Derryfield wins Div. II title as Cabot's goal trumps Clippers' rally
Jun. 12—EXETER — Coach Chris Hettler thought he and his Derryfield School boys lacrosse team blew it on Sunday.
Junior attackman Chili Cabot did not let that happen.
Derryfield let a six-goal second-half lead evaporate but Cabot came through with the game-winning overtime goal for the Cougars in their 12-11 triumph over Portsmouth in the NHIAA Division II final.
Second-seeded Derryfield (19-1) forced a Clippers defensive-zone turnover and Cabot located the ball through traffic before firing his scoop-and-score goal with 1:56 remaining in the four-minute sudden-victory extra frame.
"The ball dropped and I was like, 'Alright, this is it,'" Cabot said.
The championship is Derryfield's seventh overall and first since winning its last of four straight Division II titles from 2016-19. Top-seeded Portsmouth (18-2) entered Sunday as the two-time defending D-II champion and defeated the Cougars for last year's crown.
Hettler said Cabot had a knack all spring for scoring key goals in that same manner.
"Chili has done that like three or four times this season," Hettler said. "He's just around the ball, he finds the right space and he put it in when we needed to put it in."
Derryfield led, 4-2, after the opening quarter, 8-4 at halftime and scored the first two goals of the second half to build a six-goal cushion. The Clippers then began their 7-1 run that forced overtime with three goals from Zac Amend and another from Briggs Catino over a 54-second span to cut Derryfield's lead to 10-8.
Amend also capped Portsmouth's 7-1 second-half run with a diving goal through contact with 58.6 seconds left in regulation that knotted the score at 11-11.
"We had them (the Clippers) on the ropes and that's the way they played all season," Hettler said. "They just don't quit."
Portsmouth senior attackman Keigen Delisle ended the third-quarter scoring and pulled his team within one on his goal that came with 2:10 left in the frame. Delisle's shot bounced off Cougars midfielder Ethan Flanagan and by Derryfield goalie Parker Lebiedz (12 saves).
Portsmouth coach Chad Vischer said Delisle fueled his team's rally. Delisle played in the final with a torn ACL and was on crutches three days prior, Vischer said.
"You could see — he couldn't walk, he fell down in warm-ups," Vischer said of Delisle. "We put him in there and he got a goal and he moved the ball a little bit. That sparked our guys and they were rallying around him, a kid that's hurt."
Portsmouth dominated possession throughout the second half, which Hettler said actually did not bother him on the sideline. Hettler said the Cougars' defense was playing well, Portsmouth was not going hard at the goal and its long possessions gave his attackmen time to rest.
Lebiedz made five of his 12 saves in the fourth quarter. Seniors Tate Flint and Quinn Silvio and junior Alex Murray each had a hat trick for the Cougars. Silvio also added two assists. Derryfield sophomore RJ Proulx tallied two goals and two helpers.
Logan Purvis, a junior, won eight faceoffs for the Cougars.
Portsmouth junior Nick Smith won 17 faceoffs, including eight in the second half, and tallied three assists. Sophomore attackman Ben Purcell logged four goals alongside two assists for the Clippers. Portsmouth also received a goal each from Deslisle, Catino and Lucas Patten.
"It'll be one for the books — definitely one to remember for a long time," Hettler said.
