DOVER – Even though the Dover High School boys lacrosse team was the higher seed entering the Division I playoffs, few gave the Green Wave much of a chance against Exeter in Saturday’s quarterfinal, especially after the Blue Hawks erupted for 20 goals in their regular-season meeting.
However, No. 4 Dover gave No. 5 Exeter all it could handle in the rematch, falling just short in an 11-10 loss at a packed Bellamy Field. With the hard-fought win, Exeter advanced to the semifinals, where it will face top-seed Bedford on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. at Manchester Memorial High School.
“It’s playoff lacrosse,” said Exeter coach Matt Brewster. “The regular season no longer matters. It’s 0-0 and every game is essentially a new season. We’re happy to move on.”
Dover entered the playoffs on a five-game win streak to the No. 4 seed and home-field advantage.
“I’m super proud of our guys, I really am,” said Dover coach Chris Ketcham. “Going from a game where they put up 20 on us in the regular season to holding them to 11 and being just one short — it’s tough to walk away disappointed. … Today, they just fought.”
Exeter (12-6) led most of the way and still held a 10-6 advantage late before Dover (12-6) rallied to close within 10-9, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
“It’s definitely a tough one,” said Dover senior attack Logan Carter. “We played as hard as we could. I’ve never seen Dover produce something like this before. I’ve never seen the sidelines packed like this. It’s something bigger than just lacrosse — what we’re building here.”
Logan Carrigan led Exeter with three goals and three assists. Goalie Ronan Wilber made 19 saves, and Logan Schwalje had five caused turnovers.
“They’ve changed a lot,” Brewster said of Dover. “They make a lot of good decisions, and they work hard for each other. They’ve got a good staff over there pointing them in the right direction, and they’re very competitive. That was a great lacrosse game.”
“I will not forget this game,” said Carter. “This was my best memory for Dover lacrosse and the toughest one at the same time.”
Parker Ketcham led Dover with three goals and two assists. Carter and Sylas Brown each scored two goals. Greffen Adorian had two goals and an assist, and Cooper Ketcham added a goal and two assists.
“Definitely it came down to the wire, but we’ve got all the guys and all the parts to keep it going,” Carrigan said. “At the end of the day, we got the win, and that’s what matters. There were so many people here. The energy was up. In the playoffs, it’s anyone’s game.”
“It’s going to sting for a while,” coach Ketcham said.
