In a rematch of last year’s championship game, the third-seeded Bedford Bulldogs defeated the second-seeded Souhegan Sabers Saturday in the Division I state semifinals, 15-8.

Bedford’s Hannah McCarthy scored the game’s first goal just over a minute into the game, reaching a hat trick by the match’s ninth minute.

Souhegan junior O’Neill Galinson tied up the contest about two minutes after McCarthy’s initial goal, but the Bulldogs would respond with a pair of goals. The Bulldogs would rise to a 6-2 lead by the 16:39 mark thanks to McCarthy’s fourth goal of the day.

While the Sabers would call a timeout following Bedford’s sixth goal, they were unable to reverse the contest’s flow, with Galinson and Kate Lindsey receiving yellow cards over the next few minutes, followed by a seventh Bedford goal with 6:07 left before halftime.

Souhegan would finally find their stride with just over four minutes left in the half, scoring three consecutive goals.

Bulldog sophomore Sydney Lynch siphoned some of that momentum with a diving shot that found its way to the back of the net less than a second before halftime, but the Sabers’ string of scores and another goal by O’Neil seconds after halftime made it clear that Souhegan would not go down quietly.

Still, it quickly became clear that this was Bedford’s game to win or lose.

Riley Chou gave Bedford its ninth goal of the contest and the Bulldogs would take advantage of a second Galinson yellow card, with Brooke Burdon and McCarthy each adding two goals apiece over the next four minutes.

Burdon’s almost added her fourth goal of the contest, but it came off the board, instead receiving a yellow card instead for an alleged push. However, the Bulldogs attack was undeterred, scoring the contest’s next three goals.

McCarthy would end the game with six goals and three assists, with Burdon, Mackenzie MacEachern and Chamberlaine Bell also finishing with two goals apiece. Courtney Dermody contributed Bedford’s other goal, with Bell and Lynch also each collected five loose balls by the end of the contest.

For Souhegan, Taylor Clark and Claire Woodford both added two goals to Galinson’s hat trick, with Samantha Jay also adding a goal.

Bedford High and Bishop Guertin met on Wednesday night at Manchester Memorial to determine this year’s Division I champion.

The Bulldogs defeated Bishop Guertin 11-10 at home on May 12, one of only three defeats the Cardinals suffered to New Hampshire opponents during the regular season.

Souhegan, which finishes at 17-3 on the season, dropped Nashua South in its playoff opener earlier this week by a score of

14-3.