Nashua South girls lacrosse snaps skid with win over Londonderry (video)

NASHUA - The Nashua High School South girls lacrosse team needed to go back to the drawing board to fix its defense.

After allowing an average of 6.8 goals through the first 11 games, the Panthers had allowed 35 in their previous two, so on Sunday, South spent a little extra time on that side of the ball.

The work paid off for the Panthers, as they held Londonderry, which had scored at least 15 goals in its previous three games, in check for most of the day in a 9-7 win in a Division I game Monday at Stellos Stadium.

Kirsten McIntire led South (9-5) with four goals and two assists and Olivia Johnson had two goals and three assists, but the defense led the way, particularly in the second half, when the Lancers (6-7) were able to maintain possession for long stretches.

"We worked a lot on defense (Sunday) and what we worked on kind of paid off," South coach Ciki McIntire said. "That was the best team lacrosse they’ve played in a couple of weeks. The defense was amazing. It started with the defense and the offense did a really good job of playing unselfishly and working a two-player game."

Rileigh Bunton finished with eight saves for the Panthers, with four coming in each half, while Izzy Bolduc, Emma Pucillo, Livvy Kingston and Bailey Morin played well in front of Bunton.

"We dropped passes inside that could have been goals," Londonderry coach Scott Walden said. "I think we were a little tight in that first half. A lot of dropped balls, a lot of possessions I think we gave up, that was a big key. Getting down by a few early, that seems to be a theme this year and then making a comeback at the end."

Sarah Signorello added two goals and an assist and Liz Harrington also had a goal while Kaitlyn West added an assist for South.

Londonderry got three goals and an assist from Grace Chicko while Jenna Stowell had two goals and Maddy Walden (assist) and Hannah McCutcheon had a goal apiece.

The Lancers scored the game's first goal in the opening minute, but South tied it up on its first possession, starting a 4-0 run for the Panthers that gave them a three-goal lead with 9:48 left in the first half. Londonderry took a timeout, and after the break, Chicko found Maddy Walden for a goal to cut the lead to two.

But South responded, as Johnson found Harrington in front of the net for a goal and then added a score of her own to put the Panthers up 6-2 at halftime.

Londonderry controlled possession to start the second half, getting a pair of goals from Chicko and Stowell to make it 6-4 a little more than five minutes into the half. The Lancers won the draw and had a chance to cut the lead to one, but Bunton came up with a save that turned into a goal by McIntire at the other end.

The Panthers got the ensuing draw and Johnson scored to give South an 8-4 lead with 13:02 left in the game.

While the Lancers were able to get back within two goals twice, including a goal by Chick with 2:11 left that made it 9-7, the Panthers were able to do enough at both ends to hang on for the win.

"It was enough," Ciki McIntire said. "We’re still that one small step away from making it even a little bit better. It’s good for them to be in pressure situations like this. There will be more situations down the road.

"It’s nice to get them feeling like they played as a team. When they play as a team, they can accomplish the goals they’ve set."