BEDFORD — Sweet redemption.

After going undefeated all season long just to lose in the championship last year, the Bow High School field hockey team got all the way back to the title game this year and made things right.

The Falcons scored early in each half against a Merrimack Valley team that hadn’t given up a goal in the tournament, and third-seeded Bow made that lead stand with a 2-1 win over the No. 4 Pride in the Division II championship at Bedford High School on Wednesday.

“It was so nice,” said Bow’s Lindsey Nerbonne, who scored both her team’s goals. “We definitely had something with this field. we wanted to come back and win it.”

Nerbonne scored the first goal of the game just 1:44 in, then made it 2-0 when she netted one 4:03 into the second half. Both shots were blasts from the top of the circle Merrimack Valley goalie Katelyn Leonard (6 saves) couldn’t get to.

“She’s grown so much as a person and an athlete since last year,” Bow coach Tracy Berube said.

With the win, the Falcons finish the season with a record of 16-2, while the Pride dipped to 14-3-1.

Merrimack Valley didn’t go away in the second half, and as time was winding down, Bekka Donovan scored to make it a 2-1 game with 8:27 left to play. The Pride was aggressive the entire second half, as was evident with the four penalty corners they were awarded, but they just couldn’t crack the Falcon defense.

“My team plays for 60 minutes, they have all season,” Merrimack Valley coach Kim Kenney said. “They didn’t give up until the refs told them to.”

Merrimack Valley recorded nine shutouts and hadn’t given up a goal in the playoffs before Nerbonne ripped her shot in early to make it 1-0. About 10 minutes later, Donovan had a great scoring opportunity but Bow goalie Amy Zahensky (4 saves) made an incredible save to keep it a 1-0 lead.

Zahensky did a split and kicked the ball wide of the goal, something she said she has worked on all season but hasn’t needed to do much.

“It’s a very-special occasion when I get to use it,” Zahensky said.

The second half started just like the first half, with the Falcons striking early.

Once again it was Nerbonne, who dribbled in to the circle, cut to her right and blasted a shot from the point that made it 2-0 with 25:57 remaining.

Nerbonne said both times she was just trying to put the ball on net to either force a rebound or maybe squeak one by. She was able to squeak it by both times.

A lot of back-and-forth action followed, and it wasn’t until there was less than nine minutes left before the Pride got on the board with the goal by Donovan. Merrimack Valley kept the pressure on after that, and even got a shot on net in the final minute, but Zahensky and the Falcons defense did not give and this time they came out of Bedford with a championship.