Winnacunnet girls lacrosse beats Merrimack Valley, completes mission in winning D2 title

BEDFORD – Ever since losing to Windham last June, the Winnacunnet High School girls lacrosse team has been determined to get back to the Division II championship game and finish the job this time around.

The Warriors' drive throughout a dominant season was rewarded.

Top-seeded Winnacunnet jumped out to a 5-0 lead and sophomore McKinley Fowler finished with a game-high seven goals to clinch the program’s second championship with a 15-7 victory over No. 3 Merrimack Valley at Bedford High School.

“It just pushed us every day and it was always in the back of our minds,” Fowler said. “Coming out fast was our main goal and we just kept it up. I’m lost for words; it’s just so exciting.”

Winnacunnet (18-1) finished the season with an 17-game win streak following its only loss against undefeated Portsmouth. The Clippers wrapped up their second-straight Division I title with Tuesday’s 12-7 win over Souhegan.

Glenn McKenzie was an assistant coach when Winnacunnet won its only other championship with a win over Bow in 2006. The Warriors have come close since with losses to Portsmouth in 2017 and 2019 and last year’s 10-6 decision to Windham.

“To finally break through is great,” McKenzie said. “We’ve had three other tries since we won in 2006 and we’ve been trying to get there ever since. (Tuesday) we finally got there.”

Senior Skyla Mace and junior Elle Emery (three goals) opened up the scoring before Fowler ripped off three straight goals over the final 3:32 of the first quarter to give Winnacunnet a 5-0 lead heading into the second.

“We had a lot of energy and even though it wasn’t a perfect game for us, I’m just glad we were able to come out and get the job done (Tuesday) and it just feels amazing,” Mace said. “We watched a lot of film to work against that and it obviously was working pretty well in that first quarter.”

Merrimack Valley (12-5) attempted a comeback when Alyssa Brodeur (three goals) and Lily Jones scored early in the second to bring the Pride within 5-2. That’s when an unfortunate injury to goalie Taylor Gionet changed the game’s complexion.

Without a backup goalie and only two bench players coming into the game, Merrimack Valley coach Kylee Yam decided to defend without a goalie in the final 7:52 of the second quarter.

The Pride closed within 5-3, but Emery’s goal with 4:30 left was followed by goals 28 seconds apart by Annika Jaques and Fowler to send Winnacunnet into halftime with an 8-3 cushion.

“We could’ve put someone in there but I didn’t think it was safe,” Yam said. “I’ve coached other games where we’ve played with only field players and it’s actually worked out pretty well. I thought they did a great job. They’ve got a lot of heart and hustle and I’m super proud of them.”

Yam did plug in Sydney Bailey between the pipes to begin the second half, but Winnacunnet extended its lead to 12-5 entering the fourth quarter.

“It’s a shame their goalie was down; that’s a tough break,” McKenzie said.

The ending finished off a memorable career for Mace, leaving the school a champion and with a program-high 266 points. She’ll be playing at the University of Vermont next year.

“It’s just a fairy-tale ending; the points record is cherry on top,” Mace said. “My goal was to get here and win a state championship and we did it.”