WATERBORO —The defending Class A South champ Massabesic girls lacrosse team cruised to a 15-4 win over visiting Deering on Tuesday evening.

The Mustangs would jump out to an early 6-0 lead midway through the first half. They would later extend it to 10-1 by the halftime break.

Despite the running clock in the second half, the Mustangs continued to pile on the points, outpacing the Rams 5-3 to secure the win and to improve to 5-0 while remaining undefeated.

Morgan Pike led the Mustangs with a game-high four points while Logan Champlin added a trio of scores. Maddie Drain and Skylar Renaud would add two each, while Emma Desrochers, Kailyn Forrester, Josie Ring and Hallie Benton added one apiece.

Deering’s Allie Donovan scored two goals for the Rams, while Kiaya Gatchell added the third.

Massabesic coach Brooks Bowen felt that it was important for his club to jump out to the fast start.

“In a game that has a lot of momentum going into it, it was good to get off to a good start, especially for the coaching staff on the sideline. It builds confidence, it allows us to coach the girls up and to get a good rotation going as well,” said Bowen.

Although the Mustang offense highlighted the win, getting 15 points from eight different players, the defense was also solid. Massabesic dominated the possession battle, and never allowed the Rams to get comfortable in the Massabesic zone.

“The way we coach up the defense is that when we turn the ball over those attack players are just as important as our low post defenders,” said Bowen. “One of our philosophies is that it’s a full team effort on the defensive side of the ball.”

After a disappointing loss in the 2016 Class A title game, the Mustangs are hungry to get back to the postseason and finish the job. Massabesic is now 5-0, and is excited to jump atop the leaderboard early in the season.

“In a game of heal points you need to win to get those points, you don’t get points for strength of schedule,” said Bowen. “It’s important to win games, it’s even more important to make sure that you’re improving in every game … and every practice for that matter.”

Massabesic will put Tuesday’s win in its back pocket, and will look to improve as the season enters the midway grind.

“We’re happy with where we’re at early — we’re only five games into the season but we’re going to come out here and practice, polish up some things, look at film and come out here with some things to work on,” said Bowen.

— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.