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February 17, 2022 · 1:12 am

Bow wins DII state semis 42-26 over Pembroke

The Bow half-court defense was tight most of the game

(Kingston NH) “We never got into a flow,” said Pembroke coach Steve Langevin afterwards.

Bow did and they advanced to the DII finals on Sunday night at UNH with a 42-26 win on Wednesday night at Sanborn High School.

The Spartans (17-3) struggled shooting all night long.

The Falcons (19-2) took the lead from the get-go and never trailed.

“We’ve been averaging in the 40’s but we could never get a run going tonight,” said Coach Langevin.

Cierra Hill and Annelise Dexter double-team Madison Speckman

Bow’s shooting wasn’t great but comparatively it was more than enough.

Bow’s Alex Larrabee (16 points) and Jess Chamberlain (11 points) led all scorers.

Undefeated Hanover (19-0) will be Bow’s opponent in the title game. Hanover overwhelmed the Spartans, 50-28, in December.

The Falcons have certainly improved since then. “Bow is playing much more to their strengths than they were earlier in the year,” said Coach Langevin. “They’re now setting up (Jess) Chamberlain and (Alex) Larrabee for those little jumpers. They drive and kick to them.”

The Falcons also lost to Pembroke in December but played tonight as if that loss was a distant memory.

“We played some good defense tonight and couldn’t throw it in the ocean for a while,” explained Bow coach Phil Davis post-game. “But our defense enabled us to hang around.”

“Our half-court defense was what changed the game today,” Coach Davis added. “We knew who their scorers were, and we knew we had to shut them down. We face-guarded Ashley Stephens and Annelise Dexter the whole game.”

Bow scored the first five points and moved their lead to double figures (16-6) three minutes into the second quarter when Jess Chamberlain converted a rebound.

In the third quarter, junior Alex Larrabee increased the Falcons margin to fifteen (28-13) with an inside spin move and two free throws.

The Spartans finally showed some offensive life in the final quarter. A three from Taylor Renna and two free throws (Ashley Stephens – 10 points) cut the Bow lead to nine points (30-21) with 5 ½ minutes left.

But Bow followed with a long possession (There’s no shot clock) that ended with senior Madison Speckman finding an open lane to a layup. The Falcons lead was now double figures again and Pembroke couldn’t get closer the rest of the way.

“We broke their press very well,” said Coach Langevin, “and we held them down with our defense, but we couldn’t get our offense going.”

“We’ve prided ourselves on our defense the entire season,” said Jess Chamberlain. “We know that if our offense isn’t clicking our defense will always be there.”

“We were well prepared for this game,” said junior Lyndsey LaPerle afterwards. “I think we tired them with our press. We didn’t give space. We were always up on them and trying to force turnovers.”

“We had great energy tonight,” added Bella LaPerle. “We wanted to start strong, and we did and got our momentum going.”

Coach Davis: “Syd Roberge is a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end. She can shut down anyone. She did a good job on Ashley Stephens tonight. It’s just effort. She’s a taller version of the LaPerles’”

Coach Langevin: “One of the hardest things is meeting with a team just after they’ve played, and lost, their last game. I told the girls that they made themselves relevant this year. Our seniors were 8-37 their first two seasons. Bow was expected to be here, we weren’t. But we did make it to the state semifinals.”

The last time I saw these two teams playing was in the DII soccer title game in November at Exeter. Bow got that game into OT in the last minute and then won the game in overtime.

Bow 9 11 8 14 = 42

Pembroke 3 6 7 10 = 26

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Bow takes NH DII title 2-1 in OT over Pembroke

(Exeter NH) “You take your eyes off them for just a couple of seconds, and you get punished,” said Pembroke Academy coach Jess Kaufman-Desrochers afterwards.

The Spartans coach was referencing the LaPerle twins of Bow.

In the New Hampshire Division II girls’ soccer final this afternoon, Bella and Lyndsey were the difference-makers in the Bow Falcons, 2-1 win in overtime.

Bella scored in the closing seconds of regulation to get the game into overtime. At 2:20 of overtime, her sister Lyndsey drove home the game winner.

“The LaPerles are feisty, fast, and aggressive players,” added the Pembroke coach, “and we knew we needed to watch them.”

Pembroke (18-1) scored eleven minutes into the second half (Cierra Hill) to give the Spartans a, 1-0, lead.

The play throughout the game was back-and-forth, and grueling. There were hardly any substitutions. There was plenty for both fan sections to cheer about………and be concerned about.

The Bow goalie (Cailyn Benson) and the Pembroke goalie (Brooke Davison) were tested and tried on numerous occasions and drew ooh’s and aah’s from the crowd.

That one Pembroke goal got larger and larger as the time ran down.

At the five-minute mark, the scoreboard clock in the stadium stopped ticking down. Thereafter, only the referee knew the exact time left.

“There was time added because one of their players was injured,” said Lyndsey LaPerle afterwards. “That’s why the time left was so confusing.”

“Is there time to score?” and “How much longer will the defense have to hold?” were the questions that ran through my head as the five minutes left started to feel like twenty minutes.

“We never gave up,” said Bow coach Jay Vogt afterwards. “We talked before the game about needing to believe all the time.”

In the closing minute of regulation, Bella LaPerle got the ball on the right. The BHS junior turned and shot through two Pembroke players and into the left side of the Spartans’ goal to tie the score.

Bella LaPerle (2) shoots through two Pembroke defenders

There was a five-minute break before sudden-death overtime. That rest may have benefitted the speedy Falcons.

At 2:20 of OT, Lyndsey LaPerle received a pass in front from Elena Jay and buried a shot just inside the near post to win the game.

Lyndsey LaPerle (white shirt) drives the game winner just inside the post

“I was probably at the eighteen,” explained Lyndsey post-game. “Elena Jay passed it to me. I turned on my defender, saw an opening, and shot it.”

“Crazy,” was Coach Vogt’s initial description of the Lyndsey game-winner.

Then he added, “She turned and put her left foot on it. She didn’t try to kill it. She just tried to place it into the corner. She’s been scoring all year for us.”

The loss was extremely tough for Pembroke to take. Why? They came within seconds of winning their first girls soccer title.

Bow (18-1) has now won girls’ soccer titles six times. The most recent being in 2017.

I was quite certain going in that today’s matchup would be a good one. Bow’s only loss was to undefeated Pembroke.

Pembroke goalie Brooke Davison ready for a header

In that October 15^th game, Pembroke’s Britney Hill scored in the last three seconds to give the Spartans a 3-2 victory.

“This will make up for our loss to them,” said Coach Vogt, “because we won a state championship.

The Pembroke goal in the second half was on a well-executed corner kick. Senior Adrienne Dorr’s CK went beyond the front of the Bow goal directly to senior Cierra Hill. Cierra headed the ball back perfectly into the top shelf on the right.

Coach Kaufman-Desrochers: “It’s tough when just a couple of seconds decides it for you. We tried to maintain possession. The last eighty-three days have been really special. It’s hard to end it like this.”

Coach Vogt: “Pembroke is a tremendous team. We knew they’d put pressure on us. We had to believe that we could figure it out.”

LaPerle twins: “It’s an incredible feeling to win this. We’re exhausted…..but it was fun.”

Beautiful weather this afternoon. Temperatures in the 50’s with non-stop sunshine.

Nice setup at Bill Ball Stadium at Exeter High School. Great turf field and plenty of seating.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)