Pinkerton girls lacrosse storms back to end with win over Londonderry (video)

DERRY - Members of the Pinkerton Academy girls lacrosse team used words like slow, frantic, hectic and commotion to describe the start of Thursday's game against Londonderry.

In other words, the joys of senior night.

The Astros needed more than a quarter to shake off the emotion of the pregame ceremony, and the extra juice of playing their regular-season finale against the Lancers, but once they were locked in, there was no looking back.

Pinkerton outscored Londonderry 12-2 over the final two-and-a-half quarters to turn an early deficit into a 15-8 win that gives the Astros the No. 2 seed heading into next week's Division I playoffs.

"We had a shaky first quarter, but then we got grooving," Pinkerton coach Katie Bourque said. "We went to our bread and butter, we did better on the draw, and things got better. (Londonderry) came out ready to fight. We’re always saying next play, keep going, and you’ve got to fight hard to the end."

While the Astros (15-3, No. 2 in the MerchSquared.com/NHHSSports Coaches Poll) were solidifying their postseason status, the Lancers (6-10, No. 10) were left needing one more win to get into the playoffs. Londonderry needs a win against Souhegan on Friday to clinch a spot in the postseason.

"They’re tough," Londonderry coach Kelsey Derhak said. "They’ve got a lot of heart, so I think they’ll come out, we have great captains, and they’re taking care of the girls. I’m sure they’ll come out with some fire. They don’t give up."

The Lancers didn't against the Astros, despite watching Pinkerton go on a 4-0 run to take a 7-6 lead into halftime. After the Astros upped the lead to two to start the third quarter, Londonderry got it back to one right away and scored in the final minute of the third to keep it a three-goal game.

But after a slow start to the fourth quarter for both teams, Pinkerton was able to pull away, thanks in part to its defense, led by goalie Sara DiClemente, who finished with eight saves.

"Those saves really set the tone for the game," DiClemente said. "I get in my head a little bit, but then I make a few big saves and I feel like that changes the whole dynamic of the game. It starts with the attitude back on the defense all the way up through the other side of the field."

Pinkerton made some changes to its defense starting in the second quarter to try to slow Londonderry down, and the adjustments had their intended purpose.

"We switched up our defense a little bit and turned to a little bit of man, and it ended up working, " junior Parker Knowlton said. "It’s very important, because if we aren’t getting those turnovers, or we’re getting to many calls on defense, they’re going to end up getting chance and they’ll take away the lead. We can’t have the offense do all the work. We have to do our part."

Francesca Doyle had five goals and an assist, including her 100th point of the season, to lead the offense and Hannah Lisauskas had two goals and six assists. Delaney Summers added two goals and two assist and Bella Petralia also scored twice.

Elise Collins also had a goal and an assist while Sookie Folsom, Anna Perkins and Ashley Clouthier had a goal apiece.

Londonderry got three goals each from Eres Delorey and Cora Rogers while Annabelle Melia also scored twice.

"We just needed a little more movement and execution on offense and that would have taken the pressure off our defense," Derhak said. "Our defense had to take the brunt of the work for the second half. We have a young offense, five out of seven are sophomores. It’s a mental game, too."