Souhegan girls lacrosse gets OT win against Londonderry (video)

LONDONDERRY - As Libby Kennedy lined up for a free position shot in overtime, the Souhegan High School sophomore thought about the opportunities she'd missed before that.

Despite feeling some nerves, she tried again, and this time, her plan worked out.

Kennedy found the back of the net with 1:02 left in overtime to give Souhegan a 12-11 win over Londonderry on the final day of the Division I girls lacrosse regular season and secure a home playoff game for the Sabers.

"I was definitely stressed, but I knew what I did before didn’t work, so I was trying to use that to fuel me," Kennedy said. "I took a deep breath, and although I was really nervous, I knew I had to try for us and if it didn’t work out, then it didn't work out. It felt really good (scoring the goal)."

Kennedy's fifth goal of the game gave the Sabers (12-3, No. 3 in the MerchSquared.com/NHHSSports Coaches Poll) a win that looked like a foregone conclusion late in the third quarter. Souhegan led 9-4 when Lancers coach Kelsey Derhak used a timeout with 4:27 to play in the frame.

From there, Londonderry (6-11, No. 10) went on a 6-0 run to take a 10-9 lead with 5:12 to play in a game that it needed to win to clinch a playoff spot.

"They responded with fight," Derhak said of the timeout. "I told them, you’ve got to dig deep and it’s got to come from within. They found it within themselves and they pushed it and they did amazing. I couldn’t ask for them to give any more. They left it all out on the field."

After Kennedy tied it at 10 on another free position, Eres Delorey gave Londonderry the lead again with 54.7 seconds remaining. But the junior picked up a yellow card on the ensuing draw after getting tangled up with Kennedy.

It looked like the Lancers might survive when goalie Abbigail Cook stopped a shot by Lanai Hickman, but Madison Grennon drew another yellow card on the play, leaving the Lancers down two players. Hickman (six goals) scored on the ensuing free position to tie the game at 11 with 27.3 to play.

Souhegan got the draw again and had a chance to win in regulation, but Cook (11 saves) came up with the stop to force overtime, and did so again to open overtime after the Sabers again controlled the draw.

"They could have given up but they didn’t, they fought until the end," Derhak said. "Cook kept us in there with that save and she stepped right up. We were able to communicate through all that chaos that comes with being two down."

But Souhegan was able to retain possession after the shot, and on another shot that missed the cage. Londonderry returned to full strength, but couldn't get the ball back, leading to Kennedy's game-winner.

Izzy Stevenson also had a goal and five assists for Souhegan while Delorey (three assists) and Lexi Padykula (two assists) each had three goals for Londonderry. Cora Rogers also scored twice and Annabelle Melia had a goal and an assist while Summer Butler and Addison Doyle each scored.

The game was tied 2-2 early in the second quarter when Souhegan went on a 4-0 run to take control. The Sabers took a 6-3 lead into halftime and dictated the pace for most of the third quarter to eventually take a five-goal lead.

"We definitely dictated the pace of the game, but they are a fantastic team," Souhegan coach McKinley Curro-Sbordone said. "(They're) gritty, they go hard for everything, they distribute the ball really well, and it just caught up to us. They were outhustling us to 50-50 (balls) and capitalizing."

It was still a 9-5 lead for the Sabers going into the fourth, but three goals in 1:40 to open the fourth - two from Delorey - made it a one-goal game with a lot of time remaining. Souhegan appeared to regain its footing, holding possession for a long stretch, but a pair of saves by Cook kept the Sabers off the board and set up a goal by Rogers that tied it 9-9 with 6:05 to play.

The Lancers won the next draw, and just 52 seconds later, Padykula scored to give Londonderry the lead.

"Once a team gets momentum, it’s hard to slow that train down," Curro-Sbordone said. "I’m super proud of how we were down and dug out of that hole and answered back. Going into the playoffs, I love a win like that, because it shows you that we can win when it matters. We need a little grit in our game and that was a fantastic win."