SOUTH PORTLAND – Thornton Academy kept its composure when it mattered most to pull out a 13-12 overtime win against South Portland in a Western Class A girls’ lacrosse quarterfinal Wednesday.
The Trojans scored three goals in the final four minutes of regulation to forge an 11-11 tie and send the game to overtime.
Erin Kany and Michelle Giroux scored during overtime to send fifth-seeded Thornton (8-5) into the regional semifinals Saturday against top-seeded Scarborough.
It will be the third consecutive semifinal appearance for the Trojans (8-5).
“We’re not new to this. These girls have experience,” said Trojans’ Coach Craig Agreste said. “We play a lot of young girls, but we’ve got girls with playoff experience.
“I knew if we’re down by two or three goals, they weren’t going to freak out and they would stay poised.”
Amanda Cook scored the tying goal with three-tenths of a second left.
“You don’t expect to score when there is 0.3 seconds left, but we made the plays when we had to down the stretch,” Agreste said.
“It was an awesome job by the girls, really.”
The fourth-seeded Riots (10-3) took an 11-8 lead when Victoria Brookings scored with less than 15 minutes left in the second half.
But South Portland committed 13 of its 20 turnovers during the second half, and Thornton Academy took advantage.
“I think the girls were getting a little tired from the heat, and the competition was good,” South Portland Coach Bill Fenton said. “We tried to play possession, and the next thing you know we lost possession.”
The score was 5-5 at the end of a first half characterized by swings in momentum.
The Riots broke into a 5-3 lead with less than 10 minutes left in the half after Rebecca Roberts and Victoria Roberts scored less than two minutes apart.
The Trojans’ Katlyn Pearson scored two of her three first-half goals during the final five minutes to tie the score.
Giroux scored a game-high four goals. Kany added three goals and Kendra Ermold and Jackie Costello each scored once for the Trojans.
Brookings, Anh Nguyen and Nikki LaPlante each scored three goals for South Portland. Rebecca Roberts scored two goals, and Felicia Farnham added a goal and four assists.
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:
pbetit@pressherald.com
Twitter: PaulBetitPPH
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