KENNEBUNK — Falmouth High came out with energy, an impressive offense and confidence.
It was good enough for a halftime lead.
“We came out strong and played great,” Falmouth Coach Kait Johnson said.
But Kennebunk High is the top seed for a reason. The Rams took all that Falmouth could give, then countered.
Kennebunk dominated, scoring six unanswered goals and beating the second-seeded Yachtsmen 9-6 in the Class B South girls’ lacrosse championship game Wednesday.
It was the third straight time Kennebunk (12-2) defeated Falmouth (10-4) in the regional title game.
The Rams will play Yarmouth (15-0) for the state championship Saturday. It’s their third consecutive meeting in the final: Yarmouth won in 2015, Kennebunk last year.
Kennebunk will show up with a composed team. The Rams trailed 5-2 late in the first half Wednesday. They scored again before halftime but needed to regroup.
“They have a really good defense so it was definitely hard to find the holes or where their weak spot was,” said Leah Dumas, who scored two goals in the second half for Kennebunk.
“Once we were able to relax at halftime, we were able to reset and finally able to find the holes.”
Katherine Koch drove through the Yachtsmen for a score, closing to 5-4 with 23:35 left. Five minutes later, Dumas rolled around the crease and shot, tying the game.
“The second half, they scored the first two goals and we mentally just crumbled,” Johnson said. “We couldn’t come back.
“Kennebunk played a strong game. They’re a great team but definitely a beatable team. We saw that in the first half. We were moving the ball quickly … The second half, we just got caught on our heels.”
Falmouth had its chances. Led by Sydney Bell, the Yachtsmen won 13 of 17 draws.
“That was killing us,” Kennebunk Coach Annie Barker said. “We knew we weren’t going to win the draw against Sydney. She had possession all the time.
“Our defense tightened up a little bit. Got some knockdowns. Got some turnovers.”
The Rams’ defense was strong. Mia Murray, Elizabeth Cain, Mia Banglmaier and Gabrielle Fogg created steals.
“We stayed composed,” said Fogg, a senior captain. “I kept telling my team to stay calm. No stupid checks. Make safe passes.”
Kennebunk got a break when Bell was penalized and the Rams were a player up. With the advantage they scored two goals – from Fogg (her second goal) and another Dumas crease-roll. Kennebunk led, 7-5.
Hallie Schwartzman made it 8-5 but Falmouth got some life on Devon Sarazin’s score with 4:33 left. The Yachtsmen, with their draw dominance, had a chance. But Briannagh Beaudette scored for the Rams and goalie Mallory Burchill made a point-blank save.
The Rams were champs again.
“We’ve been here before. It helps,” Barker said. “This is the third year for some of my players. They know what it takes.”
Erin Gorton and Banglmaier scored the other goals for the Rams, both in the first half.
Falmouth’s 5-3 halftime lead came on two goals from Olivia Stucker, plus scores from Kayla Sarazin, Christina Oakes and Bell.
Kennebunk and Yarmouth faced each other during the regular season, on May 25, with the Clippers winning, 7-3.
Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:
kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: KevinThomasPPH
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