The Falcons celebrate an early goal scored by Olivia Selleck in the first half of their game against Derryfield in the Division III semifinals. Bow won 17-4 on Saturday. MATT PARKER / Monitor staff

Alex Larrabee (right) sets up Bow’s offense during its game against Derryfield in the Division III semifinals. The Falcons won 17-4 on Saturday. MATT PARKER / Monitor staff

LACONIA – It didn’t take much time for Bow to find the back of the net.

The Falcons weren’t crafty or flashy, but direct and straight to the point when it came to offense. There weren’t fancy cuts or fakes and jukes. Rather, passes were caught, screens were set and the looks were open.

And despite the magnitude of the moment, No. 1 Bow (16-1) played through Saturday’s 17-4 semifinal win over No. 4 Derryfield (131-4) just the same as if it were a midseason game. It showed as the Falcons were in midseason form too.

Sophomore attack Olivia Selleck scored just three minutes and 21 seconds into the game for Bow on an 8-meter shot, and that goal was just the beginning of a first-half implosion. Selleck scored the next three goals within a two-minute span as the Falcons created a quick 4-0 lead.

Senior attack Jess Chamberlin took over for Selleck with back-to-back goals four minutes apart and extended the Falcons’ lead to 6-0. A timeout by Derryfield followed Chamberlin’s second goal in an attempt to slow down the Bow offensive machine, but it was more of a reset.

Kendall Murray, a sophomore midfielder, scored with a little over 11 minutes left in the first half and then a few minutes later, junior attack Alex Larrabee scored her first goal of the game as the Bow lead grew now to 8-0.

The Falcons scored another four goals, three of which were by Chamberlin, and they drew running time in the first half that lasted for the rest of the game.

For them and coach Chris Raabe, the start against the Cougars at Bank of New Hampshire Stadium was the exact thing they needed after an apparent atypical start in their quarterfinal win against Pelham.

“They were just shooting to shoot (in the quarterfinals), but today they were placing their shots,” Raabe said. “They set the tempo and weren’t frantic.

Part of the relaxed play is credited toward conversations had in practice between Wednesday and Saturday where they talked about settling down. But the other part of it was the bus ride to the semifinal and the “mellow” atmosphere as described by Raabe that included John Denver’s “Country Roads” played on a speaker.

Before more tunes were played, however, Bow had to maintain its lead. Instead, it further built on it.

The Cougars struck first in the second half after Kira Geddes snuck one past goalie Elena Roy, so in retaliation, Bow scored the next four goals and put the game at 16-1.

Its final goal was scored by none other than Chamberlin, whose sixth goal of the game occurred with under seven minutes left.

While its semifinal win is a nice piece to a successful season, it’s not the be-all-end-all goal, rather, one step closer to where it wants to be. The Falcons have won four state championships in program history, most recently in 2009, but all of their titles were in Division II.

In order to win its first Division III championship, Bow has to go through an old friend in No. 2 Hopkinton (15-1). The Hawks, who beat No. 3 Gilford 22-13 in their semifinal victory, and the Falcons have already played twice against each other this season. Hopkinton won the first game and Bow won the second.

A championship rubber match was the stage both programs were hoping for after their May 19 meeting, and now it’s guaranteed. But don’t expect the approach for either to change, especially from the Falcons.

“I’m just going to let them go,” Raabe said. “They’ve been doing it themselves, I’m just going to let it ride.”

Matt Parker is a sports reporter at the Monitor and started in August 2021. He is an Ohio native and relishes being from the Buckeye state. A proud graduate of Ohio University located in Athens, Ohio, he served as the sports editor for the student-run newspaper, The Post, from 2019-20. When not at a game or chasing around a coach, you can catch him playing his guitars or looking for the next Peanuts memorabilia piece to add in his growing collection.

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