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# Nashua South girls lacrosse headed in right direction after win over Salem
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/nashua-south-girls-lacrosse-headed-in-right-direction-after-win-over-salem/
- Published: 2018-04-24T13:00:18.000Z
- Updated: 2018-04-24T13:00:18.000Z
- Description: NASHUA - The Nashua High School South girls lacrosse knew that the start to its season was going be tough. But after opening the year against three of last season's semifinalists, the Panthers believed they had a good chance to get in the win column and keep things rolling. So far, so good, as South
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, girls lacrosse, Nashua South, Salem, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

NASHUA - The Nashua High School South girls lacrosse knew that the start to its season was going be tough.

But after opening the year against three of last season's semifinalists, the Panthers believed they had a good chance to get in the win column and keep things rolling.

So far, so good, as South took care of business on Monday, starting strong and holding off Salem for a 9-3 win in Division I action at Stellos Stadium.

It's the second win in a row for the Panthers (2-3), and the second time they've allowed fewer than five goals in as many games.

"Defense played really well," South coach Ciki McIntire said. "The groundballs, we did a really good job. We did a really good job defensively, but struggled a little bit offensively.

"Part of that was that they were doing a good job of doubling the ball. We just weren’t cutting in to be that extra person. We did a good job of settling in on offense. That’s something we’ve been working on, keeping possession and not settling for shots."

Liz Harrington led South with five goals and Kirsten McIntire had three goals while Sarah Signorello had a goal and an assist. Paige Garland and Emma Murphy had an assist apiece while goalie Abby Rowe made 15 saves.

"Abby, I would say, had her best game of the season," Ciki McIntire said. "She was reacting well to the ball and she made some key saves for us early on."

That included stops on Salem's first three shots of the game, including one that turned into a breakout that led to a goal and a 2-0 lead for South just 3:34 into the game.

"I felt like the first couple of saves I made were key," Rowe said. "It was still a close game. It’s really big for me. It means I’m getting back into the groove of things, especially after those three tough games."

Maddison Grasso led the Blue Devils (0-3) with two goals and Mackenzie Svenson also scored while goalie Julia Sacco made 13 saves, including a handful in the first half after South had taken the initial lead. Salem was able to keep the Panthers off the board for almost 13 minutes, until Kirsten McIntire made it 3-0 with 9:05 left in the half.

Salem got one back when Grasso scored to make it 3-1 with 5:07 to go before halftime, but South tacked on four goals over the final 3:48 of the half to lead 7-2 at the break.

"I thought we played much better in the first half than we did in the second half," Ciki McIntire said. "We were battling the heat and we’re down a little bit with injuries, so there was some switching on the field. We talked at halftime about the energy level and coming out with a zero-zero mentality."

South got the first goal of the half on a free position from Harrington, but again, the Panthers went through a long scoring drought. Despite the lack of scoring, South was able to kill clock by possessing the ball and passing it around.

Grasso's second goal made it 8-3 with 7:04 to play, and Hannah Dumaine was assessed a yellow card on the play, giving Salem a man-advantage for two minutes. But despite winning the draw, the Blue Devils turned the ball over, giving South a chance to put the game away.