a little bit, but we didn’t break, and we sort of worked our way into it. I knew that if we could create opportunities on set pieces, it would set up an opportunity to score.

"We talked about them having not been scored upon and how they might react to that mentally. When the first goal went in, it gave us some confidence. Overall, I thought after the first 10 or 15 minutes, we really started to compete."

Souhegan opened the game by putting pressure on Derryfield's defense and keeping the ball on the Cougars' side of the field early. The Sabers got the game's first penalty corner - one of three for Souhegan - midway through the first half, but Derryfield read the play and Stagg forced play in the other direction.

Moments later, the Cougars were awarded their first corner of the game, and Stagg's shot went off Templeton's stick and past Souhegan goalie Ellie Byram (four saves) for a 1-0 lead.

"The first one was beautiful," McCaigue said. "Their keeper is really good. We hit wide of the keeper for the deflection coming in behind. When we have someone like Lindsey who hits the ball that hard, all you have to do is put your stick in the way. You don’t have to shoot it."

Derryfield came right back after the goal, getting another corner, and this time, Stagg rifled a reverse shot into the goal for a 2-0 lead with 7:41 remaining in the first half.

"There was nothing we could have, or I would have done, differently in order to prevent them," Souhegan coach Kelli Braley said of the goals. "All were perfectly timed, perfectly placed. What are you going to do about them?

"You could really see the minute that it turned. We spent a fair bit of time in their end in the first half of the first half. I don’t know if we got complacent, and that coincided with them turning it on and doing what they do best. I think a lot of it was mental. We lost the mental game which is tough when you’ve gone 10-0 and haven’t given up a goal, to go against a powerhouse team like this and have to figure out how to respond."

Souhegan came out strong in the second half, but couldn't get possession inside the circle and eventually the game became a battle in the midfield. Derryfield went up 3-0 when Stagg crushed a shot into the corner of the goal on a corner, giving the Cougars plenty of breathing room.

"That was a relief to get," Stagg said. "They’re a really good team and they always put up a good fight. They’re so fast and they have really good tackles. We were just able to capitalize. Our inserts were good and fast, and we were able to pull it off."

The Sabers had a pair of corners late, but couldn't capitalize and Derryfield preserved its fourth straight shutout.