Pinkerton girls lacrosse able to overcome Souhegan comeback (video)

DERRY - It might be a new season, but Francesca Doyle hasn't forgotten how last year ended for the Pinkerton Academy girls lacrosse team.

The Astros had high expectations a season ago, but saw it all come to an end in the Division I quarterfinals against Souhegan.

With the Sabers in town Monday for the team's first meeting since the postseason, Doyle and her teammates were ready to go. The junior scored Pinkerton's first four goals of the game to give the Astros an early lead and they held off a fierce Souhegan comeback for a 9-8 win.

Pinkerton led 5-1 just over two minutes into the second quarter and was up 8-3 early in the third. Souhegan cut the lead down to one with 1:36 remaining, and had a chance to tie, but was unable to.

"I think we knew what we were looking for," Doyle said. "We really came in all fired up and we knew what to do from the start. I think we had to calm down more (in the second half). I could tell we were getting tense and frantic."

Hannah Lisauskas added two goals and three assists, including one on each of Doyle's first two goals, while Delanie Summer had two goals and an assist and Elise Collins also scored. Sara DiClemente finished with eight saves for Pinkerton (5-1, No. 3 in the MerchSquared.com/NHHSSports Coaches Poll).

"It was a good game," Pinkerton coach Katie Bourque said. "Souhegan is a great opponent, they’re well-coached. I thought we had a good start and then we had to pick it back up. Overall, happy with the stuff that we did. A couple of errors here and there, but it’s pretty early in the season, so it’s good we still have stuff to work on."

The Sabers (3-2, No. 5) got four goals from Libby Kennedy while Izzy Stevenson had two goals and two assists. Averie Curran added a goal and an assist while Emmie Curran also scored and Emma Crisman had three saves.

"I was super proud of my team," Souhegan coach McKinley Curro-Sbordone said. "We started off a little slow, getting ourselves in a hole, which was the same thing that happened with Portsmouth (in a loss on April 21), and we had to dig out. We showed adversity by coming out and fighting. We’ve got a young group."

Of the Sabers' goal scorers, two are sophomores and two are freshmen, while two other sophomores and two other freshmen have been contributors this season.

"The fact we’re starting to gell and become a team is showing," Curro-Sbordone said. "They kept fighting. I think we just needed a couple of more minutes there. I’m proud of how they rose to the challenge."

The challenge at first was finding a way to slow down Doyle, who scored twice in the first quarter to give Pinkerton a 2-1 lead. Two goals in two minutes to open the second made it 4-1 and led to a Souhegan timeout and some defensive adjustments.

"Franny got hot," Bourque said. "Once she finds the back of the net, her confidence is going to go up, and good things happen. Then they took her away, and another player had to step up. Franny getting hot for us was huge."

The Sabers faceguarded Doyle after that, but after the Astros won the draw, Lisauskas found Collins for a goal just 23 seconds later for a 5-1 lead.

Souhegan's defense buckled down after that and the Sabers were able to make it 6-3 going into halftime, but two goals in the first four minutes of the third made it 8-3 Pinkerton. Souhegan got both goals back before the end of the quarter, but Lisauskas scored what proved to be the game-winner less than a minute into the fourth to make it 9-5.

The Sabers were able to chip away at the lead, getting to within two on a goal by Kennedy with 7:37 remaining. After Souhegan won the draw, Pinkerton's Ashley Clouthier picked up a yellow card, giving the Sabers an player advantage for two minutes.

But Souhegan was unable to take advantage, turning the ball over, and Pinkerton was able to kill off the penalty. Stevenson scored on a free position with 1:36 remaining, but the Astros controlled the draw and killed off all but the final seconds, as time ran out as the Sabers were trying to advance the ball.

"It was just a great day," Doyle said. "Our energy was awesome. Our team chemistry is great. I think that was key, team chemistry."