Merrimack field hockey rolls past Manchester Memorial in D1 playoffs (video)

MERRIMACK - The Merrimack High School field hockey team has tried all season to find the right combination on offense to improve its ability to finish.

Against Manchester Memorial on Tuesday, the Tomahawks put it all together and then couldn't stop scoring.

No. 8 Merrimack scored two goals in 57 seconds in the first half and then tacked on four more in the second half for a 6-0 win over No. 9 Memorial in the Division I preliminary round. The win sends the Tomahawks (9-6) to the quarterfinals, where they will face No. 1 Pinkerton (13-1) at 3 p.m. on Friday.

Megan Dinsmore had two goals and an assist and Erin Knauer also scored twice, including on a penalty stroke with 20:32 remaining that made it a 4-0 game. Jordan Jacoby had a goal and an assist while Ellie Boucher added a goal and Demetria Gonzalez had an assist.

After the Crusaders (6-9) were unable to register a shot in the first half, Merrimack goalie Heather Rohr made 12 in the second half to preserve the shutout.

"They did a great job," Merrimack coach Anne MacLean said. "At the beginning of the game, (Memorial) played a lot of long ball, back and forth, so the girls had to change their style because we’re more of a finesse team. We had to make sure we intercepted those long passes. I thought they worked a lot on changing the field and supporting each other."

Memorial goalie Carly Dedrick finished with 16 saves and made a number of those early in the game, when Merrimack was putting pressure on the Crusaders' defense. But the Tomahawks were unable to cash in in the circle, thanks to unlucky bounces or stops by Dedrick.

Midway through the first half, Gonzalez brought the ball down and sent a pass toward the top of the circle that Jacoby was able to one-time past the outstretched leg of Dedrick to give Merrimack the lead.

The Tomahawks quickly got the ball back and got a penalty corner, and this time, a shot by Jacoby was deflected in by Dinsmore to make it a 2-0 game with 15:36 to go until halftime.

"It was a really big relief," Knauer said of the first-half lead. "We have confidence in our team to get it done. We were surprised (by the second goal). We practice so much on it. We have confidence in each other and that really helps with each other."

Dinsmore then made it 3-0 just 20 seconds into the second half when she knocked in a rebound.

For Memorial, it was a frustrating start after finishing the regular season by winning five of eight to get into the postseason.

"We didn’t come out as strong as we hoped," Memorial coach Meredith Doyle said. "We definitely needed to step to the ball and have that aggression that we saw Merrimack had. I think we did see that in the second half, it just wasn’t quite enough. I’m proud at how they didn’t just lay down. They continued to battle back and push."

The Crusaders flipped the field after the Tomahawks' third goal, getting back-to-back corners and putting a couple of shots on goal. Memorial was able to keep the ball in Merrimack's end for most of the second half, but every opportunity the Tomahawks got, they capitalized.

Knauer scored her first goal on a penalty stroke, making it a 4-0 game, and after Rohr made a couple of saves following the goal, Merrimack went the other way, getting a corner of its own. Knauer's shot from the top of the circle changed direction in the air and found the back of the goal to make it 5-0 with 11:21 to play.

Boucher scored with two seconds left to finish out the scoring.

"It was really big because we’ve been struggling with finishing all season," MacLean said of the offensive output. "It’s good for the girls because they gain that confidence. We’ve been moving around some positions and it seemed like it gave us a push. We definitely have people to get the job done, it’s just a matter of figuring out where to put them."

The Tomahawks now head to Pinkerton, who beat Merrimack 3-2 in the first game of the regular season on Sept. 5.