Exeter boys lacrosse comes back in fourth quarter to beat Derryfield, end 65-game winning streak

MANCHESTER - Gerry Holly felt that at some point, the Exeter High School boys lacrosse team was going to start scoring goals.

It took the Blue Hawks longer than their coach would have liked, but once Exeter was able to find the back of the net, it started to light up the scoreboard.

Exeter scored twice in the final minute of the third quarter and put in four straight to start the fourth before holding off a late run by Derryfield for an 8-7 win in a non-division game. The Blue Hawks' win ends the Cougars's 65-game winning streak, which stretched back to 2016 and was the longest streak in the country.

"We had a lot of good looks early in the first half," Holly said. "Their goalie is very good, but I think we hit him in the leg or hit him in the foot a few times. Credit to him to be in the right position, but we had a lot of chances to score, we just didn’t finish early. Eventually, we knew they’d start going in."

Overall, it was a 6-1 run for the Blue Hawks (10-4, No. 3 in the NHHSS Coaches Poll) over a span of 7:40 that stretch over the third and fourth quarters that swung the game. Derryfield (12-1, No. 4) had a chance to tie the game in the final minute, but turned the ball over before getting a shot away.

Dayton Christenson led Exeter with three goals while Wyatt Carr and Connor Holly had two goals apiece. Spencer Clark also scored while Henry Vogt made 12 saves and Connor Flanagan won 12 of 18 faceoffs.

Derryfield got three goals from Jon MacLean, while John Anderson had two goals and two assists. Henry Howe also scored twice and Avry Truex made 10 saves.

The Cougars led 3-1 at halftime and took a 4-1 lead on a goal by MacLean with 7:56 left in the third quarter, but Exeter's size and depth started to get to Derryfield in the second half.

"We ran out of steam in the second half, but they picked themselves up and kept going again," Derryfield coach Chris Hettler said. "We ran out of steam in the second half, but they picked themselves up and kept going again."

MacLean gave Derryfield an early lead as he converted a pass from Anderson to make it 1-0 with 7:21 left in the first quarter. With 54.4 seconds left in the quarter, Anderson found Howe in transition to make it 2-0 Cougars after one.

Anderson got a goal of his own 45 seconds into the second quarter to make it 3-0 and Christenson got Exeter on the board with 6:23 remaining in the half to make it 3-1.

Late in the quarter, Exeter's Max Gauthier was given a three-minute penalty for a hit to the head of Derryfield's Antonio Imbriano, but the Cougars were unable to capitalize on the manup.

"Just thinking about a lot of missed opportunities in the first half," Hettler said. "We hit some pipes, Henry (Vogt) made some incredible saves. That could have opened it up even more."

Clark scored with Exeter a manup with 4:58 left in the third to make it 4-2 and Christenson added another with 1:06 to play to cut Derryfield's lead to one. Anderson appeared to grab momentum back for the Cougars, as the senior scored with 15.1 seconds on the clock to make it 5-3.

But Exeter won the ensuing faceoff and Carr scored with 1.9 seconds remaining to get the Blue Hawks back within one. Connor Holly and Christenson scored 30 seconds apart to open the fourth, giving Exeter a 6-5 lead with 10:37 to play.

"I’m glad our guys battled," Gerry Holly said. "We can’t figure out why we can’t play four quarters. We’ve got to start playing four quarters if we’re going to win games. It was nice to see our kids battle when it mattered and they played hard during that third and fourth quarter."

Carr pushed the lead to two goals with 7:52 left and Connor Holly made it 8-5 with 5:26 to play. Exeter won the faceoff, but couldn't keep possession and eventually the Blue Hawks went down two men for 30 seconds.

Again, Exeter killed off the penalties and got the ball back. But after a Blue Hawks turnover, MacLean scored in transition to make it 8-6 with 2:54 to play. The Cougars controlled the faceoff, and Howe scored with 1:40 left to make it a one-goal game.

This time, Exeter won the faceoff, but when Truex came out of the goal to help put pressure on the Blue Hawks, Clark took a shot on the empty net. The ball hit the post and Derryfield was able to regain possession with 42.6 seconds remaining.

"I thought we’d be able to tie it up at the end, that we’d have a chance to run it down and get that tying goal," Hettler said.

MacLean passed long to Alex Neville near midfield but the Exeter defense swarmed and forced a turnover. The Blue Hawks took another shot, but the Cougars were able to get possession with 11.6 left on the clock.

But Truex's heavy was knocked down by Vogt and time expired before anyone could get to the groundball.

"It would have been devastating if we had lost it," Gerry Holly said. "I’m glad the kids picked it up and played with a lot of intensity. It’s good win for us to battle back."