PORTLAND – Carleton Allen scored three goals, including one short-handed, and second-ranked Deering rode strong defense to an 8-6 victory against third-seeded Messalonskee in an Eastern Class A boys’ lacrosse semifinal Saturday.
Deering (12-1) will play Lewiston, a 15-6 winner over Portland, for the regional title Wednesday.
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The win would have been larger if not for Messalonskee freshman goalie Jake Smith, who made 22 saves, including a flurry after Deering took the lead with 10:30 left in the third quarter.
Nate DelGuidice, the top scorer for Messalonskee (13-2), was held to two goals.
“Our plan was to stop DelGuidice. He’s one of the best players. We wanted to limit him and put pressure on the rest. And (Allen) stepped up,” said Deering Coach Bob Rothbart.
Jacob Erskine of Messalonskee started the scoring with an unassisted goal after 5:47. Cam Douglas made it 2-0, but Allen answered less than three minutes later with a short-handed wraparound shot, followed quickly by a hard shot from right in front.
After Deering matched the Eagles goal for goal in the first half, it finally took the lead on Anthony Verville’s goal with 10:30 left in the third. Allen then scored on a backhander to make it 7-5 with 1:52 left in the quarter.
“The whole season we’ve been a second-half team,” Allen said. “That kid played great (in goal). We just didn’t let up. We felt a huge shift in the second half.”
Noah Whittenburg added a goal in the fourth quarter to put the Rams up 8-5. DelGuidice slipped past two defenders to make it 8-6, but the last quarter was dominated by Deering. Smith made nine saves in the fourth.
“He played great. We look forward to having him next year,” said DelGuidice, a junior.
Whittenburg scored twice, Matt Flaherty had a goal and an assist, and Karl Rickett also scored for Deering.
Erskine had two goals and Luke Vigue added one for Messalonskee.
Nick Holton stopped nine shots for Deering.
Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or
dfleming@pressherald.com
Twitter: FlemingPph
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