For the girls’ lacrosse teams from Cheverus and Massabesic, the season will end like it began, with a game against each other.

The Stags and Mustangs play for the Class A state championship at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

Additional Photos

Goalie Hope Correia and her Cheverus teammates have reached the Class A girls’ lacrosse state final for the first time and will play Massabesic in Saturday’s championship game. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

In the season opener April 23, it took Massabesic four overtimes to eke out a 7-6 win against the Stags in the cold and drizzle at Boulos Stadium in Portland.

“We’re two evenly matched teams, we know that, and it’s always a good game when we play Cheverus,” said Brooks Bowen, in his 10th season as coach of the Mustangs.

“We’re different, I think, in what we do, but it’s always even in the end.”

“Whenever we play, it always seems to come down to the wire with our two teams,” Cheverus Coach Jamie Chamberlain said.

Massabesic (12-3) has relied primarily on its defense to advance to the state final, while Cheverus (12-3) rode an extremely potent offense to its first Eastern Maine title.

“We stress the defense as well,” Chamberlain said, “but it seems like they have a more veteran presence on defense and we have a more veteran presence on offense.”

The Stags averaged more than 15 goals in their three regional tournament games while allowing just six per game.

In the Western Maine regional, Massabesic pulled out a 7-5 win against Marshwood in the semifinals and a 7-6 victory against Kennebunk in the final.

Massabesic is making its first appearance in the state final since 2007, when it beat Brunswick in a 9-7 thriller.

The Class A girls’ game is one of the four state finals that will be played Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

CLASS A BOYS: Cheverus (13-2) has waited a year to get another crack at Scarborough (13-1).

The teams didn’t play each other in the regular season but the Red Storm rolled to a 9-4 win over the Stags in last June’s state final.

Scarborough is seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive state championship. No team, boys or girls, has won more than three state titles in a row since the Maine Principals’ Association began sponsoring the state lacrosse tournament in 1999.

Against common SMAA opponents during the regular season, Scarborough went 6-0 and the Stags were 5-1.

CLASS B BOYS: Cape Elizabeth (12-2) must beat Yarmouth (11-3) for the third time this season in order to claim its first state title since 2010.

On May 4, the Capers pulled out a 7-5 win against the Clippers in Cape Elizabeth. On May 30, Cape finished the regular season with a 13-7 victory at Yarmouth.

“They’re a very solid team all-around,” Cape Elizabeth Coach Ben Raymond said. “They don’t make a lot of mistakes. It should be a good game.”

In 2009, the last time the teams met in the state final, Yarmouth pulled out a 12-9 win to capture its second consecutive state title.

CLASS B GIRLS: Waynflete (15-0) must beat Yarmouth (7-7) for the third time this season to claim its second consecutive state title and finish the season as the state’s lone unbeaten team.

Waynflete rolled to a 17-5 win over the Clippers on April 23 on the turf field at Yarmouth and a 16-10 victory on its grass field in Portland on May 22.

This game features two of the state’s most potent offenses.

In the Eastern Maine regional, the Clippers scored a total of 38 goals in two games. Waynflete has been held to less than 10 goals in just one game this season.

These teams last met to decide the state championship in 2011. Yarmouth won 9-8 to capture its third Class B title in six seasons.

Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH

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