BRUNSWICK – In a girls’ lacrosse showdown of unbeaten Eastern Class A teams, Dakota Foster and Suzannah Smith scored six goals apiece Thursday as Brunswick overcame an early three-goal deficit to knock off Lewiston, 16-5.

Annie Kelly added three goals and five assists, and it was her three straight goals that turned the tide for the Dragons.

After Lewiston (3-1) took a 3-0 lead, Brunswick (4-0) pulled within a goal three times. Kelly then scored off a free possession to make it 5-5 with 1:37 left in the half.

Twenty seconds later, Lewiston goalie Sam Cote stopped Kelly point-blank, but Kelly scored on the rebound to give the Dragons their first lead.

“At halftime I told the girls to just have patience and take their time a little,” said Brunswick Coach Beth Caputi.

But Kelly took the opening draw of the second half from Foster and scored off a solo rush to make it 7-5.

“We knew we had to come out strong for the second half, “said Foster, “and Annie’s goal really set the tone right away.”

Molly Herman kept the score and momentum in the Dragons’ favor with three straight stops, including the save of the game to rob Kelsey Dumond at the right post after a nifty give-and-go with Natalie Rousseau.

Foster fed Smith behind the net for a goal, Smith followed unassisted, and Foster scored the next four goals, and Brunswick was in control with a 13-5 lead.

Smith scored the final three.

“They were faster and more athletic than any Lewiston team in a long while,” said Caputi, “and I didn’t expect the second half to go like that. But we have the experience and they couldn’t do anything about Dakota’s height on the draw. That was a huge advantage.”

Mariah Carrier, Rousseau and Dumond scored for Lewiston in the first six minutes, and Cote notched five of her 13 saves.

“I don’t think we had the right mentality at the start,” Foster said.

“We were working on a new defense,” Smith added, “and all of a sudden we were thinking, ‘Whoa, they’re a lot better than we thought.’ “

Once they saw how tough Cote was, the Dragons changed their attack strategy.

“We spread the offense more and slowed it down and got more one-on-ones,” Kelly said.

Lewiston Coach Butch Dow said he told his team in a timeout after the Dragons rallied to “just keep their composure and not get reckless.

“We shook them up at first but they’re experienced, and after we got shaken up we couldn’t get our rhythm back.”