Hanover girls lax denied in last minute

Hanover’s Maggie Higgins (4) cries as she hugs Kali McDonnell (6) after losing the NHIAA Division II girls lacrosse championship game against Hollis-Brookline High School at Stellos Stadium in Nashua, N.H., on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Hollis-Brookline won, 12-11. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Hanover’s Maggie Higgins (4) cries as she hugs Kali McDonnell (6) after losing the NHIAA Division II girls lacrosse championship game against Hollis-Brookline High School at Stellos Stadium in Nashua, N.H., on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Hollis-Brookline won, 12-11. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. valley news / report for america photographs — Alex Driehaus

Hanover’s Reilly Loughman (13) runs through a tunnel of her teammates before the start of the NHIAA Division II girls lacrosse championship game against Hollis-Brookline High School at Stellos Stadium in Nashua, N.H., on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Hollis-Brookline won, 12-11. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Hanover’s Reilly Loughman (13) runs through a tunnel of her teammates before the start of the NHIAA Division II girls lacrosse championship game against Hollis-Brookline High School at Stellos Stadium in Nashua, N.H., on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Hollis-Brookline won, 12-11. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Alex Driehaus

Hanover’s Maggie Higgins (4) gains control of the ball as she runs down the field, closely followed by Hollis-Brookline’s Izabella Haytayan (5) during the NHIAA Division II girls lacrosse championship game at Stellos Stadium in Nashua, N.H., on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Hollis-Brookline won, 12-11. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Hanover’s Maggie Higgins (4) gains control of the ball as she runs down the field, closely followed by Hollis-Brookline’s Izabella Haytayan (5) during the NHIAA Division II girls lacrosse championship game at Stellos Stadium in Nashua, N.H., on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Hollis-Brookline won, 12-11. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Hanover fans cheer during the NHIAA Division II girls lacrosse championship game against Hollis-Brookline High School at Stellos Stadium in Nashua, N.H., on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Hollis-Brookline won, 12-11. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Hanover fans cheer during the NHIAA Division II girls lacrosse championship game against Hollis-Brookline High School at Stellos Stadium in Nashua, N.H., on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Hollis-Brookline won, 12-11. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. valley news / report for america — Alex Driehaus

Hanover’s Maggie Higgins (4), Kali McDonnell (6) and Lauren Eiler (14) celebrate after scoring a goal during the NHIAA Division II girls lacrosse championship game against Hollis-Brookline High School at Stellos Stadium in Nashua, N.H., on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Hollis-Brookline won, 12-11. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Hanover’s Maggie Higgins (4), Kali McDonnell (6) and Lauren Eiler (14) celebrate after scoring a goal during the NHIAA Division II girls lacrosse championship game against Hollis-Brookline High School at Stellos Stadium in Nashua, N.H., on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Hollis-Brookline won, 12-11. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Charlotte Robinson

Charlotte Robinson

By TRIS WYKES

Valley News Staff Writer

Published: 06-08-2023 9:14 AM

NASHUA, N.H. — When the final horn sounded Tuesday at Stellos Stadium, members of the Hanover High girls lacrosse team sprinted to console their netminder, Charlotte Robinson. It’s a reflexive move in sports with a backstop, but the Bears’ grip on their goalie was especially heartfelt.

Robinson made only eight saves during her team’s 12-11 loss to Hollis-Brookline in the NHIAA Division II state title game, but none were routine. The sophomore denied the third-seeded Cavaliers on four free-position attempts, in which a fouled attacker is given the equivalent of a penalty shot.

“They made a really good play,” Robinson said of Paige Mello’s sharp-angle shot that found the lower, near-side corner with 19 seconds remaining. “I kind of put my shoulders down and felt like it was my fault, but my team was there for me.”

Robinson’s other stops were also impressive, prompting fourth-year Hanover coach Sarah Martin to describe No. 25’s effort as her best game in two seasons as a starter.

The winning play unfolded, as it seemed every HB sequence did, with the ball in Alyssa Hill’s cross. The senior, headed to Saint Anselm College in the fall, scored three goals, added three assists and played with relentless intensity.

