Exeter girls lacrosse comes back for 2OT win over Londonderry (video)

LONDONDERRY - The Exeter High School girls lacrosse team spent a lot of time at practice last week working on how to responed to adverse situations.

So when the Blue Hawks went into halftime down three goals Saturday against Londonderry, coach Taylor Landers told her players they needed to focus on what they'd practiced and tie the game in 10 minutes to start the second half.

Exeter needed only half that time, and did one better, taking its first lead in less than five minutes before the final 20 minutes of regulation turned into a back-and-forth battle that needed two overtimes to be decided. Ali Roeder saw Karli Scherph cutting to the cage, and with 2:06 left in the second OT, Scherph found the back of the net, giving the Blue Hawks a 13-12 win.

"I cut through, I noticed my girl turned her back, and I saw the opportunity to and took it," Scherph said. "I got it in my right and switched it over to my left and took the shot. I was so excited. It was a real team win."

The sophomore finished with two goals and an assist on the day for Exeter (7-5) while Hailey O'Kane had five goals and Roeder recorded two goals and two assists. Caroline Burke, Isabella Steiner, Jaqueline Tobin and Pheobe Christianson also had a goal apiece in the win, while Lily Blood finished with four saves.

Coming off a 17-6 loss last Tuesday to Souhegan, a game in which the Blue Hawks were keeping it close early, Landers felt she needed to refocus the team in order to improve some of its intangibles.

"If we start down, we’ve had trouble getting back," Landers said. "This entire week, we’ve been prepping with scenarios and setting small goals to allow us to have the mental toughness and be in the right headspace to be able to come back in a smart way. I was proud of the girls because we were able to do that.

"In the first half, we were down. (At halftime) we set a goal that we needed to get the score even in 10 minutes and they did it in five. It was really nice to see them get over that hurdle and really work on the momentum."

With the way the second half started, it looked like Exeter might run away with another win over Londonderry (2-9), having beaten the Lancers 16-9 in the season opener for both teams.

Burke got the scoring started, finding the back of the net 2:10 after halftime, and O'Kane and Roeder followed with goals just 49 seconds a part to tie it up at 8. The Blue Hawks got the draw again and O'Kane gave her team its first lead just nine seconds later, forcing the Lancers to take a timeout.

"We got one and then we went on a run," Scherph said. "Draw after draw, really the momentum, you could feel it within our team, from our defense transitioning into our offense. Everyone was feeling it and it was such a team momentum shift and it propelled us forward."

It might have been worse if Lodonderry goalie Jayden Sherwood wasn't as sharp as she was. The sophomore finished with 16 saves, including a handful early in the second half that kept the game from getting away from the Lancers.

"Being a goalie in any sport, it’s a mental game more than anything," Londonderry coach Kelsey Derhak said. "Lacrosse, it's hard because goals are going to be scored. It’s a matter of are you going to block it out and she’s been working fantastically on, as soon as we cross that line on to the field, everything else goes away and she’s super locked in."

Londonderry was able to settle things down after the timeout and tied the game on a goal by Meg Daileanes (three goals), but the Blue Hawks were able to retake the lead, 10-9, just nine seconds later.

Ashleigh Leone tied it back up with the second of her two goals with 7:07 to play. It looked like the Lancers were going to retake the lead when Natalie Washington (three goals, one assist) scored moments later, but Washington's momentum took her through the crease and the goal was waved off.

Exeter would go back in front two more times in the final 5:05, taking a 12-11 lead on a goal by O'Kane with 1:48 to play. The Blue Hawks won the draw and tried to run out the clock, but turned it over, giving the Lancers a chance to tie.

An initial shot went off the post, but Londonderry controlled the groundball and Daileanes scored with 26 seconds left to tie it at 12. Exeter won another draw, and with four seconds left, O'Kane was awarded a free position.

Sherwood made the save on O'Kane's attempt. Exeter got the groundball, but a final shot attempt came after the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

The Blue Hawks took the opening draw and took a quick shot that Sherwood stopped and successfully cleared. Londonderry tried to draw out a possession at the other end, getting a good look, but the shot hit the post again.

"We were getting the look," Derhak said. "We were looking to get the kids who were hot in the moment and let them get to cage. We were looking to clear some space. We did that, unfortunately, we hit a pipe."

Exeter was able to get the ball back in the final 30 seconds, but time ran out, sending the game to a second OT. This time, the Blue Hawks controlled the draw and set up a possession, finally getting that look when Roeder found Scherph for the game-winner.

"Learning moments and trying to understand when it’s the right time to push it and when it’s the time to settle," Landers said. "A win is a win, it worked out. It’s really good experience to build that mental toughness, which is something we’re working toward. We play Portsmouth on Monday and that’s going to take the mindset we had (Saturday) going into overtime."