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# Portsmouth had response for Souhegan when it needed one in D1 girls lacrosse title game
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/portsmouth-had-response-for-souhegan-when-it-needed-one-in-d1-girls-lacrosse-title-game/
- Published: 2026-06-12T21:30:38.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-12T21:30:38.000Z
- Description: EXETER - Classes may be done around the state, but the Portsmouth High School girls lacrosse team still did a lot of studying going into Tuesday's Division I championship game against Souhegan. The Clippers tooka crash course watching film of the Sabers, and when it came time, they passed each test.
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, championship, girls lacrosse, NH High School Sports Insider, playoffs, Portsmouth, slider, Souhegan, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

EXETER - Classes may be done around the state, but the Portsmouth High School girls lacrosse team still did a lot of studying going into Tuesday's Division I championship game against Souhegan.

The Clippers took a crash course watching film of the Sabers, and when it came time, they passed each test.

After falling behind early, top-seeded Portsmouth took the lead into halftime, and when No. 2 Souhegan pushed to stay in it, the Clippers had answers on both ends of the field to get a 10-6 win over the Sabers for the program's third-straight D1 championship at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

Raegan Lawton had four goals and two assists and Emery Lawton, her twin sister, added two goals as Portsmouth (18-0) won its 45th game in a row and 51st straight against in-state competition. Elliott Blenkinsop, Ginger Vinciguerra and Georgia Bouvier also had a goal apiece for the Clippers.

Sage Bussiere finished with seven saves, helping Portsmouth overcome Souhegan's advantage on the draw. The Sabers went 12 for 20 on the draw, but turned the ball over 11 times throughout the game.

“We really just want to keep being successful and we put a lot of work in to making sure that we’re playing as a team,” Portsmouth coach JoJo Kerrigan said. “We watched a lot of film. We watched how their defense runs and tried to find any spot we could capitalize on. We created a few new plays just for this game and they really worked.”

All that extra work helped the players feel confident going into the game and helped them know that even if the Clippers weren't lighting up the scoreboard, they were still in great shape if they weren't letting the Sabers (17-2) score either.

“We did a good job scouting them and I think we did a good job of knowing that we weren’t going to score on every possession,” Emery Lawton said. “We just had full confidence in ourselves and that we were going to back each other up.”

After watching Souhegan take a 2-0 lead on two goals by Libby Kennedy in the first quarter, Raegan Lawton answered with her first two goals to tie the game, and Emery Lawton put the Clippers up with just under four minutes left in the first half.

It was still a 3-2 Portsmouth lead until Lanai Hickman scored four minutes into the third quarter to tie the game. But the Clippers won the ensuing draw and Raegan Lawton put them back in front just 23 seconds later.

The junior added another goal a few minutes later to make it 5-3, but Souhegan's Izzy Stevenson scored two goals just 1:04 apart to tie the game with 1:53 remaining in the third.

Portsmouth controlled the draw again, and this time, it was Vinciguerra scoring to put the Clippers in front just 21 seconds after the Sabers tied it.

“We always say, if they get a goal, what’s next?” Kerrigan said. “If we can get the ball, we can push it, we will try to get them on their heels and then we can hopefully capitalize on it.”

Up 6-5 going into the fourth quarter, though, the Clippers started to take their time when they got possession, and that turned into three more goals in the first five minutes of the frame. That pushed the lead to 9-5 and forced Souhegan to take a timeout with 7:16 remaining.

The Sabers won the draw out of the break and tried to swing momentum, getting a good look, but Bussiere came up with a save. Portsmouth turned the ball over, giving Souhegan another chance, but again, the senior goalie was up to the task.

But again, the Clippers gave the ball back to the Sabers, and for a third time, Bussiere kept them from scoring to preseve the lead. Moments later, Emery Lawton scored to make it 10-5 with under four minutes to play.

“Good saves, not taking anything away from her,” Souhegan coach McKinley Sbordone said. “We had so many opportunities to close that gap. We need to continue to fine tune because those opportunities are there, and we have the talent.”

Averie Curran added a goal late for the Sabers to make it a four-goal game before Portsmouth closed out its eighth title overall in the last 10 years, with the first five of those coming in Division II.

The only things that have stopped the Clippers during that stretch have been Covid-19 in 2020 and Bedford in 2023, Portsmouth's first season in D1.

“We’re the real deal,” Kerrigan said. “We say it on the first day of tryouts until the very last game, whatever it takes. Every win we have, we do it together.”