Hollis Brookline girls lacrosse comes back, survives in playoff win over Goffstown (video)

HOLLIS - No matter what happened during Thursday's Division II quarterfinal, the Hollis Brookline High School girls lacrosse team was determined not to get derailed.

There were plenty of opportunities for that to happen to the Cavaliers.

No. 3 HB lost one of top offensive players and leaders on the draw under 10 minutes into the game, fell behind No. 6 Goffstown early, and played down a player for the final 20-plus minutes.

Despite that, the Cavs still found away to come back to take a one-goal lead at halftime and then play keep-away for most of the second half, as they defeated the Grizzlies 8-4 to advance to the final four for the fifth consecutive season. There, HB will face No. 2 Windham at 5 p.m. Saturday at Stellos Stadium in Nashua.

"Our motto (Thursday) was poise under pressure and do not let anything, or anybody, rattle our cage," HB coach Linda Haytayan said. "That means a card, it means a player out of the game, it means a bad call. We played pretty much the whole game a man down. They had to dig deep and step it up, which they did."

The Cavs (14-4) received four yellow cards throughout the game, with the final one coming with 20:34 remaining in the game, leaving them down for the rest of the time. The other three cards came in the game's first 10 minutes, with two against junior Cailean Roy, disqualifying her from the game.

"That was a big punch in the gut," Haytayan said. "She’s second (on the team) in draw controls. We talked about that first step on the ball and working that two-man game in the draw, box and body and allowing your player to get the lane."

But the Cavs were able to rally, getting three goals and an assist from Sabrina Hill and two goals and two assists from Alyssa Hill. Paige Mello added two goals and Bella Haytayan also scored while Paige Magnuszewski, Julia Vella, Daniella Allanach and Juliette Ogren played well defensively and Addy Dougherty made four saves.

As a team, Goffstown (12-6) had just eight shots, only one of which came in the second half, despite the Grizzlies having the extra-player advantage. Goffstown won the first three draws of the game, but just one of the final 11, as Alyssa Hill stepped in for Roy.

"It’s good to know that even without one of the best players on the team, we can come together and figure out what we need to work on," Hill said of stepping in on the draw.

The Grizzlies got two goals and an assist from Eva deMatteis while Nora Erwin and Cadence Hirsch also scored. Jocelyn Ashford finished with two assists and Abaigeal Estano had five saves.

While HB was able to run out the first two penalties to start the game, Goffstown scored on the third and took a 2-0 lead. The Grizzlies also were up 4-2 with 8:15 left in the first half when the Cavs flipped things.

Haytayan took a timeout after the goal, and there was a heated discussion among coaches and players during the break.

"I think we just were like this can not be our last game," HB senior Alyssa Hill said. "We really just need to pull it together and calm down because we were all getting so nervous. We just need to come back and we did it."

After HB won the draw, Sabrina Hill was awarded a free position and she scored with 7:14 left in the half to cut the lead to one. The Cavs got the next draw, and after taking a couple of shots and keeping possession, Mello tied the game with 3:58 to go until halftime.

Goffstown won the draw, but turned it over, and while Estano was able to make an initial save on an HB shot, the Cavs got the groundball and Alyssa Hill received a free position. But instead of taking a shot, the senior founder her younger sister, Sabrina, cutting toward the cage for a goal and a 5-4 lead.

"It’s nice because I feel like it gave us more confidence, and I feel like, from there, we were able to really put the gas on and finish it out," Alyssa Hill said of having the lead at halftime.

The elder Hill scored 52 seconds into the second half to make it 6-4, but less than four minutes later, Mello received a yellow card. Despite being up a player, Goffstown turned the ball over right away and struggled the rest of the way to get possession back.

When the Grizzlies did get the ball, they weren't able to get many opportunities, as their only shot of the second half came in the final two minutes.

"We were spreading the ball out and they were bringing the double (team) to the ball and trying to lock up the adjacents, but we kept the ball hot and kept moving it," Linda Haytayan said. "I think they handled the pressure well. It got to them, but it didn’t result in poor play."

Alyssa Hill made it 7-4 with 16:57 left to play, forcing a Goffstown timeout, and the Cavs got the draw, and this time, Sabrina Hill scored less than a minute later to make it 8-4.

From there, HB was able to run out the clock.

"Those games feel extra long, when you’re just passing it around for so long," Alyssa Hill said. "In the beginning, we were getting a little nervous, because they were coming on a bit strong. Toward the end, even when we were a man down, we talked together, and we know we can rely on each other."