Losing D2 title a year ago helped Portsmouth boys lacrosse focus on winning in '24

It turned out, losing in the Division II championship game last season might have been the best thing that could have happened for the Portsmouth High School boys lacrosse team this season.

Would the Clippers have been as focused on winning a fourth title in a row this season? No one can say for sure, but Portsmouth senior Zac Amend felt his team's overtime loss to Derryfield in the 2023 title game gave he and his teammates the motivation to get back to the top.

"We were there last year and we lost," Amend said. "We had a hunger going into (this year's final) and that's what led us to win that game. We were ready to give everything we had on that field that day.

"(Losing) set us up well for this season. It would have been amazing to win all four years, but I took it as a learning experience. I grew as a player and got better."

After a season full of slow starts, Portsmouth came out firing against Derryfield in the title game, jumping out to an early lead and then pulling away in the second half for a 13-9 win on June 8.

"We had been waiting for that for 365 days," Portsmouth senior Nick Smith said of the game. "We were ready to go and excited for the game to start. That’s a perfect recipe for a quick start."

During the regular season, the Clippers (20-0) had taken a 10-9 win over the Cougars, but they had been without junior Ben Purcell, who was turning into another big scoring option for Portsmouth outside of Amend, Smith and Lucas Patten.

Purcell was ready to come back for the team's quarterfinal against Goffstown, and put in a couple of goals, but it was in the semifinal win over Timberlane, when the junior had eight goals, that opened some eyes.

"Having him back changed our offense up a lot," Portsmouth coach Chad Vischer said of Purcell's return. "It allowed us to have more confidence and have more options. He couldn’t miss against Timberlane."

Purcell added five more goals against Derryfield and Amend had three goals and an assist, but it was the way the defense handled a man-down situation that had Smith feeling like the Clippers weren't going to lose the game.

"I got called for an illegal stick, which is a two-minute, locked-in penalty," he said. "I saw (goalie Kai Paterson) starting to heat up. We put him in position to make saves and he did, including one on the doorstep, and that killed the penalty.

"The defense matched up with them so well, and he was making saves."

Paterson finished with 19 saves for Portsmouth, helping to erase the sting of last year's title game.

"That’s the best he’s played and that’s when it mattered the most," Amend said. "He really turned it on. There were times when Kai was making saves and guys were wowed by how good he was playing."

Getting a third title in four years was a great way for Amend and Smith, who both contributed to the first title as freshmen, to close out their high school careers.

"My goal as a freshman was to make the varsity team," Amend said. "I expected a few minutes, I certainly didn’t expect to start. It was pretty surreal. I never expected to play for a championship all four years. I couldn’t happier for my career."

It started at a time when nothing felt certain, coming off a 2020 season that never happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Portsmouth had experience some turnover coming back the next year, with two freshmen coming in who were about to make a pretty big impact on the program.

"Never expect too little from yourself, but never expect too much either," Smith said. "We didn't expect much of that group at all (freshman year), and even before the season, there was a lack of hope and energy.

"But then we started lighting it up and became something we never expected."

While the Clippers only lose four to graduation - Amend, Smith and Patten along with senior defender Andrew Timmerman - there will be some big holes to fill next season.

"It’s a crazy comment to say we’re only losing four players, because three are our best players," Vischer said. "I feel good about (next year), but we definitely have big holes that we’ve got to replace, and I don’t know if you can replace them."