Memorial shuts out Merrimack in D1 field hockey semifinals

EXETER – In the five seasons that Ann MacLean has coached the Merrimack High School field hockey team, the Tomahawks have gotten a little better each year.

Merrimack has made the playoffs all five seasons. In 2009, the ’Hawks won a playoff game for the first time, and last year, they finished in the top four for the first time.

This season, despite losing 11 seniors and dropping to sixth in the standings, Merrimack advanced to the semifinals for the first time. Unfortunately for the ’Hawks, the first championship-game appearance will have to wait until next year.

Despite several opportunities in the second half Tuesday, Merrimack couldn’t find a way to best Manchester Memorial’s defense and the No. 6 ’Hawks fell to the No. 2 Crusaders 2-0 in the Division I semifinals at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

The shutout was the ninth in a row for Memorial, which hasn’t allowed a goal in almost a month. Included in that stretch was a 1-0 win over Merrimack during the regular season, and given how close that game was, both coaches felt Tuesday’s game would be the same.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game,” Memorial coach Rebecca Libby said. “Merrimack has played very well throughout the season. They are an amazing team.”

Memorial (15-1) got a goal each from Maria Manning and Jenna Freitas and the Crusaders will make their first appearance in a championship game Sunday when they face No. 4 Winnacunnet, which knocked off No. 1 Pinkerton 1-0 in the other semifinal, at 5 p.m. at Bedford High School.

Emily Devaney made seven saves in goal for Merrimack (11-6), which will lose eight seniors from this year’s tight-knit team.

“That’s why this is really hard right now,” MacLean said. “We had a great season. Having lost so many seniors last year, we weren’t sure what the future was going to be. We did a great job.”

The ’Hawks had several opportunities in the second half, despite playing a less-than-stellar first half. Memorial controlled play and had six corners in the first half, but on each one, Merrimack’s defense stepped up and limited the Crusaders to one shot or less.

When the game went to halftime scoreless, MacLean felt her team had dodged a bullet.

“We didn’t play our best, but we definitely held them,” she said. “They had numerous corners and we held them from scoring. We said that at halftime, unfortunately the team that scores first is going to have that momentum going in. We definitely picked up the intensity.”

Unfortunately for Merrimack, the Crusaders picked it up in their own end. The ’Hawks had eight corners in the second half, and kept the ball on the Memorial side of the field for long stretches of play. But the Crusaders defense, led by Manning, Freitas and Desirae Leblanc, kept Merrimack off the board.

Midway through the second half, Memorial was able to get the ball onto the Merrimack side of the field. After a pair of corners for the Crusaders, Freitas found herself alone with the ball on the far side of the goal. Merrimack goalie Emily Devaney was able to get back into position to make the initial save, but she covered the rebound, giving Memorial a penalty stroke.

Manning lined up for the stroke and sent the ball to Devaney’s right, just out of the goalie’s reach, giving Memorial a 1-0 lead with 16:42 to play.

“She is such a consistent player,” Libby said of Manning. “She’s just amazing. Her teammates have such a trust in her. It’s hard to find another word for her. She’s amazing.”

Merrimack came right back and took control of play again, but every time the ’Hawks got close, Memorial’s defense stepped up.

MacLean pulled her defense up in the final two minutes, and a long pass got to a wide-open Freitas, who was able to beat Devaney one-on-one with 50 seconds left to make it 2-0.

“It takes a little wind out of your sails,” MacLean said of the penalty stroke. “I thought we picked it up again and got back into the game. It really felt like we were evenly matched and I thought we had a chance, I really did.”