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# Portsmouth blows by Hollis Brookline to win fifth D2 girls lacrosse title in a row (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/portsmouth-blows-by-hollis-brookline-to-win-fifth-d2-girls-lacrosse-title-in-a-row-video/
- Published: 2022-06-09T17:35:42.000Z
- Updated: 2022-06-09T17:35:42.000Z
- Description: NASHUA - Whenever things have gone sideways for the Portsmouth High School girls lacrosse team, the Clippers have regrouped and reminded themselves to play their brand of lacrosse. That means going full speed, straight ahead, and playing together, and Hollis Brookline felt the full brunt of it Wedne
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division II, championship, girls lacrosse, Hollis Brookline, playoffs, Portsmouth, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

NASHUA - Whenever things have gone sideways for the Portsmouth High School girls lacrosse team, the Clippers have regrouped and reminded themselves to play their brand of lacrosse.

That means going full speed, straight ahead, and playing together, and Hollis Brookline felt the full brunt of it Wednesday night.

Top-seeded Portsmouth went on a 12-0 run in a 13-minute stretch that spanned each half, controlling almost every draw and keeping the No. 3 Cavaliers pinned in their end the entire time, on the way to a 20-7 win in the Division II championship game at Stellos Stadium in Nashua.

Its the fifth-straight D2 title for the Clippers (19-2, No. 4 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) and ninth overall, as they prepare to make the move to Division I for the next two-year cycle.

"I think we came in really hyped up and ready to go," Portsmouth coach JoJo Curro said. "We had a couple of turnovers and that kind of rattled us a tiny bit. But then I think everyone took a deep breath and decided that we’re going to play Portsmouth lacrosse, which is what we always say throughout the entire season. That is exactly what we did. It is fast, but also as a team. We started and ended this whole game as a team.

"Our motto for (Wednesday) was all gas, no breaks. We are just going and we are not stopping, that’s what we did. We’ve got to keep going."

Mia Smith led Portsmouth with five goals and three assists while Charlotte Marston and Avery Ruhnke each had three goals and an assist. Morgan Ruhnke also had three goals and Annie Parker and Sally Collins each had two while Ellie Seefried had a goal and two assists.

They all scored during the Clippers' dozen-goal run, as they turned a 5-4 lead with under seven minutes left in the first half into a 13-goal lead - and running time - with about 19 minutes remaining.

"We needed to take every opportunity we had to execute on offense," Smith said. "I think we did really good with our drives and our lanes were open. We have lots of girls who can take those one-vs-one dodges and we shot really well, we placed our shots really well."

Portsmouth scored on free positions, getting eight goals that way, and the Clippers assisted on seven other goals.

"So many of us work so well together and we’ve played together for so many years," Smith said. "I think everyone on this team is super unselfish. We’re always driving with our heads up and looking for each other. Everyone loves an assist and much as they love a goal."

HB got two goals and an assist from Paige Mello and Bella Haytayan also scored twice. Sabrina Hill had a goal and an assist and Alyssa Hill and Juliette Ogren had a goal apiece.

But the Cavs took just 13 shots all game, struggling to get possession thanks in part to Portsmouth's dominance on the draw. The Clippers won 22 of 29 draws, including 14 of 17 in the first half.

"You can’t score goals without winning draws," HB coach Linda Haytayan said. "Their midfield is just so fast and they’re quick and they’re a great team. When we had opportunities on attack, we made some things happen. They were three steps faster than us on the draws. You’ve got to win at least 30 or 40 percent."

HB got off to a good start, forcing a turnover on Portsmouth's first possession and then taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by Bella Haytayan just 2:24 into the game. The Cavs got the draw, but a turnover of their own led to a free position goal by Morgan Ruhnke to tie the game.

The Clippers turned it over again after the next draw, and after Seefried was assessed a yellow card, Ogren was left wide open in front of the crease and Mello found her for a goal to give HB a 2-1 lead.

But that would be the last lead for the Cavs, as Portsmouth answered with a 4-0 run in 1:19, including two goals from Smith, to take a 5-2 lead. HB took a timeout with 11:30 to go and bounced back, winning the next two draws and scoring off both to make it 5-4 with seven minutes to go until halftime.

The Clippers, however, needed just 15 seconds to swing momentum. Marston scored her first goal after Portsmouth won the draw, and after the Clippers controlled the next one, Haytayan picked up a yellow card.

Portsmouth scored three goals with the extra-player opportunity to go up 9-4 and then Collins made it 10-4, scoring off a feed from Smith, to make it five straight goals in 2:42\. Seefried and Collins added two more scores before the end of the half to give the Clippers a 12-4 lead.

"That was a mindset thing," Smith said of Portsmouth's run. "We knew that they were going to score goals. They’re a really great team and they have a lot of players that can do some things offensively. We just needed to, when they scored, take a deep breath and reset ourselves and not let that affect how we played. We kept winning the draw and we executed really well."

That run continued into the second half, as Smith scored on a free position 56 seconds into the half and Marston added another off a feed from Avery Ruhnke to make it 14-4, putting the game into running time with 23:17 remaining.

"What was a surprise to me was the spread and the score," Linda Haytayan said. "I don’t want to say I didn’t anticipate winning, but I knew we were the underdog. I didn’t think the spread and the score were going to be that big."

For Portsmouth, it was the second-straight title game win over HB and third during the Clippers' run. The other two titles came against Winnacunnet.

Since moving up to D2 in 2009, Portsmouth has won seven titles and been in the championship game nine times. The Clippers leave D2 having not lost to a divisional opponent in over six years, a run of 81 consecutive wins.

"That’s crazy," said Smith, a senior. "We’ve had such a strong program for all these years. Everyone in the past, for so long, has put in so much hard work. There’s been tons of talent. I think it’s good their moving up to D1, they’re still going to have lots of success up there. They’ll be super competitive."