Portsmouth boys lacrosse takes care of business against Dover, moves on to D2 final

NASHUA - It was balanced. It was precise. It was Portsmouth High School boys lacrosse.

The No. 2 Clippers flexed their offensive depth to take down rival No. 3 Dover 12-7 in the first Division II boys lacrosse semifinal at Stellos Stadium on Wednesday. The win sends Portsmouth to its second consecutive Division II final and third in program history.

Portsmouth got goals from seven different players on the way to the victory, led by four from senior middie Hugh MacDonald. Junior middie Cole Brams had two goals and three assists, and junior attackman Dom Iafolla had a pair of goals and a helper.

Senior midfielder Oliver Allen had two goals, and sophomore attack Ryan Groleau had two assists.

“The past couple of games we’ve been in a bit of a slump, but (Wednesday) we pushed it in transition and getting those easy dunks that made our offense look great,” Brams said. “When we have everyone scoring like this we’re a tough team to stop.”

Brams was the engine that kept Portsmouth (17-2) going thanks to his control of the faceoff X. Brams won 20 of 23 faceoffs, with two of those losses coming on violations.

All the added possession time allowed Portsmouth to build up a 38-19 shots advantage, including a 23-11 advantage in shots on goal. The Clippers also dominate on the ground, winning groundballs 42-21.

The Clippers used that added time with the ball to spin it around and wait for open looks and got goals in a myriad of ways which kept the Dover (13-4) defense off balance all game.

Portsmouth scored the first two of the game and led 4-3 early in the second quarter before opening up a 7-3 lead at halftime and extending it to 11-5 after three quarters.

When the Green Wave did get the ball, the Clippers kept them to outside thanks to their strong zone defense. Dover scored its first three goals in a span of 3:46, and scored four the rest of the game.

“When you don’t give them the ball very often they don’t score,” Portsmouth coach Chad Vischer said. “Our best defense is good ball possession. Defensively, Jack Stevens is our anchor out there. For him to do that and step up is big for us.”

Despite getting helped by 21 Portsmouth turnovers, the Green Wave were unable to capitalize on the chances it did have. Senior attackman Justin Colizzi had three goals and an assist. Senior attackman Dominic Silverio had two goals and three assists for Dover.

“I love my players. I think they gave it their all, but they know they left some plays on the field,” Dover coach John Silverio said. “Sometimes you got to tip your hat to the other team. They deserved it.”

The Clippers will play unbeaten Derryfield, which they lost to in last year’s final, 7-4. Portsmouth lost to Hollis Brookline by the same score in the 2008 Division III final, the Clippers’ only other title game appearance.

Portsmouth lost the regular season meeting to Derryfield this year 6-5 back on April 21.

“It’s going to be doing what we’re doing and be smarter with the ball,” Brams said of Saturday's title game. “Of course, as always, you want to limit the turnovers that you have. If we play smart with the ball but still play fast I think we’ll be able to compete.”