EXETER, N.H. – After facing one another for four straight years in the NHIAA Division II boys lacrosse championship game, Derryfield School and Portsmouth High School clashed one round earlier this year.
Competing in a typically tight contest in the semifinals at Exeter’s Bill Ball Stadium on Wednesday evening, it was the second-ranked Cougars (17-2) who emerged victorious, continuously fending off charges from the third-seeded Clippers (16-4) to ultimately earn a 10-7 victory.
“I’m just really proud of the defense tonight,” said longtime Derryfield head coach Chris Hettler. “We spent a lot of time preparing for Portsmouth, and it’s hard to shut a team like that down. They’ve got a lot of shooters, but the guys really maintained discipline tonight, played great angles and gave our goalie shots he felt comfortable with.”
Indeed, junior netminder Liam England made six saves in the contest, while the defenders in front of him flexed their prowess on both sides of the field.
The Cougars fell behind by a goal early, but took a 4-2 lead into halftime, and then Dom Cercone added to the advantage with a goal just 16 seconds into the third quarter.
Two minutes later, however, the tide shifted, and Portsmouth battled back with three quick goals to knot the game at 5-5 with 8:30 remaining in the quarter.
Sophomore standout Emerson Stover stepped up to help Derryfield retake the lead just 33 seconds later. Then, after Portsmouth once again tied the game with 2:15 left in the third, Stover did it again, burying a goal off an assist from senior Garrett Lande with just under 13 seconds remaining to send his team into the fourth quarter with the lead.
“Huge,” Hettler said of Stover’s two third-quarter tallies. “And probably a sneaky, under-the-radar guy was Lukas Gaff at LSM. I think he had at least one, if not two, ground balls that were able to get us momentum right back after Portsmouth had rattled off a bunch there and really changed momentum. Then Emerson came up big finishing there. He took a moment to freeze the goalie and then did a really nice job putting it in.”
Not ready to sail quietly into the Exeter night, the Clippers came right back with a tally just 47 seconds into the final frame.
From that point on, Derryfield played like a team that wasn’t going to be denied.
Cercone notched the game-winner with 8:19 left on the clock, and Heath Mueller added to the advantage two minutes later.
“Probably the biggest goal of the game,” Hettler said. “The game was kind of feeling like it was in the balance, and Heath came around and was able to get it in the back of the net. That really changed momentum for us, big time.”
Cercone put the icing on the cake at the 5:20 mark, and the Derryfield defense locked down its side of the field to end Portsmouth’s run of five consecutive Division II championship game appearances.
In doing so, Derryfield extended its own run to five straight finals — and 10 of the last 11 — though the Cougars have won just one state title since COVID-19 ended their streak of four consecutive championships to close out the previous decade.
But that was then, and this is now. Derryfield now has a chance to reclaim its throne for the second time in three years.
The Cougars are scheduled to face top-ranked Winnacunnet (17-1) — a 16-7 winner over No. 4 Oyster River-Newmarket in the other semifinal — for this season’s Division II crown at 5 p.m. Saturday at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.