Lead proves hard to keep for Londonderry, Bedford boys lacrosse teams

BEDFORD - Sean LeBlanc thought Monday's boys lacrosse game between his Londonderry High School team and Bedford might come down to the final possession.

That turned out to be the case, as the Lancers won 8-7 in overtime, and if the rules were different - say, like if the boys overtime rules were the same as the girls - the two teams might still be playing.

"It was a defensive battle," LeBlanc, the Londonderry coach, said. "Bedford's defense is unbelievably talented, those guys they have down there are a great players and we knew that coming into it. It wasn't going to be easy to score. We expected it to be a low-scoring game."

But not only were there few goals to be found, neither team could get any kind of momentum going. The largest lead of the game was one goal, which each side had four times, and those leads didn't last long.

Of the seven leads that came in regulation, four lasted for less than a minute, and only one went for more than two, as Bedford had a 2-1 lead for 4:50 of the second quarter.

In other words, for an eternity, at least in this game.

"There was never really a momentum shift at all," Bedford coach Matt Guerard said. "It was just a good battle back and forth all game long. Two evenly matched teams and it showed going into overtime."

When Bedford (6-4) took a 5-4 lead early in the third quarter, it took Londonderry just 35 seconds to tie it back up. The Lancers (6-2) then went ahead 6-5 moments later, and the Bulldogs came right back to tie it 46 seconds later.

Londonderry looked like it might have the back-breaker, scoring with 23.4 seconds left in the third to take a 7-6 lead, but the Lancers couldn't even get that lead to the fourth quarter. Bedford scored with 5.7 seconds left in the third, and it remained 7-7 all the way to the end of regulation.

"Something about this group, they always battle and they never give up," LeBlanc said. "We've come from behind more times than I can remember. It's something we're good at. I'm glad my defense rose to the occasion and was able to get a couple of stops to keep the score tight. I think that's why we won ultimately."

Going against a Bedford team that hadn't allowed more than six goals against a New Hampshire opponent, LeBlanc knew his defense was going to have to match the Bulldogs.

The biggest stand for the Lancers came in the third, when Bedford was able to keep possession for more than five minutes, which included a man-up situation for the Bulldogs.

Bedford took eight shots during that stretch, but only two were on goal, with Alexander Fawcett coming up with a save each time. Not long after that defensive stand, Londonderry took the 7-6 lead.

"That's tough to do," LeBlanc said. "It's tough to survive a possession for more than a minute, let alone a couple of minutes like that, against a good team like Bedford.

"We talk in practice about resetting mentally. When a shot goes out of bounds, get a bit of a break, reset and get your matchup. I was super proud of my defense and how they stepped up in the second half. I think that's what got us into overtime."

Londonderry doesn't have much time to regroup, as the Lancers face Pinkerton on Tuesday in a game that had been scheduled for May 5. The Astros come in averaging almost 14 goals per game.