Merrimack blows past Bow to reach D2 girls lacrosse semifinals

MERRIMACK - Offense is what has led the Merrimack High School girls lacrosse team this season.

The No. 1 Tomahawks averaged just under 18 goals per game against Division II opponents, but in their last three games, Merrimack has allowed a total of 11 goals. And after Wednesday's 17-4 win over No. 8 Bow in the division quarterfinals, Merrimack coach Beth Rogers thought her team was finally playing its best defensively.

"I think out of all of our games, this was the best game we’ve played defensively," she said. "That’s really exciting. We’ve been working all season on getting our defense together. Good time for it to happen."

The 'Hawks were so focused on their defense against the Falcons, Rogers felt they forgot about their offense in the first half, despite holding a 7-2 lead at the break.

"I think we were so focused on our defense, that we forgot to run our attack, too," she said. "Our focus in the second half was to run both our offense and our defense. We did that."

Merrimack (15-1) got four goals from Julia Perry while Maegan Howe (two assists) and Amanda Dionne (one assist) had three goals apiece. Emily Pollard and Katie Corriea each scored twice and had an assist while Lauren Perry scored two goals and Amber Olson had a goal and three assists.

The 'Hawks move on to face No. 4 Bedford (12-2), which defeated No. 5 Hanover 14-9 on Wednesday, in the semifinals at Southern New Hampshire Unviersity at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Last year, Merrimack and Bedford met in the semifinals, with the 'Hawks cruising to a 21-11 victory. During the regular season, Merrimack also won 15-11.

"We’re really excited to see them again," Rogers said of Bedford. "It should be a more competitive game. They have really good shooters and they’re really good in transition, so that will be something we work on in the next couple of days."

The other semifinal will start at 2 p.m. and will feature the last two Division II champions, as No. 2 Bishop Guertin will take on No. 3 Portsmouth.