Lacrosse roundup: Area teams reach semifinals

A total of seven area high school lacrosse teams advanced to the semifinals Thursday, setting up two all-area matchups in both Division II girls and boys lacrosse.

In Division I, the Bishop Guertin boys and the Souhegan girls moved on to the final four, and in Division II, the Merrimack and Bedford girls, and the Souhegan and Bedford boys, will play for a spot in the finals.

Division I boys

No. 2 Bishop Guertin blew past No. 7 Concord 15-2 in the quarterfinals, with Matt Thistle leading the way with three goals for the Cardinals. Bishop Guertin will now face No. 3 Hanover, which defeated No. 6 Nashua South 16-4, in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Sunday at Stellos Stadium in Nashua.

The other semifinal will feature No. 1 Pinkerton, which defeated No. 8 Salem 20-7, and No. 4 Exeter, a 15-9 winner over No. 5 Londonderry. That game will be played at 7 p.m. Sunday, also at Stellos Stadium.

Division II boys

Top-seeded Souhegan reached the semifinals with a 14-7 win over No. 8 Keene. The Sabers got six goals from Zadek Burstein and another four goals from Brendan Laine. Souhegan will take on No. 4 Bedford, which knocked off No. 5 St. Thomas 6-4, in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Saturday at Exeter High School.

In other action, No. 3 Bow moved on with a 7-6 win over No. 6 Oyster River, while No. 2 Dover was a 13-11 winner over No. 7 Portsmouth. Those two winners will meet in the other semifinal at 5 p.m. at Exeter.

Division III boys

No. 3 Hollis/Brookline had its season ended by No. 6 Pelham, 6-3, despite getting 11 saves in goal from Alvaro Guzman. Matt Firmani, Ryan Papineau and Matt Grant each had a goal for the Cavaliers. Pelham advances to take on No. 10 Gilford, which upset No. 2 Derryfield 13-11, in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Saturday at Stellos Stadium.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 Kearsarge defeated No. 9 Lebanon 17-5 while No. 4 Hopkinton beat No. 5 Plymouth 10-3. The winners will meet at 7 p.m. Saturday also at Stellos Stadium.

Division I girls

No. 3 Souhegan got its third win of the season against No. 6 Hollis/Brookline, winning 9-5. Jamie Wallisch had four goals and Mickenzie Larivee had three for the Sabers, while the Cavs got three goals from Caitlin Sweeney. Souhegan will now face No. 2 Concord, which defeated No. 7 Manchester Central 19-4, in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Saturday at Southern New Hampshire University.

No. 1 Londonderry knocked off No. 8 Manchester Memorial 17-4, while No. 4 Exeter took out No. 5 Pinkerton 8-7. Londonderry and Pinkerton will meet in the other semifinal, scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday at SNHU.

Division II girls

No. 6 Bedford pulled off the upset of the day, beating No. 3 Bow 8-7, knocking off a team that has played in eight of the nine Division II championship games and had never failed to advance to the semifinals.

Bedford will face No. 2 Merrimack, which was a 16-10 winner over No. 7 Winnacunnet, in the semifinals at 2 p.m. Saturday at SNHU.

No. 4 Bishop Guertin also advanced to the final four, beating No. 5 Hanover 15-10 on Wednesday, and will take on No. 1 Portsmouth in the semifinals Saturday at 4 p.m. at SNHU. Portsmouth advanced with an 18-11 win over No. 8 Lebanon.

High School Highlights - Nashua Telegraph

High School Lacrosse - Nashua Telegraph

No. 3 Bow 7, No. 6 Oyster River 6 - Concord Monitor

Dover holds off Portsmouth to gain semis - Foster's Daily Democrat

Talented Tyler - Eagle Tribune