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# Windham girls lacrosse starts fast to beat Winnacunnet for D2 championship (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/windham-girls-lacrosse-starts-fast-to-beat-winnacunnet-for-d2-championship-video/
- Published: 2024-06-05T14:45:30.000Z
- Updated: 2024-06-05T14:45:30.000Z
- Description: NASHUA - Sophia Ponzini felt like the Windham High School girls lacrosse team had nothing to lose going into Tuesday night's Division II championship. The senior and her Jaguars teammates played like it right from the start. No. 2 Windham scored three goals in the first three-plus minutes, with Pon
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division II, championship, girls lacrosse, playoffs, slider, Windham, Winnacunnet, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

NASHUA - Sophia Ponzini felt like the Windham High School girls lacrosse team had nothing to lose going into Tuesday night's Division II championship.

The senior and her Jaguars teammates played like it right from the start.

No. 2 Windham scored three goals in the first three-plus minutes, with Ponzini getting two of them, and the Jaguars controlled the draw and possession throughout to beat No. 1 Winnacunnet 10-6 at Stellos Stadium in Nashua.

It's Windham's first championship since 2015, which was the last time the Jaguars were in a title game, and their fourth over all as a program - two in D2 and two in D3 - as they prepare to move to D1 next season.

"We had nothing to lose," Ponzini said. "We had never made it this far, and they beat us in the regular season, so we really had nothing to lose. We came in and we were the underdogs. We’re going to try our hardest and win."

Ponzini did her part with a game-high five goals, including the only two goals for Windham (18-2, No. 7 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) in the second half, while Chloe Hall had three goals and four assists and Emma Kendzulak had two goals and an assist. Sophie Manchester also added an assist.

Jaidyn Seitzer finished with just four saves, but two of them came back-to-back from just outside the crease early in the second quarter, with the Jaguars holding a 3-2 lead.

"She played unbelievable," Windham coach Jordan O'Boyle said of her first-year goalie. "She had two huge saves right in there, and it gets everyone else hyped up. We trust her. We play hard defense, have good communication, know when to slide, and just know what they’re doing there."

Right after those saves, Hall scored back-to-back goals to give Windham a 5-2 lead that grew to 8-3 by halftime, thanks in part to three yellow cards on the Warriors. To of those went to Sky Mace, the second of which came with two seconds left in the half and took the junior out of the rest of the game.

Winnacunnet (19-2, No. 6) was assessed five yellow cards throughout the game, leaving the Warriors down one player at the start of the fourth quarter and two for the game's final four-plus minutes.

"She was obviously devastated," Winnacunnet coach Colleen Farias said of Mace. "They played with a ton of heart and they worked super hard, especially at the end, being down two players. Watching those kids hustle and extend, I’m super proud of them."

Shea Graham and McKinley Fowler each had two goals for Winnacunnet while Mace and Elle Emery also scored a goal apiece. Cadence Oleniak made four saves for the Warriors, who struggled on draw controls all game.

Windham won the first three, leading to its early lead, and the Jaguars ended the game winning 17 of 20 draws.

"Win the draw, rule the world," Hall said. "We’ve been taught that since we were younger. That controlled the game from the start for us. It was a hundred percent helpful."

It was something that surprised Farias.

"We have been fantastic on draws all year and we won (three Tuesday), which is mind blowing to me with who we have out here," the coach said. "Kids who have been playing a long time, and seniors and juniors, and they just couldn’t seem to come up with it."

After falling behind 3-0 with 8:57 left in the first quarter, Farias took a timeout and the Warriors were able to keep the Jaguars off the board for the remainder of the frame. Mace got Winnacunnet on the board and Graham added a free-position goal with 1:23 left to make it a one-goal game.

A save by Oleniak to open the second quarter got the Warriors the ball, and it looked like they would tie the game, but Seitzer made two saves to keep Windham in front.

Hall added a pair of goals, and after Mace picked up her first card, Kendzulak scored to make it 6-2 with 6:14 left in the half. Fowler drew a card two minutes later, and Windham capitalized again, getting back-to-back goals from Kendzulak and Ponzini to take an 8-2 lead.

Graham got one of the goals back on a free position before the end of the half, but with time ticking down in the half and Windham trying to clear the ball, Mace picked up her second yellow card with 2.3 seconds to go.

"We were yelling (to back off) the whole time," Farias said. "We were calling out those adjustments on to the field. That was something, looking at junior and senior leadership, making better choices, being coachable and listening, hearing what the feedback is, it was really across the board."

Ponzini and Fowler had the only goals of the third to make it 9-4 Windham heading to the fourth, and after Reese Gandt drew a card just eight seconds into the final quarter, Ponzini scored again to make it 10-4.

Emery and Fowler put in goals for Winnacunnet, the second making it a four-goal game with 5:51 to play. But Windham won the draw, and with 4:17 left, Graham was assessed a card, giving the Jaguars a two-player advantage the rest of the way.

Windham kept possession the rest of the way, moving the ball around to run out the clock.

"I fully believed they could win this game," O'Boyle said. "I’d say right from the beginning, we played a very well-rounded and disciplined team game. We need to stay composed the entire game, that’s going to be one of the biggest things for us, and they did."