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# Laconia boys lacrosse stayed in the moment to win D3 final
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/laconia-boys-lacrosse-stayed-in-the-moment-to-win-d3-final/
- Published: 2022-06-19T13:00:54.000Z
- Updated: 2022-06-19T13:00:54.000Z
- Description: The Laconia High School boys lacrosse team returned nine out of 10 starters in 2022. During the regular season, the Sachems allowed an average of just 4.3 goals per game and gave up double digits only once. And in the Division III semifinals, they pulled off the biggest upset of the season, handing
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division III-IV, boys lacrosse, Division III, Laconia, NH High School Sports Insider, Sachems, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

The Laconia High School boys lacrosse team returned nine out of 10 starters in 2022.

During the regular season, the Sachems allowed an average of just 4.3 goals per game and gave up double digits only once.

And in the Division III semifinals, they pulled off the biggest upset of the season, handing undefeated and top-seeded Campbell its only loss of the year.

But when Laconia took the field last Sunday against Hopkinton for the D3 championship, none of that mattered. What mattered was that they got off to a fast start and held on for a 12-10 win over the Hawks.

"It doesn’t matter what happened in May, doesn’t matter what happened in April, what happened today is what matters," Laconia coach Steve McDonough said. "The guys just bought in and we had to play (Sunday). Wednesday (in the semifinals) didn’t matter.

"We knew all year how we were capable of playing, and I felt like, it took longer than I would have liked to get some buy-in to how I wanted us to play, but better late than never. I couldn’t be more proud of them."

Laconia took being in the moment to the extreme, as McDonough didn't talk to his team about what their matchups at either end of the field might be until they were in the locker room before the game at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

"We just wanted to play Laconia lacrosse," the coach said. "We didn’t even talk about what our matchups where until we were in the locker room before the game (Sunday). That’s the nature of this team.

"We just started to click and understand. I write on the board, players make plays, plays don’t make players. Read the matchup, find the matchup, and move. That’s what it was all about and they did a great job finding those matchups."

What turned out to be the most important one for the Sachems turned out to be on the offensive end, where Laconia tried to stay away from Hopkinton junior defender Steven Reddy.

"We were really trying to avoid (Reddy) at all costs," McDonough said. "Whoever he was on, we called it Ludacris. Move … I can’t say the rest of it. That’s kind of our call for you to take him and get out of the way. He’s that good of a player, we respect him that much.

"We saw that in the regular season, he dominated us. He dominated the game (Sunday). He’s terrifying. He’s a phenomenal on-ball defender. It’s almost like if he’s on you, he’s going to take the ball away. Our guys did a great job embracing that game plan."

It helped that the coaches kept things similar to what the team had done all season in an attempt to keep the players comfortable.

"For us all year, we focused on some tidbits and some keys and obviously (Reddy), but it was more about just play our style and do what we do," McDonough said. "I’ve got a lot of basketball guys who play defense, they make good reads. The way we play man-to-man is that, we give kids the freedom to go make jumps on balls and plays, and it worked out for us this year."

The championship is Laconia's first since 2016, and fifth overall, as the program won three straight D3 titles from 2003-05\. McDonough was an assistant coach on that last championship season and had moved up to head coach when the Sachems fell to Hopkinton in the final in 2018.

Also Laconia's boys basketball coach, McDonough has had competitive teams in both sports and made it deep into the playoffs in both, but none had made it to the top.

"(It's about) the affirmation that we can do this," the coach said. "We’ve had a couple of tough losses in basketball in the playoffs the last few years. It means a lot for me personally. There’s a lot of sacrifices that go with being a two-sport varsity coach, with my daughter and my wife. For the city of Laconia and these kids, it just goes to show all the hard work that’s been put in with our youth program and all the coaches that have helped these guys throughout."