NH Invitational 2020
A terrific weekend of competitive lacrosse came together in Pembroke, New Hampshire, to help fill the voids left in summer travel plans due to pandemic restrictions. The NH Invitational welcomed nearly a dozen New England-based programs to the competition over August 1-2.
Summer rains held off for the roughly 36 hours we were on the grounds in Pembroke, keeping the event on track for every team to play four full games before leaving the NH Soccer Complex. 67 teams spanned 11 divisions with start times ranging from 8:30 a.m. until 7:20 p.m., every team playing two games per day within a four hour window.
While taking a clean sweep of the weekend was on the front of every team’s focus, the main goal of the get together was to provide players more reps against high quality competition in a safe and controlled environment. As more and more events were cancelled or travel-restricted in 2020, smaller regional replacements like the NH Invitational have provided the opportunity to continue working towards team and personal goals.
Five teams rose to the occasion and managed to win all four games on their schedule: 4Leaf 2025 A, 2025 AA, 2026 A; Necks 2024 A; Gorilla 2021. Without an elimination bracket, 19 tied results were posted over the weekend, speaking to the parity of talent between the clubs in attendance.
The clubs that came together in Pembroke included Gorilla, 802, Penguins, 4Leaf, Coyotes, 3d Northeast, Clams, HGR, RI Bulldogs, Kings, 3d Bears and local squad Bedford Cannons.
