Lebanon girls lacrosse advances to DIII quarterfinal

Lebanon’s Hadley Rich (26) shoots the ball during the first round of the NHIAA D-III girls lacrosse tournament against Trinity High School at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, N.H., on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Lebanon won, 20-10. (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.

Lebanon’s Hadley Rich (26) shoots the ball during the first round of the NHIAA D-III girls lacrosse tournament against Trinity High School at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, N.H., on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Lebanon won, 20-10. (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

Lebanon head coach Sara Ecker, center, talks to her players about their defense during a time out from the first round of the NHIAA D-III girls lacrosse tournament against Trinity High School at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, N.H., on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Lebanon won, 20-10. (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.

Lebanon head coach Sara Ecker, center, talks to her players about their defense during a time out from the first round of the NHIAA D-III girls lacrosse tournament against Trinity High School at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, N.H., on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Lebanon won, 20-10. (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.

Lebanon’s Maddie Jewell (18) runs the ball down the field while being pursued by Trinity’s Lexi DeFreitas (18) during the first round of the NHIAA D-III girls lacrosse tournament at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, N.H., on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Lebanon won, 20-10. (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.

Lebanon’s Maddie Jewell (18) runs the ball down the field while being pursued by Trinity’s Lexi DeFreitas (18) during the first round of the NHIAA D-III girls lacrosse tournament at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, N.H., on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Lebanon won, 20-10. (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

Lebanon’s Sara Forman, right, hugs her teammate Abigail Auch to congratulate her for scoring a goal during the first round of the NHIAA D-III girls lacrosse tournament against Trinity High School at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, N.H., on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Lebanon won, 20-10. (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.

Lebanon’s Sara Forman, right, hugs her teammate Abigail Auch to congratulate her for scoring a goal during the first round of the NHIAA D-III girls lacrosse tournament against Trinity High School at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, N.H., on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Lebanon won, 20-10. (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

By BEN HOOKE

Valley News Correspondent

Published: 05-29-2024 3:28 PM

LEBANON — The forecasted rain over Lebanon High School’s girls lacrosse field stopped just in time for the large crowd assembled to watch the Raiders produce a downpour of goals instead.

The Raiders scored a season-high 20 goals, including eight in the second quarter, to blow past Trinity, 20-10, in the first round of the NHIAA Division III playoffs on Tuesday.

Twelve players made it on the scoresheet for seventh-seeded Lebanon, led by senior star Maddie Jewell’s five-goal performance. Jewell moved into third place on Lebanon’s all-time scoring list with another powerful performance in front of the net.

Elizabeth Maher, Angelina McDonald and Audrey Newton also finished with multiple goals for the Raiders.

The pivotal stretch of the game came at the close of the second quarter. With the Pioneers threatening to enter the half trailing just 5-3, Lebanon responded by ripping off a six-goal explosion, led by a trifecta from Jewell in the final three minutes to take a commanding lead into the half.

“To be honest, I didn’t really think about it,” said Lebanon coach Sara Ecker of the second-quarter run. “But when you control the draws and can get right back on offense, that really helps you score in a hurry.”

Trinity tried its best to respond throughout the second half but could not slice the deficit to any closer than five goals, and the Pioneers came apart down the stretch to reach the final margin.

Olivia Wheeler scored six of the visitors’ goals in a losing effort. The junior routinely found opportunities on the break, but her teammates struggled to match her performance against a disciplined Lebanon defense and solid goalkeeping from Raider keeper Drew Kantor when the offense slowed down.

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Lebanon, 10-5 this season after a losing record a year ago, faces a tough task when it takes on Bow (15-2) on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The Falcons have not lost to a Division III school for over a year, rolling through the 2023 playoffs and only losing to schools in Division II this year.

The two squads didn’t meet in the regular season.

Ecker stressed that her players must “focus on what they can control and not psych themselves out over the opponent” when the two schools collide.