Souhegan's Ella Normandin (2), Izzy Stevenson (1) and Bella Preston (11) walked off the field with smiles following Thursday's 1-0 win over Oyster River In the Division II semifinals in Exeter. (Photo by Dan Doyon)

EXETER – The only loss suffered by the Souhegan High School field hockey team came midway during the regular season when the Sabers dropped a 4-3 decision to Oyster River.

Souhegan had another chance at the Bobcats in Thursday night’s Division II semifinals, and this time the Sabers prevailed with only one goal scored.

Senior Ella Normandin’s goal 1:22 into the game was enough for sophomore goalie Olivia Harrison to protect top-seeded Souhegan’s 1-0 victory over No. 4 Oyster River amidst the downpours at Exeter High School’s William Ball Stadium.

“The team was really excited to come out here and we crushed it,” Normandin said. “I’m really proud of the team with how hard we worked together.”

Souhegan (16-1-1) will look for the program’s third championship when it takes on No. 2 Bow (16-1-2) in Saturday’s title game at Bedford High School at 5 p.m. The Falcons advanced with a 4-1 win over No. 3 John Stark (15-2-2) in Thursday’s earlier action.

This will be Souhegan’s seventh championship game after sandwiching Class I wins in 2004 and 2007 around a 2006 loss. Souhegan lost Division II title games to Hanover in 2019, Kennett in 2020, and John Stark in 2022.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the girls. They came out blazing and scored within the first two minutes,” Souhegan coach Kelli Braley said. “I knew when we played Oyster River midway through the season that this could be a championship game. We loved that we were able to right the wrong of what happened during the regular season.”

Souhegan immediately pressured Oyster River goalie Harley Kachadorian (eight saves) when Normandin banked in a pass from Mariellah Dart to give The Sabers a 1-0 lead with 13:38 left in the first quarter.

“This could’ve been my last game, I came out fired up and I just needed to get one, so I tried super hard to accomplish it,” Normandin said. “I went out super nervous and I got that goal and I think that’s what we needed to keep on going.”

Souhegan was able to protect that lead with a defense that was anchored in the cage by Harrison, who was a backup all season until starting senior goalie Amelia Warecki got hurt before the regular-season finale against Hollis-Brookline.

Harrison has seamlessly met the pressure by following Sunday’s 4-0 quarterfinal win over No. 8 Kingswood with her performance on Thursday.

“Olivia has stepped right in and has been absolutely phenomenal,” Braley said. “She’s little and mighty, but she’s quick and reads plays really well. It’s really clutch to have depth at that position.”

Souhegan’s Oriannah Dart fights off a defender during the first quarter of Thursday’s 1-0 win over Oyster River In the Division II semifinals in Exeter. (Photo by Dan Doyon)

Oyster River (15-3-1) was presented with a pair of penalty corners in the final 40 seconds of the second quarter, but Harrison made a pair of kick saves to preserve the lead. She then made a save off a breakaway shot to open the third quarter.

“It’s definitely stressful, there is a lot of adrenaline that goes into it, but I wouldn’t want to be doing anything but be here,” Harrison said. “You just have to think it’s just another game.”

Souhegan will now get a chance to avenge the other team that handed it a blemish on Saturday against Bow. The teams tied 2-2 in Bow three weeks ago.

“I had expectations and knew the talent we had coming into the season, so this is reaffirming where I thought we would,” Braley said. “They’ve worked hard and supported each other. That’s the special part of this team is that they generally enjoy every moment together.”