Nashua South girls lacrosse completes comeback to beat Exeter (video)

NASHUA - There haven't been many times this season where the Nashua High School South girls lacrosse team has found itself trailing by more than a goal or two.

But in each of the last two games, the Panthers have trailed in the second half. The first time, it didn't end well for them; on Tuesday, it did.

Down by five goals against Exeter early in the second half, South was able to regroup and outscore the Blue Hawks 9-1 over the final 21 minutes of the game, taking a 12-9 win in a Division I contest at Stellos Stadium.

Ella Benzekri led the way, scoring four of her game-high five goals during the Panthers' game-clinching run. That included three goals in a 3:21 stretch that made it a one-goal game and the sophomore's fourth goal put South up 9-8 with 11:51 to play.

Maddy Matylewski added four goals, including three in the second half, while Morgan Uzdanovich had what proved to be the game-winning goal with 10:06 remaining to go with an assist. Kaitlyn West and Kylie Dawe also had a goal and an assist each.

After losing at Dover by five goals last Friday, being able to fall behind in the next game and this time complete the come back was a big step for the Panthers (10-2, No. 8 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll).

"We talked about that, just keep chipping away and just keep moving on to the next play," South coach Ciki McIntire said. "I think we learned our lesson on Friday. We got frustrated and then we got down and then it was just spiraling out of control.

"I was really proud of the way they responded (Tuesday) when they got down and they really just kept chipping away. They just kept trying to win the next groundball, the next draw, and they kept everybody positive out there. That was huge."

South also got six saves from goalie Keira Walsh while Soleil Dubois, Nessa Reeder, Bailey Carroll and Nevaeh Eppolitto played well defensively. Karina O'Donnell stepped in on the draws and helped the Panthers win five straight during their second-half run.

Exeter (6-5, No. 9) got two goals and two assists from Casey More while Erin McIlroy and Mackenzie Babine had two goals apiece. Ally Roeder added a goal and an assist and Emily Lapia and Izzy Steiner also had a goal each for the Blue Hawks. Hazel Jacobs had eight saves.

"They started great, with high energy, playing like a team, hustling for 50-50 balls," Exeter coach Taylor Landers said. "(South) was coming out strong at the draw, so we knew we had to battle against that. I think we were able to have the confidence to make smart shots when we went to goal in the first half.

"We’re still working to figure out how to put that full 50 minutes (together). I’d hope at this point in the season, it’d be easier to keep that energy going, but it’s a constant battle for any team. If we played the game how we started, I think it would have been a different situation."

McIlroy put Exeter up just over a minute into the game and Lapia was credited with the goal when a groundball got between two South players and rolled into the goal to make it 2-1 Blue Hawks.

But the Panthers answered with back-to-back goals just 11 seconds apart, as Matylewski scored to tie it and Benzekri got the draw and sprinted down field before the Exeter defense could settle.

From there, the Blue Hawks were able to step up on defense and slowly started to build a lead.

"We’re really strong with our settled defense when it comes to crashing," Landers said. "When it comes to fast breaks, it’s something we’ve been working on against other teams. It’s definitely something we’ve been trying to practice, to slow the ball down a bit. They’re fast, if you’re fastest player can’t meet up, it’s difficult. It was a goal to try to get our attack to ride a bit stronger than we have in the past."

South had a chance to go up two goals moments after Benzekri's goal, but Jacobs came up with a save on a free position. Babine scored her two goals a little more than four minutes apart to give Exeter a 4-3 lead, and Roeder and Steiner each scored before the end of the half to make it 6-3 at the break.

The Panthers won the draw to open the second half, but Jacobs came up with a save and started a breakout for Exeter. The Blue Hawks goalie got the ball out quick and Roeder found More alone next to the goal to make it 7-3 just 31 seconds into the half.

Exeter won the draw and fired a shot off the post. South picked up the groundball but the Blue Hawks' ride forced a turnover that led to another goal by More for an 8-3 lead with only 57 seconds in the half.

But momentum started to shift after that, as Roeder picked up a yellow card moments later, and while South wasn't able to capitalize on the advantage, it helped set up a goal by Matylewski to end Exeter's run and start one for the Panthers.

"I don’t think at any time (Tuesday) they believed that they were going to lose," McIntire said. "That was completely different from what I saw on Friday. There’s going to be swings in the game, and just trying to come from behind, we haven’t had that that much, so it’s good for us. Lots of growth to be able to do that back-to-back and not spiral out of control again."