Scarborough 8

Brunswick 6

For a while on Saturday, it looked like Brunswick was in a good position to claim the Class A boys lacrosse title for the second year in a row at Portland’s Fitzpatrick Stadium.

The Dragons jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter and kept fighting off the Red Storm’s efforts to take the lead.

But a 59 second span in the fourth quarter changed everything.

The Red Storm scored three times in those 59 seconds to finally overtake the Dragons and picked up an 8-6 win to win their second state title in three years.

“Their goalie played a great game,” said Scarborough head coach Joe Hezlep. “He had a ton of saves. He stifled our shooters all day and we have good shooters. We just couldn’t find the back of the net. But we started finishing late when we needed it.”

Brunswick held a 6-5 lead with just over eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter after the Dragons’ Blaine Cardali scored with 8:17 left. But at the 5:58 mark, Chris Kipp tied the score at six with his third goal of the game.

Scarborough finally took the lead just 16 seconds later when Jake Barrett netted his first and only goal of the game. Ryan Hunt scored an insurance goal with 4:59 to play. It was Hunt’s fourth goal of the game.

“They played an excellent game,” Hunt said of the Dragons. “Their goalie made some amazing saves. I couldn’t believe it. But we stayed at it; we never gave up.”

Earlier in the game, the Storm had to battle back from a few deficits. The Dragons got off to a fast start in the first quarter and scored the game’s first goal off the stick of Tom Gibson just 43 seconds into the game. Over the next four minutes, Brunswick could do no wrong and the Storm couldn’t get going. The Dragons netted three more goals in the opening quarter.

Kipp scored the lone goal for Scarborough in the first quarter and the Red Storm already had their backs against the wall.

“I was nervous at the beginning, but I knew we weren’t playing as well as we could,” Kipp said. “I knew we would come back and play well in the second half.”

As bad as the first quarter was for Scarborough, the second quarter was the complete opposite as the Red Storm found their game and began to pour on the offense. The Red Storm outshot the Dragons 19-2 in the quarter. In addition to the shot advantage, Scarborough held a huge disparity in time of possession. Brunswick also didn’t help themselves by turning the ball over a number of times.

In the final 1:16 of the first half, Hunt scored his first and second goals of the game on nearly identical plays. Hunt took the ball from behind the net and ran to the front, where he made a lighting-quick shot. Those two goals were the only two of the second quarter making it a 4-3 game at the half with Brunswick still clinging to the lead.

Kipp tied the game just 26 seconds into the third quarter. It was the first time the game was tied since Brunswick broke a scoreless tie with a goal 42 seconds into the game. The tie didn’t last as the Dragons ended a long scoreless drought with 14.9 seconds left in the third when Kyle Sullivan scored to give his team a 5-4 lead.

That set up the wild fourth quarter. Hunt scored his third goal of the game early in the fourth to tie the score again. Brunswick responded in the best possible way with the go-ahead goal just about a minute later, to take a 6-5 lead. Then came the late flurry by the Storm.

“We knew we just had to keep shooting and keep putting pressure on (Brunswick goalie Howard Theberge),” Hezlep said. “We knew that all day. If we come out shooting, eventually they fall.”

Scarborough goalie Joe Kennedy made seven saves to earn the win.

“Class clown to team hero,” Hezlep said of his goalie.

Looking back on the championship season, Hunt said he noticed that his team improved every time they went onto the field, and all of that work culminated in a state championship.

“Every game we got better,” Hunt said. “Joe Kennedy, every single game he got better. Every practice he got better. Our defense played great. Every game we got better, every game.”

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