SACO — Biddeford has already achieved more this season in girls lacrosse than any previous team in the program’s short history. But getting the Tigers to believe they are as good as their program-record five wins says they are is easier said than done. Enter rival Thornton Academy, who put doubt in the minds of the Tigers in rolling to an 11-2 victory in an SMAA clash at Hill Stadium on Thursday.

“It’s definitely a setback when you have a nine-goal deficit at the end. It was 5-2 at halftime, which was manageable, we could have come back,” said Biddeford head coach Caitlin Albert. “It’s just a matter of the young program. We just get so intimidated so quickly, and we resort back to the frantic play.”

Biddeford (5-3) entered Thursday’s matchup with a better record than its rival, prompting Thornton (5-3) head coach Craig Agreste to credit the Tigers, saying “they must be doing something right over there.”

The Tigers had just one bad loss entering the game, an 11-4 loss on the road against a very good Lewiston squad. The other loss was in the opener against Portland, when the Tigers allowed the Bulldogs to rally for a 9-8 win.

Thursday, however, was another bad loss for Biddeford; a “setback” as Albert called it.

Biddeford’s high hopes got off on the wrong foot, as Paige LeBlanc scored just 1:14 into the game for Thornton, giving the Trojans the early upper hand.

After a quiet first 12 minutes, the Tigers tied the game up on a goal by Olivia Morrison. But the Trojans answered with a pair of goals ”“ by Hanna Wuerthner and Faith Sinclair ”“ in a span of 48 seconds that started two minutes later.

“They’re seeing some success this year, so obviously you don’t want to let them have a good feeling,” said Agreste, speaking to the increased importance of a good start for his team.

Biddeford was able to cut the deficit to 3-2 two minutes later, on a free-position goal by Kat Dumoulin, but Thornton bunched a pair of goals together again to take momentum into halftime.

The result of the game was still in doubt halfway through, but Agreste said he liked what he saw from his team over the opening 25 minutes.

“To be honest, I thought we got some good looks in the first half. The goalie made some saves for them, which kind of kept it close,” he said. “Even though the score said 5-2 (at halftime), I think we were in control. In the second half, we had a good talk, and we put them away.”

Put “them” away the Trojans did. Sinclair scored less than two minutes in, Wuerthner finished her hat trick before the five-minute mark, and Julianna Grondin and Carly McKenna scored goals 18 seconds apart  13 minutes in to make it 9-2 and force Albert to call a timeout.

“The second someone scores two or three goals, we’re just heads down,” said Albert, “and I can’t get them up.

“They know their capabilities, and that’s what I have to just keep reminding them.”

Lauren Wells and Amanda Cyr scored for Thornton to finish off the scoring, giving the Trojans eight different goal-scorers;  a balance Agreste was happy to see, especially with the Tigers not trying to hide their shut-down attempt of McKenna.

Biddeford had more than a couple chances to cut into the large deficit as time winded down, but each shot attempt was either wide or stuffed by Trojan goalie Allie Spinney.

“They just kept resorting back to the quick, ”˜I got to get a shot off, the defense is coming right at me’ (mentality), because (the Thornton defenders) are quick,” said Albert. “We didn’t adapt to that level of play.”

Albert said that her team’s once-promising season is far from over, as with a budding program, a win or two will get them back on track. The Tigers must still face powerhouses Marshwood and Scarborough, but Albert said hopefully games against Oxford Hills and Noble will produce a couple more wins.

Thornton also must face Marshwood, as well as Eastern A contender Lewiston, but Agreste said he thinks his team will continue to prove itself as the regular season comes to an end.

“We know who the cream of the crop is right now, the top teams, and we think we’re in that mix,” said Agreste. “We got to play more consistent for 50 minutes.”

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.