Souhegan boys lacrosse does just enough to get past Nashua South

NASHUA - There are 48 minutes in a high school boys lacrosse game.

Keith Bertrand estimated that his Souhegan High School team played well for about a tenth of that Thursday against Nashua South.

However long it was that the Sabers performed at their level, it was enough, as Souhegan scored three goals in less than three minutes in the second half to get a comfortable lead over the Panthers on the way to a 10-4 win in Division I action at Stellos Stadium.

"We were sloppy everywhere," Bertrand said. "Throwing clears to the other team, we couldn’t close the game, taking stupid penalties all over the field. We had some good moments, but for the most part, we probably only played good lacrosse for about five minutes."

Souhegan (3-1) took a 6-2 lead into halftime, and after going 11-plus minutes without scoring in the third quarter, it looked like South (0-3) might have swung some momentum. A goal by Derek Downing for the Panthers made it 6-3, but with time running out in the third, Riley Lawhorn score to make it a four-goal game.

Lawhorn scored again 1:49 into the fourth and Ethan Hopey added another goal 20 seconds later to make it a six-goal game and put the Sabers in control.

Hopey finished with four goals while Lawhorn finished with three and Taylor Hall had a goal and two assists. Nick Jordan and Luke Manning had a goal and an assist apiece and John Lohnes made nine saves for Souhegan.

"We had some guys, like Luke Civiello and Luke Manning, who played some outstanding games and they really didn’t come off the field," Bertrand said. "Anderson Geffrard, who is a first-year player, played some huge minutes. Riley Lawhorn had some big goals.

"Scott Masters, who is our fourth pole, played a good majority of the game and played well. Maybe because some of the stuff we endured (Thursday), some of those guys were able to get on the field more and get better long term. Some of these mistakes have got to get cleared up."

South got two goals from Tyler Bernard while Devin Linscott and Downing each had a goal and Drew Fleury had an assist. Nate Radin made eight saves in goal. The Panthers were without senior middie Sean Holland for the second straight game and are likely to be without him for another week.

"Considering that we are a little shorthanded on the offensive end, I’m happy with the effort," South coach Bill Monsen said. "The execution is still not where it needs to be, but I’m not questioning the effort. Especially considering at times it’s Devin Linscott playing with two to three freshmen and the rest are sophomores."

Souhegan took a 4-2 lead into the second quarter, but South had opportunities to get within a goal. While the Panthers got chances, their shot placement was too often right at Lohnes.

"I think that comes with the inexperience on the field," Monsen said. "They’re making the right call. It’s a good time to shoot, they’re moving to space. They’re doing all the right things, they’re just not finishing. I think they’re so concerned with getting the shot off at the right time that they’re not thinking about where it’s ending up."

Those saves, combined with the turnovers forced by Souhegan allowed the Sabers to get out in transition, getting a goal from Hopey with 4:02 left in the half to make it 5-2.

After South's Kyle O'Connor was called for a penalty on a breakout, Hopey scored against, this time with 2:38 left in the half, to give Souhegan a 6-2 lead it would take into halftime.

And then came the long scoring drought for the Sabers before they were able to put in a few goals to finish off South.

"This team has a very high tendency to lose focus and worry about everything but lacrosse," Bertrand said. "When we played Bedford (in a 9-8 overtime loss), it was laser-like focus and we played phenomenal. Then here, we’re worried about everything else going on. You can get popped by a team you shouldn’t lose to. Hopefully, they can learn from it."