Merrimack girls lacrosse players leave the field after bowing to Merrimack Valley in the Division II semis at Stellos Stadium on Sunday. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – It’s hard to pinpoint the reason, exactly, but the Merrimack High School girls lacrosse team found out the hard way Sunday that the Merrimack Valley squad it beat by 10 goals during the regular season was not the same team it had to deal with in the Division II semifinals at Stellos Stadium.

And that’s why the Tomahawks fell short, 13-10, to the No. 3 Pride who in an upset punched its ticket to the Tuesday finals vs. No. 1 Winnacunnet in Bedford.

“It kind of surprised us, I’m not going to lie,” Merrimack coach Katie Todd said, fighting back tears. “It took us by surprise I think. Maybe we didn’t prepare enough, I don’t know. It was a tough one to watch.”

“They had the mental toughness and the physical toughness,” MV coach Kylee Yam said of her players. “And we’ve been working on all of that to string that all together, and today it just peaks.”

The Pride set the tone right away winning the opening draw and racing down for an immediate goal by Alyssa Brodeur. MV (12-4) led 5-2 after one quarter and expanded the lead to 8-3. Merrimack, keyed by senior Ava Martin’s draw victories, went on an expected run to trail just 8-7 at the half on Martin’s goal with 2.2 seconds left. One might think they would come out all fired up off that to start the second half, but by the time the third quarter was over, they were down 12-8 thanks to a Brodeur goal with, ironically, 2.2 ticks left in the period.

Ouch.

“I told them to just keep their composure, there was a lot of game left to play,” Yam said. “Keep playing the way your playing, move your feet on defense, be patient on offense, and we did it.”

“I think they came out, they wanted it more, I think,” Todd said. “I think our girls came out flat-footed…I don’t know if was a shakeup between us trying to play yesterday, but because they had graduation things got pushed back …I think that threw us for a loop. But can’t blame it on that.”

The other factor was MV senior goalie Taylor Gionet, who made 14 saves and robbed the ‘Hawks in several key moments.

“Their goalie was phenomenal,” Todd said. “We were shooting low and I kept telling the girls you’ve got to move her. You’ve got to throw in some fakes or something.”

MV was led by Ella Frink’s four goals and three goals and two assists each by Brodeur and Lilly Jones. Kayla Mercier had two goals and an assist while Abby Thompson had a goal and an assist.

Merrimack’s Ava Martin (10) is pressured by Merrimack Valley’s Kaiya Mercier during Sunday’s Division II semis at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

For Merrimack, Martin had three while Riley Taylor and Ava Woods had two each. Singles were by Payton Trepaney, Lyla Carls and Lexi Bell. Trepaney also had four assists. Goalie Sophia Richard was stellar with 10 saves.

But in the end, it just wasn’t enough. Mercier gave the Pride a 13-9 lead with 6:32 to play, and Merrimack just couldn’t grab any momentum, especially after Gionet made a huge save following an MV turnover with 1:53 left.

Double ouch.

“What I told them,” Yam said going in, “We’re capable from defense to offense. You just have to want it more.”

Ironically, it was probably the best if not one of the best seasons the ‘Hawks had ever had (14-2), and this was their first season in Divison II. Martin and Trepaney head a senior group of six, but Merrimack has a great future with young players like Taylor, a freshman.

Still, this wasn’t what they expected.

“The seniors really wanted it,” Todd said. “It’s unfortunate we couldn’t finish it for them.”