Winnacunnet beats Portsmouth in OT to advance to first D2 boys lacrosse final

NASHUA - The final minutes of Thursday's Division II boys lacrosse semifinal between Winnacunnet and Portsmouth high schools had more swings than a playground.

But in the end, what the game came down to was a save and a transition goal.

The Warriors got both, as Carter Renaud stopped Austin Edwards' attempt to open overtime and the sophomore goalie hit Louis Granger in stride to start the breakout. Granger got the ball to Jack Ellis, who rolled a shot on the turf as three Portsmouth defenders, including goalie Jack Waldo, converged on him.

The ball bounced into the net, giving No. 2 Winnacunnet a 13-12 win in overtime over No. 3 Portsmouth at Stellos Stadium and sending the Warriors to a championship game for the first time in the program's history. Winnacunnet will take on No. 1 Derryfield, which beat No. 5 Goffstown in the other semifinal, in the D2 title game on Saturday.

"The save combined with the pass, defense to offense was a huge weapon and we’re fortunate to have some speed there coming out of the defensive end," Winnacunnet coach Patrick Snow said. "We capitalized when we needed to.

"We talked about it being close, we talked about it being maybe more than 48 minutes. We’ve been fortunate enough with this group to have a couple of overtime games the past two seasons. They know how to play in that moment. I can’t describe it in words."

Ellis had the first and last goal of the game for the Warriors (14-3, No. 7 in the NHHSS Coaches Poll) while Gavin O'Hara had three goals and three assists, including the score that sent the game to overtime with 5.1 seconds remaining. Josh Chase also had three goals and Nick Merrick had two goals while Granger had a goal and an assist.

Ben Merrick added a goal and Tyler Hoar had an assist for Winnacunnet and Renaud finished with six saves, including the one in overtime, after Cole Brams had won the faceoff and got the ball to Austin Edwards for a quick shot.

"They made the save and off they went on a fast break," Portsmouth coach Chad Vischer said. "That’s the game of lacrosse. It hurts to lose to a team that’s next you, but to lose a one-goal, overtime game, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. We won the faceoff, we had a shot and they made a save."

Brams (three assists) and Jack Parker (two assists) each had three goals for Portsmouth (15-5, No. 9), which came up a game short of making its third straight title-game appearance. Ryan Groleau had two goals and an assist and David Blodgett had a goal and two assists, while Dom Iafolla, Edwards and Alex Liebel had a goal apiece.

Liebel's goal put the Clippers up 12-11 with 1:12 left in regulation, just eight seconds after Nick Merrick had tied it for Winnacunnet.

Portsmouth won the ensuing faceoff - Brams was 22 of 23 on the day - but turned the ball over with 27.6 seconds left in regulation. Granger brought the ball over midfield, but couldn't find an open teammate and was swarmed by the Clippers.

For a moment, it looked the game was going to end without a final shot from the Warriors, but as Granger was falling down, he found O'Hara, who ripped a shot past Waldo (eight saves) to tie it up.

"What a shot," Snow said of O'Hara's goal. "That was a great shot. He got some heat on that thing. He has been playing well. Waldo is a phenomenal goalie and Gavin has been working on his shot, it was huge for him to knock one in there."

Brams won the faceoff clean and got the ball to Iafolla, but his shot before the buzzer was wide of the goal.

The game featured seven ties and five lead changes, with Winnacunnet taking a 4-2 lead at the end of one quarter before Portsmouth came back to go up 6-5 heading into halftime. The Clippers went up two goals twice in the third, including 8-6 on a goal by Groleau with 7:06 left in the frame.

But Winnacunnet scored the final three goals of the third and took a 9-8 lead into the fourth. Iafolla gave Portsmouth an 11-10 lead with 3:26 left, but Nick Merrick's goal with 1:20 to play tied it at 11 before the closing flurry of goals.