Notre Dame's Reilly Walsh loses the ball thanks to the defensive pressure by Guertin's Kamryn Schmitt, right, and Sophia Alton from behind during Wednesday's inter-state game at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – In the case of Bishop Guertin High School girls lacrosse, the end certainly justifies the means.

No, the Cardinals didn’t do anything underhanded. They just figure that games like Wednesday’s 13-7 loss against Massachusetts power Notre Dame Academy of Hingham will make them a better team despite the outcome.

“No doubt that’s the best team we’ll face,” Guertin coach Leslie Why said, her team now 7-4. “They’ve won their division endlessly. We’re still on the younger side but I thought our defense played lights out.

“This is the kind of game (they want). We do learn. We know exactly what we need to work on going into tomorrow. I’d much rather play a game like this and have this kind of outcome…This is the way you get better. This is lacrosse.”

It was the same feeling for the visiting Cougars, who are now 15-0 and ranked atop Division II in the Bay State but also atop some polls overall.

“Bishop Guertin is an excellent team and it’s a great opportunity for us to come and play out of state opponents,” ND coach Meredith Frank McGinnis said. “They were relentless the entire game. I think we won a coupld of extra draw controls that gave us a few extra possessions. I think that ended up being the difference.”

Guertin struck first on a Tess Prunier goal but the Cougars responded with three straight scores, but the Cards hung tough to pull to within 4-3 with 1:10 to play in the half and had a possession with a chance to tie. But they turned the ball over, and Notre Dame’s Siobhan Colin scored with 21 seconds left to make it a 5-3 game at halftime.

Then the visitors scored three times to grab an 8-3 lead in the first eight minutes and that pretty much gave them control the rest of the way.

“We had to make some adjustments and be more patient on offense because defensively they were being very aggressive,” McGinnis said. “When we earned those couple of extra possessions we got a couple of better looks.”

“It’s a possession game, that’s what it comes down to,” Why said. “When we could possess it and keep it on offense, we were able to score.

“But we get a little nervy, turn over balls we shouldn’t be turning over, overthrown passes, not being able to carry the ball up, stuff like that. Losing possession either at the draw, or losing possession while we had it is what ate us alive.”

Guertin was led by Prunier, who had three goals and an assist. Kyra O’Connell had two goals while Laura Redfern had a goal and two assists and Maddy Hartsock had a goal.

For ND, sophomore Emma Connerty had four goals while Colin had three goals with an assist to lead the way. Guertin closed to within 9-6 with 8:38 to play on Hartsock’s goal but then the Cougars went on a four-goal run to put things away.

“It’s fatigue,” Why said, also adding that defensively “Kate Daly had the game of her life.” Also, Cards goalie Madalynn Eder-Linell helped keep BG in the game with seven saves.

Despite the loss, Why says this is a different team than the one that lost three straight to fellow contenders Portsmouth Bedford, and then out-of-state Westwood, Mass.

“We had a rocky start, playing Portsmouth in one of our first games,” Why said. “But we’ve learned and grown so much. It’s a totally different offense, and totally different defense, and our draw work is continuous.”

Thus the ‘L’ yesterday in the Cards’ view doesn’t stand so much for loss, it stands for learn.

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