MANCHESTER – Trailing by three with 12:46 to play, Hollis Brookline midfielder CeCe Fetter intercepted a Portsmouth pass in the Cavaliers defensive zone and sprinted downfield for a goal on the other end.

A clutch play by the Cavaliers lone senior that cut No. 2 Portsmouth’s lead to two and for a brief moment in time appeared to shift momentum in No. 4 HB’s favor. Two minutes later the Clippers reversed things once more, scoring three straight goals to open the lead back up on their way to a 16-10 Division II girls lacrosse final victory Tuesday evening at Manchester Memorial’s Chabot-McDonough Field.

It’s the Clippers fourth title in five finals appearances over the last eight years.

“They’re an experienced team,” HB coach Jim Maxwell said. “They’ve been in this how many times? They’ve been here on the big stage. They know what it takes to get here.”

It took four goals each by Sallie Squire, Lily Madden, Sydney Ludes, two from Kate Laughlin, and solo tallies from Anna Smith and Izzy Suttie to hold off a determined HB squad.

The Cavaliers offense was led by the two-goal efforts of Fetter, Tasha White, Abbey Magnuszewski and Victoria Bruzik. Kelsey Sweeney and Paisley Broadhurst added one goal each in the loss.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw Portsmouth grab a lead and HB tie things up three times before the Clippers took a 7-6 lead into the break.

Portsmouth coach Mary Squire wasn’t happy with that one-goal lead.

“The first half was definitely a game of runs,” Squire said. “That’s something we talked about at halftime. We talked about getting a little more composed on offense and making it count.”

The Clippers certainly made the most of their second-half chances.

The Cavaliers knotted the score 7-7 on Sweeney’s goal three minutes into the second half. Portsmouth’s Sallie Squire and HB’s White traded goals three minutes apart and the game was all square 8-8.

But Portsmouth went on a three-goal run, courtesy of Suttie, Ludes and Loughlin to grab the lead for good despite the ensuing coast-to-coast effort by Fetter for the

Cavaliers.

Another three-goal spurt for the Clippers put the game out of reach in the final five minutes of play.

“Our mindset coming into this was that we had a chance – we had a shot,” Maxwell said. “They’ve been here, Winnacunnet’s been here, and now we’ve been here.”

Losing only one senior (Fetter), the future looks bright for a Cavaliers team that knocked off top-seeded Winnacunnet in the semifinals.

“I like our chances to compete, and get back here next year,” Maxwell said.