> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Souhegan girls lacrosse holds off Pinkerton for a win (video) - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/souhegan-girls-lacrosse-holds-off-pinkerton-for-a-win-video/ - Published: 2022-05-06T14:45:48.000Z - Updated: 2022-05-06T14:45:48.000Z - Description: AMHERST - The only thing going through Elle Stevenson's mind was the free position she was about to take. No thoughts about the situation, with her Souhegan High School girls lacrosse team tied with Pinkerton Academy with under four minutes to play. Nothing about how Astros goalie Lauren Sweeney ha - Author: Joe Marchilena - Tags: Division I, girls lacrosse, Pinkerton, slider, Souhegan, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 AMHERST - The only thing going through Elle Stevenson's mind was the free position she was about to take. No thoughts about the situation, with her Souhegan High School girls lacrosse team tied with Pinkerton Academy with under four minutes to play. Nothing about how Astros goalie Lauren Sweeney had made a handful of saves earlier in the second half, including on three previous free positions by Stevenson. Scoring in that moment was all that the Souhegan senior was focused on, and that's what she did, as Stevenson was able to put the ball into the net and the Sabers ran out enough of the remaining time to hang on for a 6-5 win Thursday over Pinkerton in a Division I game. "In those moments, it’s all mental to me, it’s not really about ability," Stevenson said. "I think it’s really all in your head, so I just told myself, I’m going to put this one in the back of the net and I put it in the back of the net. I’m thinking about that moment only. The past is the past. That’s a good goalie, but the next one I get, I try to get it in." Her second goal of the game put Souhegan up one with 3:29 remaining, and the Sabers were able to run almost three minutes off the clock before Pinkerton could regain possession with 34.2 seconds left. Souhegan forced a turnover with 7.4 seconds to go, but couldn't hang on, but with just 1.4 remaining, the Astros were unable to get a shot off in time. Stevenson finished with two goals and an assist for Souhegan (6-3, No. 5 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) and Mackenzie Cretsinger also scored twice, including a goal with 12:57 remaining that put the Sabers up 5-2\. Lyla Kimball and Emma Kennedy each added a goal and Shannon Hargreaves made nine saves. The Souhegan goalie's biggest stop came moments before Stevenson's game winner to keep it a tie game. Pinkerton went on a 3-0 run, including back-to-back goals by Allison Lamphere in just 1:02 to tie it, and after the Sabers won the draw, Lamphere forced a turnover and Hailey Schnider had a free position of her own at the other end. Hargreaves came up with the save and the Sabers transitioned to their offense, which had possession for most of the game. "It was the first time we possessed and followed our game plan and were able to execute," Souhegan coach McKinley Sbordone said. "We were up, we were down, and we still continued to fight. That’s been a struggle this season, letting the play develop and being a little more picky. The fact they were able to chill a little bit on the attack, we were able to execute. "Our defense was awesome. (Hargreaves) is so unrattled by everything. She is beyond her years and you can see it on the field. We’re down, she’s steady. We’re up, she’s steady. She is always the heartbeat of our team." Lamphere finished with three goals for Pinkerton (7-2, No. 4) while Caitlyn Seleny had four assists. Tate Howe and Hannah Lisauskas also scored and Elise Saab had an assist while Sweeney finished with nine saves. "Just wasn’t our day," Pinkerton coach Katie Blair said. "We had to play a lot of defense and the defense held it. Six goals and they were probably in our end for 40 minutes. The defense rocked it and Lauren is amazing. They worked really hard to get the ball back so we had a shot to try to score one more time. They did their job. "When we had possessions, we didn’t take advantage of them. That put pressure on us at the end of the game." Souhegan was able to maintain possession for long stretches throughout the game, but especially in the first half, when the Sabers won 6 of 7 draws and led 4-2 at halftime. After winning the draw to start the second half, Souhegan took more time off the clock, but Sweeney was able to keep the Sabers' lead from growing. The senior goalie made back-to-back saves on free positions by Stevenson early in the half, but the Astros were unable to clear the ball, giving Souhegan more opportunities. Cretsinger finally broke through for the Sabers, making to a three-goal game with just under 13 minutes to play. Pinkerton won the draw, but turned the ball over moments later, but this time, the Astros were able to get it right back and they took advantage. Seleny found Howe for a goal to make it 5-3 with 11:42 left and Pinkerton won the draw again, but this time, Hargreaves came up with a save. The Sabers turned it over on the clear and Lamphere capitalized to make it 5-4 with 8:44 left. After another win on the draw, Pinkerton moved quickly down the field and Lamphere tied the game with 7:42 remaining, forcing the Sabers to take a timeout. "When they had the ball and they were winning a couple of draws, it was staying composed, especially on defense, instead of swinging," Stevenson said. "Trying to get the ball back, and once we get it back, it’s taking time instead of trying to rushing into the middle." Souhegan won the draw out of the time, but Lamphere jumped a pass and brought it the other way before giving it to Schnider. A foul on the Sabers gave the sophomore a free position, but Hargreaves made the save and Souhegan took it down on offense, setting up Stevenson's winner. Pinkerton won the draw, but turned it over and the Sabers tried to run out the clock. Tina Packwoski forced a turnover to give Pinkerton the ball back and the Astros took a timeout with 34.2 seconds left. "We tried to set up a trap on the attacking side, which killed at least 15 seconds," Sbordone said of Souhegan's ride. "We pressured (Sweeney) and Finley Casey, she made a huge play jumping off that pass. We made an error not running the ball out, but we were able to continue to fight." Seleny was able to get the ball back before time ran out, but she was behind the Souhegan goal with 1.4 remaining, and was unable to run it out before time expired. "The turnovers killed us (Thursday)," Blair said. "It’s going to light a fire. We’ve got to go now. There is no more room for errors or mistakes."