Peter Lally knows from experience what the Salem girls soccer team went through at Stellos Stadium.

Lally’s No. 4 Manchester Central Little Green knocked off the No. 1-ranked Blue Devils in the Class L semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2-1, earning a shot at winning a second consecutive state title.

“I’ve certainly been in Salem’s position before. I’ve been a top seed and been knocked out, been undefeated and knocked out,” said Lally. “It’s not fun.”

All of the scoring in the game came within a span of 3 minutes, 28 seconds in the second half, beginning with a connection between two Hooksett players.

Deven McKiernan put a ball on net that bounced off Salem goaltender Sarah Snyder, and Lindsay Johnson put the rebound in while falling to the turf with 25:18 left to play. The Blue Devils responded when Cassandra Chase took a perfectly placed through-ball from Tayllar Righini and capitalized with a wide-open goal at the 22:03 mark to even the score.

A mere 13 seconds later, while Salem’s fans celebrated the equalizer, the Little Green came storming back when Hooksett’s Sarah Velasquez took advantage of a failed clear by the SHS backfield, finding the back of the net to again give her team the lead. Johnson earned the assist after putting the ball into the middle of the box.

“We let down after we scored, and that’s uncharacteristic of us,” said Salem mentor Kendrick Whittle. “I thought we were in the driver’s seat, but that’s what Central does to you. They were just a little bit tougher than us.”

The Blue Devils couldn’t muster many more scoring threats, though Chase did fire twice while closely guarded; the junior sent one high and the other into the side of the net.

As the final seconds wound down, Salem defender Avery Neusch lofted a free kick off the crossbar, but an infraction was whistled on the Blue Devils, and time expired just seconds later.

Both teams had similar runs into the semifinal meeting. Each won a preliminaryround game, 1-0, before surviving quarterfinal-round tilts on penalty kicks.

Salem graduates Neusch, Kristine Gosson, Elizabeth Morin, Sarah Raye, Amanda Vaudreuil, Katherine Donovan and Snyder from this year’s team, but the Blue Devils return several key players. Lally said his team’s grit has been the biggest factor in reaching the Class L championship, which is scheduled for the campus of Southern New Hampshire University on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m.

“We’re not the biggest team, but sometimes they play big,” said Lally. “Our program is as good as any team in the state. The Little Green is still around. I think the ‘little’ part of that is appropriate.”