LONDONDERRY – It was nip and tuck from the opening faceoff until the final horn, but Souhegan grabbed the lead early and never gave it up as the Sabers defeated Londonderry 10-8 in girls lacrosse action.

“I’m going to have to go back and get my hair colored again,” Souhegan coach Maren Petropulos said. “We wish we could play a team like this every time. It’s so competitive and it’s so great for the girls because it keeps them up from game to game. This was a great game for us.”

The senior duo of Mickenzie Larivee of Jocelyn Donohue led the charge for the Sabers. The Boston University-bound Larivee bulled through the Lancer defense to the tune of four goals and an assist. Larivee also scooped a ground ball in the final minute to keep a Souhegan possession alive that salted away the final moments of the game.

The George Washington-bound Donohue also scored for goals for the Sabers, three of which came in the second half. Donohue scored with one second left to seal the win.

“Most of these girls we’ve been playing together since middle school,” Larivee said. “I know where (Donohue’s) going to go. I know how tall she is; she can extend her stick way out there.”

Madison Learned, also a Boston University commit, scored a pair of goals and assisted on two more.

The Lancers went goal for goal with the Sabers from much of the game, but it was Souhegan’s ground game that earned them the victory. Key ground ball after key ground ball led to clears into transition that opened up the attacking game for the Sabers.

“We haven’t been on ground balls throughout the season and we’ve worked on that in practices,” Petropulos said. “I’m glad that we were able to do that today.”

Meaghan Allard stepped up when she had to in cage. The freshman goalie stopped five shots for the Sabers.

“She’s been playing great for us,” Petropulos She’s a freshman and she’s come from playing eighth-grade lacrosse to playing varsity. We’re lucky to have her.”

Alexa Bedell had four goals and an assist for Londonderry. Noell Lambert added a goal and a pair of assists for the Lancers.

Londonderry’s ability to continuously respond to Souhegan’s offense made for a tense day on the bench, but for Larivee all that mattered was the end result.

“I think our whole team stepped up,” Larivee said. “There was a lot of turnovers in the first half and we had to regroup at halftime. We had to get the job done. A win’s a win whether it’s clean or not.

“It’s definitely not a comfortable situation; you always have to be on your toes. That’s the game of lacrosse.”