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# Merrimack field hockey takes advantage of opportunities to beat Bedford
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/merrimack-field-hockey-takes-advantage-of-opportunities-to-beat-bedford/
- Published: 2013-09-12T22:27:44.000Z
- Updated: 2013-09-12T22:27:44.000Z
- Description: BEDFORD – The Bedford High School field hockey team learned the hard way Wednesday that there are some things you just can’t get away with against good teams.
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division II, Fall Sports, Bedford, Division I, field hockey, Merrimack, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

BEDFORD – The Bedford High School field hockey team learned the hard way Wednesday that there are some things you just can’t get away with against good teams.

Twice, the Bulldogs broke down on defense, and twice, Merrimack made them pay. In the end, it was the difference, as the Tomahawks pulled out a 3-1 victory over the Bulldogs in Division I action.

![Bedford's Laura Costes and Merrimack's Cassie Smith chase after the ball during Wednesday's game. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/jmmerbedfh091113-m21b2-1.jpg)

Bedford's Laura Costes and Merrimack's Cassie Smith chase after the ball during Wednesday's game. For more photos, go to the Photo Album.

Laura Peltak had two second-half goals for Merrimack, while Callie Dwyer also scored, and the ’Hawks picked up their first win of the season. Alyssa Scott had the lone Bedford goal, which came with 4:14 left in the game.

“We did a fine job considering the elements,” Merrimack coach Ann MacLean said. “The heat really took its toll. I did see a lot of nice passing, I did see a lot of good support, and we definitely did some things better.”

That included the ’Hawks (1-2) transition game, which led to both of Peltak’s goals. On both plays, the ball quickly went down the field behind the Bedford defense, and Peltak was waiting on the far side both times to bury the goal.

“They were beautiful,” MacLean said. “Nice passing and going to the opposite side of the net, we hadn’t really done that all season, so it was nice to see that start to happen.”

While the loss was tough to take for the Bulldogs (2-2), head coach Steve Connors felt it was a much better showing than his team’s last effort – a 6-0 loss to Salem.

“We didn’t play well in our last game,” Connors said. “We weren’t there mentally or physically, and the first half of this game, we were. We controlled the ball for most of the first half. We had shots on goal. They weren’t quality, but they were good shots and we just weren’t rewarded.

“We broke down fundamentally. We have up two goals in the circle where we didn’t have anybody marked and that was the difference. When you break down fundamentally, you’re going to lose. The better teams are going to take advantage of that.”

Dwyer put Merrimack on the board with 18:55 to play in the first half, and Bedford controlled play for most of that time. But every time the Bulldogs moved into the Merrimack circle, the defense smothered them.

“I was surprised that they hadn’t put the ball in the net (in the first half) because we did make a lot of mistakes back there, like getting rid of the ball in front of the goal and not passing to the sides,” MacLean said. “We kept more defense back to not be as risky. We do a great job marking man-to-man.”

Merrimack made it 2-0 when Peltak knocked in a long pass from Dana Mendes with 20:07 left in the game. The ’Hawks put it out of reach with 8:24 to play, when Peltak again put in a long pass past Bedford goalie Paige Noble (five saves).

“They saw the difference in their play,” Connors said of his team’s play in its last two games. “They did well to battle, but we broke down twice, and both times they took advantage of it. Good for Merrimack for seeing a break and taking advantage.”