Purcell, Portsmouth take care of Timberlane in D2 boys lacrosse semis

NASHUA – By the time the Portsmouth High School boys lacrosse team stepped onto the field for Wednesday night’s Division II semifinal against Timberlane, the Clippers knew what awaited them if they took care of business against the Owls.

And Portsmouth junior Ben Purcell personally made sure the undefeated Clippers weren’t caught looking ahead to a championship game rematch against defending-champion Derryfield.

Purcell ripped off the first five goals of the game and finished with a career-high total of eight to lead top-seeded Portsmouth to a 16-8 victory over No. 4 Timberlane at Stellos Stadium.

“The shots felt good, they kept going and I kept swinging,” Purcell said. “We were coming into this game hot, knowing what our job is and playing our positions. It's team first of all; that was the key.”

Portsmouth (19-0) advanced to its sixth Division II championship game in seven seasons when it’ll return to Stellos Stadium to face rival and defending champion Derryfield (17-2) in a rematch of last year’s title game. The Cougars advanced with a 13-4 win over No. 6 Winnacunnet in Wednesday’s earlier action.

“It was a great start and I was proud of the boys with how they came out,” Portsmouth coach Chad Vischer said. “It’s nice to come off the bus that way. I thought we did a great job in the first half of staying in our roles.”

Derryfield upended Portsmouth in last year’s title game in overtime, 12-11, to end the Clippers’ two-year reign as Division II champions. Saturday’s game will be the fifth time they meet for the title, with the Cougars holding a 3-1 advantage in the championship rivalry.

After Purcell started as a freshman, he turned in a strong sophomore campaign and was primed for a huge junior season until a shoulder injury derailed him for 10 games this season. Purcell played some minutes during Saturday’s 15-5 quarterfinal win over Goffstown and was allowed to go full throttle on Wednesday.

The game was scoreless until Briggs Catino fed Purcell for a goal with 5:33 left in the first quarter. Purcell then scored three times in the final 1:31 of the quarter and scored early in the second quarter to give Portsmouth a 5-0 lead.

“If and when he’s healthy, he’s one or two of the top offensive players in the state and he’s proving it,” Vischer said. “He’s got a nice shot and he was feeling it. I think people respect Zac (Amend) and when you respect Zac, other kids are going to be open. That’s good to have.”

Catino scored two of his four goals in the second quarter to help build a 10-3 halftime lead for Portsmouth.

“Going into it we just knew (Timberlane) was going to come out hot, we knew we had to match their intensity and I think we did a good job of that,” Catino said. “It’s very exciting and it’s good to know we have another chance to go get it (championship) after last year’s loss.”

Timberlane coach Ken Blazska already knew there were plenty of reasons why Portsmouth was undefeated and he was reminded again on Wednesday. The Clippers won the regular season matchup, 15-7.

“They’re an undefeated team that is rolling through basically everybody; they’re very good,” Blazska said. “We were almost too amped up defensively.”

Portsmouth is coming into Saturday’s championship game having beaten Derryfield in six of the past seven meetings, including a 10-9 victory during the regular season.

The Clippers aim to avenge that one loss during the stretch that occurred with it all on the line last June.

“These guys want it,” Vischer said. “I imagine it’s going to be another battle and I’d be surprised if it was more than a one-goal game. They have a good coaching staff and we’re going to have to prepare. Our coaches do a good job preparing and we’ll be doing as much preparation as we can.”