EXETER, N.H. — One moment, the Newport High field hockey team was full of belief, the young Tigers generating scoring chance after scoring chance as they looked for an overtime winner and their first trip to a state championship game in school history.

The next, it was all over — Bishop Brady’s Kimble Rose dispossessed a Newport defender, had a clear path to the goal and beat sophomore goalkeeper Breanne Robertson to hand the Tigers a heartbreaking 2-1 loss and end their dream season in the NHIAA Division III semifinals at Exeter High’s William Ball Stadium.

“I’m extremely proud. I can’t even be disappointed right now,” first-year Newport coach Shannon Martin said. “(Bishop Brady) had almost twice our numbers. My girls ran hard.”

No. 3 seed Newport (13-3-0), coming off a pair of losing seasons and first-round playoff defeats, brought back Martin, now the school’s principal, as head coach this fall. Martin had previously led the Tigers from 2008-14, and she inherited a team led by a speedy sophomore core that was ready to take a big leap forward. They did just that, winning 12 of 14 in the regular season and scoring upward of five goals per game.

But Wednesday evening, it was the seventh-seeded Giants — state champions in 2019 and 2020 and runners-up last year — who came out the aggressors.

Newport had to clear away a penalty corner in the second minute, and Robertson’s kick save kept the game scoreless moments later. In the 10th minute, Carly Fuller’s cross found Rose in front of the cage, and Rose did the rest to give Bishop Brady the early lead.

The Tigers tightened things up defensively and began creating some offense of their own, but the early goal remained the difference through the third quarter. Junior midfielder Katie Sharron provided Newport’s equalizer early in the fourth, and that score held through the end of regulation.

“They were a little bit slow to warm, but that’s kind of their M.O. at this point,” Martin said. “They set up, went out to the top of the circle and made a beautiful pass to Katie, and she drove it. They showed up today.”

The Tigers kept the pressure on in overtime even while temporarily shorthanded when sophomore defender Natasha Carpenter received a two-minute green card for stick obstruction. In the first half, Bishop Brady had five penalty corners to Newport’s two, but the Tigers had plenty of chances on the corner in the extra session.

One untimely turnover in their defensive end, however, was all it took for Newport’s efforts to go for naught.

“I’ll give Bishop Brady that. They earned that goal,” Martin said. “The back-and-forth emotionally is the hardest part of the game at this level, and keeping your head and being able to refocus. I’ve always been impressed with this team’s ability to pull it together.”

Bella Osgood and Madyson Norris are the only seniors for the Tigers, who figure to be primed for two more cracks at that elusive finals appearance.

With sophomores Taylor Fellows, Maddox Lovely, Peyton Blackinton and Nevaeh Caron powering the offense and Robertson holding down the back end, Newport is likely not going anywhere — not that that makes Wednesday’s result any easier to swallow.

“For our two seniors, I hope they hold their heads high, because they should be proud of this achievement,” Martin said. “But with a mostly sophomore team, I’m looking forward to next season and the season after. I told the team I felt I don’t do them justice, but they’ve been kind to me. I only make it because I’ve got really good support.”

Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.

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