Portsmouth beats Merrimack for D2 girls lacrosse title

MANCHESTER – When the Portsmouth High School girls lacrosse team played its game this season, it was close to unstoppable.

Unfortunately for the rest of Division II, the Clippers played their game all year.

Portsmouth capped off an undefeated season with a 19-14 win over Merrimack Monday night in the Division II championship by controlling tempo and keeping the ball away from the Tomahawks’ potent offense.

Emily Whitney scored eight goals while Devon Parker added four and Emily Fregeau chipped in three, as the Clippers (18-0 in the division) turned a one-goal deficit into a seven-goal lead over a span of 20 minutes. During that stretch, Portsmouth was able to control the draw and slow the game down, and when it didn’t, it was finding ways to stop Merrimack.

“(The different was) controlling the tempo of the game and really determining what took place and when,” Portsmouth coach Mary Squire said. “The first 10 minutes, it was all jitters and nerves. They got a score, then we got a score, and it was back-and-forth fast break stuff.

“My offense is good enough that we can take control and put them back on their heels a bit. The idea was to get them to take some chances, make some mistakes and put some easy ones in.”

By the time Merrimack (15-3) was able to regroup, the deficit proved to be too great.

“They played a great first half and we were right there with them,” Merrimack coach Beth Rogers said. “Second half they just came out harder than we did and that’s going to happen.

“We knew that going into the game, that we needed to get the draw control to get momentum. If you can’t get the draw control, you can’t get the ball. You can’t the ball, you can’t get a goal. I think that’s where we fell short.”

When the teams met in the regular season, Portsmouth walked away with a 19-9 win that left Rogers disappointed in how the Tomahawks failed to play together. This time around, despite the outcome, things were different.

“I’m so happy how they played comparatively to the first time,” she said. “It’s hard to fall short, but at the same time they’ve got to be proud of themselves. We’ve taken three or four steps forward, and next year, we’re only going to be better. Now we can use this and learn from it.”

Merrimack got off to a good start, getting the first goal of the game from Erin MacLean just under two minutes in, and after Portsmouth took a 2-1 lead, the Tomahawks scored three goals in less than a minute to lead 4-2.

A goal by Lauren Perry, who led Merrimack with five scores, put the Tomahawks up 6-5 with 13:54 left in the first half. From there, the Clippers took control of the game.

Portsmouth slowed the tempo, aided by several draw controls, and scored five times over the next 11 minutes to go up 10-6.

“That’s been our struggle all season, really getting that draw-control,” Perry said. “If we can get that ball and get up into the offensive end, that’s where we really shine.”

Perry scored with 25 seconds left in the half to make it a three-goal game at halftime, but Merrimack failed to grasp any momentum that score might have created.

The teams traded goals to open the second half, as Portsmouth got one from Whitney and Merrimack’s Nicole Pelletier, who finished with four goals, scored to make it 11-8. But this time, the Clippers struck quickly, scoring four goals in a little more than two minutes to go up by seven.

Perry added an assist to her five goals, while MacLean and Pollard (two assists) each had two goals. Courtney Brown also had two assists for the Tomahawks and Julia Gladstone made five saves in goal.