LEBANON — By the time Molly Smith went to the bench Tuesday after taking a stick to the face in the second quarter, her work had already been done.
Lebanon’s senior forward had recorded two assists before her injury, on what turned out to be the only goals of the game. She returned in the second half as the No. 5 seed Raiders (12-2-2) defeated No. 12 seed Derryfield, 2-0, in the first round of the NHIAA Division II playoffs.
“We’ve been working on starting the game with energy,” Lebanon coach Amanda Valliere said. “We tend to start kind of slow and then come out hard in the second half, so our goal today was to come out hard right from the beginning. I was really excited to see that they challenged themselves to do it, and they accomplished that.”
Both teams had plenty of opportunities early before the Raiders opened the scoring with just over a minute to play in the first quarter. Following a penalty corner, the ball came loose in front of the net, allowing Smith to poke a quick pass to senior midfielder/forward Sally Tretter. Tretter did the rest to give Lebanon the lead.
The goal was Tretter’s 11th of the season, moving her past Smith and senior midfielder Amalia Hickey for sole possession of the team lead.
“Molly passed it to me, and it was a little slow, but I reversed stick to it and it went into the left-hand corner (of the goal),” Tretter said.
The Raiders doubled their advantage barely two minutes into the second period on a similar play. The Cougars’ defense struggled to corral the ball in front of the goal, and Smith found junior midfielder Meagan Thompson, who scored from close range.
But moments later, Lebanon was wondering if it might be down one of its best players for a while. Smith was defending on a free hit, and she came in close after the Derryfield player went for a quick touch. The player struck Smith on her swing near the left eye, and Smith rested for the remainder of the half while the trainer made sure she wasn’t seriously hurt.
“Molly is one of the most tenacious young women I’ve ever met,” Valliere said. “We have a phenomenal trainer, so Molly was able to receive treatment right away, ice a little bit, and then come back in.”
Even with the two-goal lead, the Raiders kept the pressure on in the second half. The Cougars controlled the ball for much of the third quarter, but junior goalkeeper Ashlee Blashock, who had three saves in the contest, kept the shutout intact. In the fourth, the action remained mostly in Derryfield’s defensive end. Lebanon had several chances to extend its lead — Hickey and junior midfielder Mikayla Thornton both had good looks at goal — and Derryfield barely threatened until a penalty corner in the final seconds.
The Raiders have now outscored their opponents 18-0 during their four-game winning streak, but they will no longer be able to rely on the comforts of home.
Lebanon heads to No. 4 seed John Stark — a 1-0 winner over No. 13 Merrimack Valley on Tuesday — for the quarterfinals on Friday. The Raiders defeated the Generals 2-0 in Lebanon on Sept. 14, but Valliere said John Stark beat Lebanon in a summer exhibition.
“They’re a very good team. They move the ball really well,” Valliere said. “(It’s about) making sure we’re in the right spots on free hits, making sure we’re blocking the right angles and keeping our sticks down low and keeping that pressure on.”
Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.