BEDFORD – The Merrimack Valley girls’ lacrosse team’s motto all season was “Who would have thought?” Despite losing in the school’s first-ever girls’ lacrosse state championship, the players stood proudly with their second-place plaque as their fans gave them one last round of applause.

In the first half of the state championship, the Pride faced all kinds of adversity. The team lost its goalie to injury halfway through the second quarter and went down by five goals to Winnacunnet, 8-3, at half.

The opportunities to overcome the deficit were scarce – but the lessons learned from the journey to the championship were numerous. Head coach Kylee Yam said her team really picked up the pace as they grew as people and players throughout the season, and it was a strong run overall to make it all the way to the championship.

“I think it’s just not to give up and to be together as a team. Other teams we know, just other teams in general, get kind of negative with each other, and these girls don’t really do that, and I think that was a big lesson,” she said

After a strong run of form through the Division II playoffs, No. 3 Merrimack Valley (12-5) arrived at its first girls’ lacrosse state championship.

On the other side of the field stood last year’s runner-up and top-seeded Winnacunnet (18-1), which had gone undefeated in divisional play and 3-1 against Division I opponents.

In the end, Merrimack Valley fell to the nearly-perfect Winnacunnet team that desperately wanted its trophy, 15-7. The Pride girls improved upon the final score of their regular-season match against the Warriors, which ended 16-5. 

Going into the match, the Pride trusted their game plan – strong mixed zone defense, ground ball play and control over the pace of play on offense. The Warriors’ bench outnumbered the Pride’s, with 25 and 14 players each.

The Valley had not backed down against larger, faster, or more versatile opposition, even when losing, and stepped up with their sticks held high.

Alyssa Brodeur, who was one of the Pride’s most versatile threats offensively this season, set up many plays and scored multiple goals in the championship even when it was out of reach. She urged her teammates to just enjoy the moment, the last 48 minutes of lacrosse she had with the team.

“I’ve definitely learned a lot over the four years here, anybody here will tell you that and I'm just like, I'm proud to be here,” she said after the game. “I would not want to be on that team right now. I’m totally content with the team that I’m on.”

Senior goalie Taylor Gionet’s exit with an injury was heartbreaking for the Pride, and with no substitute, they went out with no one in goal. After the game, coach Yam explained that she did not believe it would be safe to just throw a player out in goal without preparation.

Somehow, after resuming play, MV generated a turnover on defense without allowing a shot and took the ball the other way as the crowd erupted in cheers. Brodeur found her spot on the left side of the goal again and scored, and the crowd roared with excitement. Every play, every ground ball, every attempt to hold Winnacunnet became much more important.

The Pride held on for the last six minutes, only allowing three goals, and went into halftime down.

Senior midfielder Kaiya Mercier and senior defender Lenna Quiter, who were both tasked with keeping the Warriors at bay, said that the underdog mentality the team had throughout the season, and as far back as when she first started playing as a freshman, made the team stronger and carried them to the championship.

“I also think determination, we never really gave up and like what Kai said, adversity, we just, we don't give up, and I think that's a great thing to learn,” Quiter said.

During the half, senior midfielder Sydney Bailey dressed for goal and stepped up to try and give MV a chance to come back. The team did not give up. Just like they had against Oyster River-Newmarket in the quarterfinal, when they faced a deficit at halftime. Even though Winnacunnet kept widening its lead to secure the championship, the Pride left the last bit of energy they had on the field.

The MV crowd did not give up either as it chanted, “Here we go, Valley! Here we go!” Despite the hardship of the championship, the crowd and team pushed until the end, unconditionally supporting the girls who had made this season one to remember. 

Brodeur and many of the other players on the Pride’s varsity team have coached the youth programs to continue and grow the legacy of the girls’ lacrosse program.

“Those kids get so excited for us, for themselves, like they come here and they feel like they’re part of us. So I’m excited to see what they’ll do in the future. I know they’ll do great, but I think that with us and softball being left, it really shows the female athletic power that we have at the school,” Brodeur said.

Quiter and Mercier echoed her passion for continuing passion for the sport at Merrimack Valley.

“No matter the odds, you can beat them, you can you can do it, and have confidence in yourself, and in your team, and work together, and you can do it always,” Mercier said as they prepared to walk off one last time in a Pride uniform.

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com