Winnacunnet girls lacrosse regroups late to beat Exeter

EXETER – Every year, Winnacunnet High School girls lacrosse coach Colleen Farias wants to enter the Division II tournament by playing Division I rival Exeter in the regular-season finale and hopes the Warriors will get a good test before the postseason begins.

And even though Thursday afternoon’s result wouldn’t change Winnacunnet’s position as the top seed, Farias got exactly what he wanted as the Warriors prepare for an hopeful championship run.

After Exeter erased a 9-5 halftime deficit with four straight goals in the third quarter, Winnacunnet got back on track and pulled away for a 14-10 victory at William Ball Stadium.

“There is an eb-and-flow to this game and I’m really proud of my girls with their experience and they didn’t let that rattle them and we just responded and we had an answer for it,” Farias said. “We always want this at the end to have some really strong competition to sharpen us up so that they feel confident going into the playoffs.”

Senior and University of Cincinnati-bound Shea Graham netted five goals for Winnacunnet to add to her a team-high 54 goals. Junior Skyla Mace, a University of Vermont commit, added four goals.

After going 14-0 against Division II competition, Winnacunnet (17-1, No. 6 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) will receive a first-round bye in the tournament and will host a quarterfinal game next Thursday. The Warriors have reeled off 12 straight wins after their only loss of the season to Division I Bishop Guertin.

“We’re feeling good, we’re No. 1 right now and we’re really excited,” Graham said. “We’ve just got to keep working hard, keep our heads and finish strong. We’re looking for that championship.

Graham scored as time expired in the second quarter to give the Warriors a 9-5 halftime lead, but Exeter’s comeback began with a goal by Ava Welch and Izzy Steiner (five goals) added two. Phoebe Christenson’s goal on a rebound off a save by Winnacunnet goalie Cadence Oleniak (nine saves) tied the score 9-9 with 52.4 second left in the third quarter.

First-year Exeter coach Angela Palmer has been pleased with her team’s progress, as Exeter (10-8, No. 8) will be one of the bottom seeds in the Division I tournament after missing it last year. Palmer spent two years as head coach at Pentucket (Mass.) before serving as an assistant last year at Pinkerton Academy.

“We played hard and I keep telling them we’re building one piece at a time,” Palmer said. “We changed everything. We're still working on the offense; that’s our missing link right now.”

Mace snapped Winnacunnet’s scoring drought shortly after Christenson’s goal, and freshman Mckinley Fowler gave Winnacunnet an 11-9 lead that increased following a Graham goal 15 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Fowler is second on the team in goal scoring with 48, followed by sophomore Elle Emery (41) and Mace (38).

“It feels good to finish our season strong and we wanted to build a little momentum today heading into the playoffs and we got the job done in the heat, so I’m really proud of us,” Mace said. “This is a team that can really execute and we just keep getting better every game. I’m really excited to see what we can do in the playoffs.”

Winnacunnet’s only championship came when it beat Bow, 12-3, in 2006. The Warriors have a pair of title game losses to Portsmouth in 2017 and 2019.

“It would mean everything to win it,” Graham said.