OAKLAND – The Messalonskee High boys’ lacrosse team sent Portland to its first regular-season loss in two years Saturday, scoring an 8-5 victory.
“We’re not known around the state for lacrosse,” said Nate DelGiudice, who scored two goals to give him 28 on the season. “But you beat a team like Portland and you’ll be noticed.”
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Andrew Wilson and Cam Douglas also scored twice for the Eagles (7-0), who trailed 4-0.
Messalonskee freshman Jacob Smith stopped 15 shots.
Bronson Guimond had three goals and an assist for Portland (7-1), which has played in the Class A state final the last two seasons, winning in 2009.
“It was a great game,” Portland Coach Eric Begonia said. “It was a pretty even game. The difference was their goalie played great in the second half. They outplayed us in three of the quarters and that will do it.”
So where does this victory rank for the Eagles?
“Beating Brunswick in the playoffs last season after losing to them 13 straight times was pretty big,” Messalonskee Coach Tom Sheridan said. “And beating Brunswick in the 2005 season was also a very big win. But as far as statewide recognition, this may be the biggest.”
The Eagles lost 10-8 to the Bulldogs in the Eastern Class A final last season.
“We’ve been waiting 11 months for this game to get back at them,” said Douglas, whose goal with 5:42 left in the third quarter gave the Eagles their first lead, 6-5. “I’ve been dreaming of this game for I don’t know how many nights.”
Portland came out strong, with four goals in the first five minutes, three by Guimond.
“I was so nervous,” Smith said. “After they scored four goals, though, I felt calm. I told myself that I could do this.”
Added Jacob Erskine: “We had to settle down and we had to catch up.”
The Eagles did, pulling within 4-3 by the end of the quarter.
They made it 5-5 on goals by DelGiudice and Wilson.
Douglas gave Messalonskee the lead for good late in the third when he took a pass from DelGiudice and beat goalie Ryan Jurgelevich.
“I cut through the middle and got a perfect feed,” Douglas said, “And I one-timed it in. It felt great.”
Colby Fischang and Keenan Knox added goals for Messa-lonskee later in the half to put Portland away.
“This was a big win for us,” Erskine said. “This is a big statement.”
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