Nashua South girls lacrosse takes positive steps in win over Hollis Brookline

HOLLIS – The Nashua High School South girls lacrosse team made the trip to Hollis Brookline Friday for the second time this spring.

The weather for both days wasn’t all that different: cold, rainy, windy. The way the Panthers responded to it was.

South scored twice in the final minute of the first half and held off HB in the second half, with both teams battling rain and wind throughout the game, as the Panthers picked up a 9-7 win over the Cavs.

"I said before the game, the last time we were here was for the jamboree, and it was cold and rainy, and it was early and they were miserable," South coach Ciki McIntire said. "I talked about grit and mental toughness, and it’s fitting that these were the elements again, but the attitude was completely different. I think they were ready to play."

Addie Borden and Carly Benzekri led South with three goals each and Karina O'Donnell had a pair of goals. Maren Lowell added a goal and an assist while Saige Devins recorded an assist and Lilee Petricca made three saves.

South also got a strong defensive performance from freshman Lexi McGuire, who was tasked with guarding HB senior Sabrina Hill throughout the game. Hill scored two goals, as did Sam Smith and Elise Broadhurst, while Tegan Arborgast also had a goal for the Cavs.

"She’s going to score," McIntire said of Hill. "Lexi is a freshman, a basketball player. She was tasked with making sure (Hill) couldn’t get to her right hand, and every time she did, she scored. She’s going to get a couple in there."

Nevaeh Eppolitto, Karina Santana, Nitzann Alkalay and Maddie Langer also had solid defensive games for South.

"I thought our defense stepped up," McIntire said. "We’ve been trying to focus on defense. There were a couple of letdowns here and there, but for the most part, they had a lot of good defensive stands. It was good to see some other people step up."

The Panthers (8-3 in D1, No. 7 in the MerchSquared.com/NHHSSports Coaches Poll) scored in the first minute, winning the draw and going down the field quickly, setting up a goal by Maren Lowell just 43 seconds into the game.

But the Cavs (2-7 in D2) regrouped and took the lead on goals by Sabrina Hill and Elise Broadhurst. South was able to tie it up before the end of the opening quarter and took the lead early in the second, but HB tied it up with 5:32 left in the half.

Then, in the final minute, South scored two goals in 32 seconds, the second of which came from O'Donnell and gave the Panthers a 5-3 lead. HB opened the third quarter with a goal to cut the lead to one, but the teams traded goals for the entire second half, as South kept the lead the rest of the way.

Hill scored to make it an 8-7 game with 8:15 to play, just 37 seconds after Borden had put the Panthers up two. But South was able to control possession enough to keep the Cavs from getting closer and Benzekri scored with 1:43 to play to get the lead back to two.

"It was a good game, it was back and forth, which is what you want.," McIntire said. "You just don’t know how much the weather played into what was happening on the field. I think both teams just had random turnovers that probably wouldn’t have happened if the elements weren’t what they were. Both teams battled."