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# Derryfield had just enough to hang on for D2 boys lacrosse championship
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/derryfield-had-just-enough-to-hang-on-for-d2-boys-lacrosse-championship/
- Published: 2023-06-20T14:00:27.000Z
- Updated: 2023-06-20T14:00:27.000Z
- Description: EXETER - When the Derryfield School boys lacrosse team went into the locker room at halftime of the Division II championship game, there were two things the Cougars discussed being wary of happening. One was avoiding penalties, as the Cougars hadn't done and suffered the consequences in their regula
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division II, boys lacrosse, championship, Derryfield, NH High School Sports Insider, Portsmouth, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

EXETER - When the Derryfield School boys lacrosse team went into the locker room at halftime of the Division II championship game, there were two things the Cougars discussed being wary of happening.

One was avoiding penalties, as the Cougars hadn't done and suffered the consequences in their regular-season loss to Portsmouth.

The other was limiting the Clippers opportunities in transition. With the way Derryfield played in its 6-on-6 defense, the coaches felt like they would be OK when everything was settled and slow.

But after the Cougars extended their lead to six goals with more than half of the third quarter still remaining, both of those points of emphasis seemed to go right out the window. Portsmouth scored four goals in less than a minute, with two of them coming on manup, and all four off faceoff wins, with both teams unsettled in transition.

"I thought we blew it, but we just made it interesting," Derryfield coach Chris Hettler said. "Definitely one to remember for a long time. An incredible effort by (Portsmouth). We had them on the ropes, and that’s the way they played all season, they don’t quit."

The Clippers also got what every team trying to make a comeback needs - luck.

Derryfield managed to stop the damage for a little while in the third quarter, but Portsmouth had another manup opportunity with under three minutes to play in the frame. Senior Keigen Delisle, who tore an ACL earlier in the season but delayed surgery so he could attempt to play in the game, was on the field for the extra-man advantage and sent a shot at the goal that looked like it was going wide.

Cougars goalie Parker Lebiedz came out of the crease to chase the shot, but the ball hit Ethan Flanagan and caromed into the goal to make it a one-score game.

"We put him in and he got a goal," Portsmouth coach Chad Vischer said. "That sparked the guys. They rallied around him, a kid that’s hurt. Hats off to him. We got one, then two, then three, and it was like ‘OK, now we’re in this thing.’"

Portsmouth did just about everything it could to tie the game in the fourth quarter, but despite having the ball for the better part of the first seven minutes, the Clippers had nothing to show for it.

"We were OK with them having long possessions, especially with the way we were playing defensively and with the way Parker was playing," Hettler said. "They’re not going hard at the goal, we’re not expending a lot of energy. I would have rather had it in the offensive end, but the way they were possessing the ball, it gave some of our guys a chance to get their legs back."

When the Cougars finally got possession back, they got some luck of their own, as a groundball found its way to Alex Murray and the junior swatted the ball into the net for an 11-9 lead with 4:23 to play. It was Derryfield's only shot on goal in the fourth quarter, as the Cougars were outshot 30-6 after halftime.

"We got out of our own heads," Derryfield junior Chili Cabot said of how the attack stayed focused. "RJ (Proulx), Murray and I were saying we need this one. The next time we get the ball, we need a goal."

With under two minutes to play, it looked like the Cougars were going to try to run out the clock, but Murray stepped out of the box to turn the ball over and Portsmouth had new life. Ben Purcell and Zac Amend scored twice, just 18 seconds apart, to tie the game, and the Clippers won the faceoff again.

Their first shot on the possession went wide, and after a timeout with 44.7 seconds to go, Portsmouth held the ball for a final chance. Lebiedz made the save in the closing seconds to send the game to overtime tied at 11.

After the Clippers won the faceoff, they had some bad luck on a turnover, as Amend lost track of where he was on the field and stepped over the midline. The Cougars regained possession and Flanagan stood with the ball for a moment to let things settle.

"This is our game," Cabot said of what he was thinking. "We’ve played a whole season for this. We’ve talked about it for a long time and we’re here. We got the ball down on the offensive side. We did a great job possessing it."

But Flanagan's pass to Cabot was knocked away and the ball was on the ground for what felt like minutes. It eventually came out of the scrum and Cabot scooped it up away from everyone else, avoided Portsmouth's defense on his way to the goal and scored.

"Right place, right time," Hettler said of Cabot. "Incredible IQ. Makes the most of his athleticism and makes up for what he doesn’t have with lacrosse savvy. Glad I didn’t call timeout there. We had said we’re going to let them play, but if there was a loose ball and we got it, we would, but he got it so fast, there was no time."

The championship was the first for Derryfield since 2019 and the first experienced by a senior class that missed out on its freshmen season due to COVID-19.

"We’ve been talking about the culture we lost during that time, the year of development, and to get that back again," Hettler said. "For the underclassmen to see that, Portsmouth is the same way, there’s a couple of others like that, where you build a culture and the younger kids feed off it. It’s a talented group that’s graduating, but they leave legacy that hopefully the guys underneath, they step up next year."