Souhegan boys lacrosse comes back in second half to beat Nashua South

NASHUA - It was a thriller that went down to the wire and it was Souhegan High School boys lacrosse team doing what it had to down the stretch to defeat Nashua South 11-9 in a key Division I boys lacrosse matchup at Stellos Stadium.

It was a four-goal fourth quarter that pushed the Sabers to a much-needed victory, and it was Curtis Redd leading the charge. Redd scored a game-high four goals, and he saved his best for the fourth quarter.

Redd had two assists and scored the game-winning goal with 2:32 to go. He also had an assist on an insurance goal by Will Boyle with five seconds remaining for Souhegan (4-3, No. 8 in the NHHSS Coaches Poll).

“We stayed patient,” Boyle said. “We tried to keep calm and not get in each others’ heads. We were getting annoyed out there but we were able to stay strong, run our offense, and play well.”

Redd led a balanced Souhegan attack, as Tyler Hall added four goals of his own and Riley Lawhorn added a pair. In total, six different Sabers notched at least a point.

“We've got huge depth,” Redd said. “We’re playing really well. We've got scorers all over the board, and the guys are confident to rip it at all times.”

South (5-3, No. 7) controlled possession early but couldn’t shake the Sabers. The Panthers grabbed a 3-2 lead in the wild first quarter and led 6-5 at halftime. In the final 24 minutes the Souhegan defense stepped to the moment.

South was held to just a single goal in the final 14:51 of the game, and the lockdown defense allowed the Sabers to score five in that stretch to come back and win. John Lohnes had nine saves, including three in the fourth quarter, to anchor the Sabers defense.

“They saved us,” Redd said. “We wouldn’t have been able to get that win without our defense. Our defense fought through and played amazing.”

Souhegan outshot South 37-28 and won ground balls 15-13. The South offense was led by two goals each from Jaden Murphy, Joe Bodi, and Joe Buturla, but the Panthers couldn’t find the twine when they had to in crunch time.

“These kind of close games help build your character,” Souhegan coach Keith Bertrand said. “It was good to come out of this one with a win. The guys showed a lot of fight and I’m proud of them.”

The win gives Souhegan momentum heading into a big stretch coming up that will see the Sabers hosting their five next games including, matchups against Pinkerton and Concord.