LONGMEADOW — A game filled with multiple momentum swings, fierce draw battles, and clutch plays came down to one final shot—and Nora VanDerhoof was ready.
With six seconds left and the game on the brink of overtime, the junior goalkeeper came up with a game-saving stop to preserve a 14-13 win for No. 8 Longmeadow over No. 9 Melrose in Wednesday night’s MIAA Division II Round of 16 matchup.
“She was driving down the middle and you could just see the defense kind of shifting to the left and to the right,” VanDerhoof said. “In the end, it was just about watching the ball all the way. When it hits you, you realize that you have to do something to stop the ball.”
And she delivered, exactly when it mattered the most.
The Lancers capped off a thrilling fourth-quarter surge with a 5-2 run, including four unanswered goals that flipped the momentum in their favor. But Melrose’s Jill Frawley stepped up.
The senior, who amassed one goal entering the final frame, delivered two back-to-back clutch scores in the closing minutes—first racing downfield off a Lancer turnover to bury a shot, then tying the game at 13-13 on a free position attempt with 2:52 left in regulation.
With pressure mounting, Longmeadow (8-12) turned to junior Molly Henshon. A penalty against Melrose set her up for a free position shot with under two-minutes remaining.
“I was really just trying not to think about it and trying to just do what I know how to do and believe in myself,” Henshon said.
Henshon buried the go-ahead goal, giving the Lancers a 14-13 lead and one last defensive stand to make.
Melrose (13-5) regained possession with seconds left, and the Red Hawks had one final chance to force overtime. But VanDerhoof stood tall in net, turning away Frawley’s last-second shot to seal the victory and send Longmeadow to the quarterfinals where it will take on top-seeded and defending champion Notre Dame Hingham—a rematch the team has been anticipating since suffering a 15-4 loss to the program earlier in the regular season.
“I think that we’re really excited about playing [Notre Dame Hingham],” Longmeadow coach Kelly Gallo said. “They’re a great program. We’ve played them before in 2019, we played them in a state final, and so it’s always a battle when we see them in the playoffs.”
Wednesday’s nail-biting victory was also a reminder of the Lancers’ resilience and ability to grind out tough wins, according to Gallo.
“They came through with a lot of grit, and I think that it takes a lot to go down multiple times in a game and keep fighting back,” Gallo said. “Obviously, that’s not what we want, to keep going down, but we were able to not play our best game tonight and still come away with a win, which is all that matters when you’re in playoffs. So, we’re looking forward to the next one now, but incredibly proud of how we played tonight.”
Longmeadow found itself in a 4-1 hole early as Melrose stormed out behind standout sophomore and leading scorer Chloe Arnold (4 goals) and a dominant first quarter at the draw.
But the Lancers found their rhythm in the second quarter, led by senior captain Sam Goodrich and Henshon.
“Super chaotic at first, but then we just kept our composure,” Goodrich said. “We were able to start getting the draw, getting a couple in the net, and then our team just really came together at the end.”
Goodrich tallied five goals on the night, including three in the second quarter alone to help the Lancers take their first lead before halftime.
Melrose had surged ahead with a 4-0 run of its own early in the fourth quarter, turning a two-goal deficit into an 11-9 lead behind timely goals from Arnold and Frawley. But Longmeadow responded again, scoring four of the next five, including transition goals from Kerry Conway and Goodrich.
