EXETER – In the quarterfinals Lexi Insana scored off the game-winning goal in overtime. On Monday night, the senior midfielder scored another. Insana headed in a corner kick taken on the left wing by freshman defender Zoey Lupien, just out of reach of Kingswood goalkeeper Marina Roy as the No. 2 Bow Falcons defeated the No. 6 Kingswood Knights, 2-1, to advance to Friday night’s Division II girls’ soccer championship.

“We’ve been practicing corner kicks a lot during practice, and my teammate, Zoey, is amazing at taking corners, and it was just in the perfect spot, and I was able to get a head on it,” Insana said.

The Falcons (14-3-1) were once again taken to overtime by a lower-seeded team, having defeated No. 7 Merrimack Valley, 2-1, in overtime in the quarterfinals (Insana scored the game-winning goal off a penalty kick). The Falcons needed a spark of magic to defeat the Knights (8-5-6) in extra time after they dominated most of the scrappy game but were still tied, 1-1, at the end of regulation.

“I think that they did everything that I wanted them to do, except for that mistake in the first half. Otherwise, they did everything,” said Bow head coach Jay Vogt. 

On the other side of the field stood the Kingswood, who upset the No. 3 John Stark Generals, 1-0, in the quarterfinals. The Falcons had squashed the Knights, 5-1, in their home opener back in August, but Kingswood looked much improved since that encounter.

In the game against MV, the Falcons went down within 15 minutes of the first half but were able to equalize shortly after and battle back to win. The semifinal was a similar story as the Falcons allowed the Knights to score on a quick counter-attack eight minutes into the game.

“They did capitalize on our one mistake, but we didn’t panic, and we just kept passing. We know how to come back, and we just kept pushing through,” said Insana.

Kingswood senior defender Rowan Donovan-Laviolette, dispossessed a defender while the Falcons were rotating the ball through the back line at midfield. She sent a long driven-through ball to senior forward, Kylie Rapoza, who sprinted forwards quickly and in between the center backs. One-on-one with Bow goalkeeper Gwen Barrieau, she clinically finished to the left side of the net, out of Barrieau’s reach.

“Kingswood’s a better team now than they were the first game of the season,” said Vogt. “They’re very organized. They compact the field, and they look for number five (Rapoza) and we did a good job of adjusting and figuring that out and shutting her down.”

The Falcons had controlled the game and possession in the first half and were out-shooting the Knights, but they couldn’t equalize until Lupien, found junior forward Ashley Wallen, with a few minutes left in the first half. Wallen sprinted into the box, managed to move past her mark on the right side, and sent a rocket near-post into the goal.

Bow had another comeback playoff win brewing and could hang their heads on an even score at halftime. 

The Falcons continued to move the ball well in the second half with Insana, senior midfielder Gabby Tarsa and Lupien distributing the ball well to senior winger Lexana Farr and sophomore Cara Van Dyke.

The game became extremely physical in the second half as both teams defended fiercely and pushed forward to win the game. Forwards clashed with defenders in dangerous areas, but neither allowed much space in the box.

The Falcons switched up their tactics while maintaining possession and began using more aerial balls to try and crack the tough Kingswood defense.

“We’ve talked a lot about them believing in themselves and believing in our style of play, if we do, it will make us successful,” said coach Vogt. “They bought into it. We moved the ball well today we got we got it into their zone most of the time, which is what we wanted.”

Sophomore forward Anna Zerba, Van Dyke and freshman forward Ava Popielarz, created chances in the final third and the go-ahead goal felt imminent, though very few of Bow’s shots seriously challenged Roy.

With eight minutes to go, Insana nearly scored from a long shot at the top of the box, but it was brought down safely by Roy and the Knights, who seemed content with sitting back and taking the game to overtime with a very solid defensive showing. 

In overtime, Insana got her header on target six minutes into overtime to win the game and return to the D-II championship for the first time since she was a freshman in the Falcons’ title-winning campaign in 2021.

“It feels amazing. A bookend championship is all I’ve wanted all season and I’m so excited for me and my teammates who get to have this opportunity,” she said.

Bow will play against the defending champion, No. 1 Hollis-Brookline (18-0), in the D-II championship game at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter on Friday at 5 p.m. 

They will need to stop the Hollis-Brookline Cavaliers senior forward, McKenna Maguire, who scored four goals and assisted on one in the semifinal against the No. 4 Coe-Brown Bears, and try to break through the best defense in the division that has only allowed four goals all season.

“They have girls up front that can run, Hollis, every player on their field can attack. If you watch and see, they're very good team,” said Vogt. “It’s one game. You just got to believe in yourself and see what happens.”

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com