With the game on the line, Hill paused briefly at what in basketball would have been the top of the key, surveyed her options and then drove hard to her natural left side. The defense’s attention engaged, Hill then fed classmate Mello on the right side for the hazy evening’s final tally.

“She’s a tall, athletic player who was getting by our defenders really well,” said Robinson, whose team never led but climbed into six ties. “Coach warned us about her, and we talked about the plays she likes before the game.”

Said Martin: “She’s incredible. I have a lot of respect for that kid, and I love to watch her play.”

Hill’s only first-half point came on an assist, but she roared to prominence after intermission, during which the Cavaliers led, 5-3. Neither side let off the gas during the up-tempo matchup, which featured long runs by ball carriers, sharp cuts by those working to get open and several fouls in which the defender’s whack to the head left its victim on the verge of tears.

“I felt like if we could just get one goal ahead, it would generate enough momentum in our favor to break it open,” said Martin, a former Dartmouth assistant. “I’m so proud of my kids for how they fought. (Hollis-Brookline) has a potent attack and the score could have gotten out of control, but my defense hung in there.”

A turning point occurred midway through the first half, when Nora Bradley, Hanover’s top defender, suffered an injury in the vicinity of her left ankle and never returned. The sophomore iced the area, had it retaped and ran on the sideline but was ruled out by athletic trainer Cassie Lapple.

“Nora’s my strongest one-on-one defender and was going to play against Alyssa, and that was a big loss for us,” said Martin, who tried to compensate by shifting the responsibility to the midfield as a whole. “It wasn’t ideal to put a middie on their best attacker.”

Hanover (15-2) won the draw-control battle, 18-11, with the Higgins sisters, Sadie and Maggie, often teaming to win possession. Once in control, however, the Bears confronted an unfamiliar alignment from the Cavaliers (17-4).

“They play a zone defense, and we don’t practice against a zone defense, and we don’t play any other teams with a zone defense,” Martin said. “We had two days to get ready for it, but I guess we should spend the whole season getting ready for it.”

Hanover received four goals from Kali McDonnell and two goals and two assists from Maeve Lee. Lauren Eiler had a goal and three assists, and Maggie Higgins converted a free-position shot with 2 minutes, 24 seconds, remaining to forge an 11-11 tie.

Hanover won the ensuing draw but turned the ball over with 90 seconds to go, leading to a wicked Hill shot that caromed off the post and away.

“At first it was very, very nerve-wracking to be out there,” Robinson said of the contest’s pace. “I’ve never played in a game that was so intense, and it was so great to see my friends, and basically my family, giving their all to play something they love so much.”

Notes: Robinson, a second-year starter, said she began playing lacrosse in eighth grade but didn’t receive much coaching. “I just kind of stood there,” she said with a laugh. … Hanover overcame a 4-0 deficit to beat visiting Hollis-Brookline, 11-10, on May 21 during the team’s regular-season meeting. The Bears’ first loss this spring was to Division I Pinkerton. … Hanover won state titles in 2002, 2008 and 2016 and was runner-up in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013 and 2015. Hollis-Brookline won its first Division II title after claiming a pair in Division III. … Hanover will soon graduate McDonnell, Eiler, Mia Madden, Reilly Loughman, Emily Perras, Sadie Higgins and Ashley Cotter. … McDonnell is headed to play at Gettysburg (Pa.) College, which recently fell in the NCAA Division III final to Middlebury. The Panthers won for the second consecutive season, and former Hanover sports standout Caroline Adams had a goal and an assist for them in that clash. … Lapple is a former Hanover softball player who earned a scholarship to play at the University of Maine from 2007-11, earned her master’s degree from the University of Georgia and has been back with the Bears since 2020. … Hanover assistant coach Lindsay Eichelberger Fox is a former Dartmouth player from the late 1990s. … Hanover is 45-19 under Martin, whose 2022 team finished second during the regular season and exited in the semifinals.

Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.