Deering’s Alec Troxell runs in the two-mile at Saturday’s New England championship meet in Saco.

Cheverus senior Zoe Mazur tries to get around a Falmouth defender during the teams’ thrilling Class A North semifinal. The Stags nearly sprung an upset, but lost, 11-10, to the defending state champions.

Portland’s Isabella More makes a move on goal during the Bulldogs’ 15-5 win over Lewiston in last week’s Class A North quarterfinal.

(Ed. Note: For the complete Cheverus-Falmouth, Portland-Lewiston, Portland-Windham and Waynflete-Cape Elizabeth girls’ lacrosse game stories, see theforecaster.net)

After tennis champions were crowned last weekend (see story), only a few days remain the spring sports season and after an eventful playoff week, only a couple of teams remain alive, still hoping for a championship.

Here’s a recap at the week that was:

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Boys’ lacrosse

Defending Class C state champion Waynflete and Portland each were one win from the state final at press time.

The Flyers, ranked third in Class C, had no trouble with No. 6 Lake Region in the state quarterfinals Saturday, rolling to an 18-2 victory behind five goals apiece from Harry Millspaugh and Zane Moorhead and three goals from Oliver Burdick.

Waynflete (10-3) is at No. 2 North Yarmouth Academy (9-4) in the semifinals Wednesday afternoon. The Flyers won the regular season meeting, 18-12, May 8 at home. Last year, in the teams’ lone prior playoff encounter, Waynflete prevailed, 18-6.

If the Flyers reach the Class C state final Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium, they will meet either No. 4 Gray-New Gloucester (11-2) or No. 8 Maranacook/Winthrop/Spruce Mountain (10-4) at a time to be announced. Waynflete has no history with either squad.

Portland, the No. 2 seed in Class A North, earned a bye into the semifinals and Saturday, held on for dear life to eliminate No. 3 Lewiston, 10-9. Evan Bay led the way with three goals.

The Bulldogs (12-1) host No. 5 Falmouth (9-5), the defending Class A North champion, in the regional final Wednesday evening. The teams didn’t meet this year. The Yachtsmen won the lone previous playoff meeting, 17-6, in last year’s regional final.

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If Portland moves on to Saturday’s Class A state final, it will battle either defending state champion Thornton Academy (12-1) or Cape Elizabeth (13-0) at Fitzpatrick Stadium at a time to be announced. The Bulldogs didn’t meet either team this year. Portland lost, 12-4, to the Capers in the 2005 West Division Final. The Bulldogs have never played the Golden Trojans in the postseason.

Girls’ lacrosse

Cheverus, Portland and Waynflete’s girls’ lacrosse teams each won one playoff game before being eliminated last week.

The Bulldogs finished third in Class A North after closing the regular season on a 10-game win streak and Portland made it 11 in a row last Wednesday, when it broke open a close game and pulled away to down No. 6 Lewiston, 15-5. Annika More had five goals and Isabella More and Praught each added four goals, while goalie Samira Doiran made eight saves.

“It sure looked like we woke up in the second half,” Portland coach Beth Broderick said. “It was the first playoff game for a lot of girls. We had to work out some jitters and find our rhythm. We played our own game in the second half, which I was happy to see.”

The Bulldogs went to No. 2 Windham Saturday for a semifinal and had a different experience, trailing the whole way and losing, 10-5, to finish a program-best 11-3. Portland got two goals from Praught, but couldn’t dig out of an early 7-0 hole.

“I think we’ve done a lot of things well all season, but today we couldn’t put it together and (Windham) had a good day,” said Broderick. “It’s not our home field and that changes things, but I’m proud of our heart and hustle.

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“We have a lot to be proud of. I’m proud of how the girls were willing to learn every day and how they worked together.”

The Bulldogs expect to remain a top contender in 2020.

“We graduate six and we’ll miss the seniors for their leadership and their play, but have a strong rising senior class and strong underclassmen, so the future looks bright,” Broderick said.

Cheverus finished fifth in Class A North, but was at its best in the postseason.

The Stags went to No. 4 Oxford Hills in the quarterfinals and rolled, 19-8, as Zoe Mazur had five goals, Bella Booth three and Neve Cawley stopped a dozen shots.

Cheverus advanced to meet No. 1 Falmouth, the defending Class A state champion, in the semifinals Friday and the Stags pushed the Yachtsmen to the brink, erasing a 9-4 second half deficit and tying the score, 9-9 and 10-10, before a late Falmouth goal resulted in an 11-10 defeat.

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Cheverus got a monster game from Mazur (three goals, an assist, eight draw wins and a game-high 12 ground balls), as well as three goals from Riley O’Mara and 13 saves from Cawley, but it wasn’t quite enough as the Stags finished 9-5.

“It’s disappointing, but we’re really proud,” Mazur said. “We were the underdogs and we had nothing to lose and that’s what drove us. We proved ourselves.”

“I can’t even say the word disappointed,” first-year Cheverus coach Lauren Lessard said. “I’m so proud of these girls. This was my first year as a head coach at 23-years-old and I couldn’t ask for anything more. The girls played their hearts out and fought for every ball. No one is hanging their heads.”

Cheverus graduates nine seniors and while their absence will be felt, the Stags return plenty of talent and should only get better in 2020.

“The future’s bright,” Lessard said. “We have a great group of seniors. Our underclassmen and freshmen coming in will put in the work in the offseason and we’ll be there next year once again.”

In Class B, Waynflete earned the 10th and final playoff spot and enjoyed a 14-3 victory at No. 7 Brunswick in the state preliminary round last Tuesday. Kilee Sherry led the way with five goals and Emily Wagg added three.

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The Flyers advanced to the state quarterfinals at defending champion Cape Elizabeth Thursday and met their match, falling, 13-2, despite two goals from freshman Jesse Connors, to finish the year 6-8.

“We kind of lost it a little bit in the second half,” Waynflete coach Cathie Connors said. “Possession was tough for us today. I’m proud of my girls. They didn’t let up. They didn’t stop trying.

“I’m leaving here proud of the team. We’re on to next year. The future is bright.”

Baseball

Cheverus and Portland were eliminated in the baseball playoffs last week.

The Stags, seeded sixth in Class A South, blanked No. 11 Noble, 4-0, in the preliminary round, then lost, 4-0, to third-ranked Scarborough in the quarterfinals to finish 10-8. In the victory, Jack Mullen and Justin Ray combined to throw a shutout. John Welch had two hits and two RBI. Mullen and Nathaniel Lapoint each had two hits in the loss to the Red Storm.

“We couldn’t string hits together,” said Cheverus coach Mac McKew.

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Portland, which earned the 12th and final playoff spot in Class A North, rallied to upset No. 5 Windham, 5-3, in the preliminary round. Ben Stasium drove in the go-ahead runs in the top of the seventh inning. Billy Barnard had two hits and Ben Sawyer drove in a pair of runs. The Bulldogs then met their match in the quarterfinals, dropping a 4-1 decision at No. 4 Marshwood to finish 8-10. Donnie Tocci had two hits, including an RBI double, and Sonny Villani took a no-hitter and 1-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth, but Portland couldn’t hold on, as its season finished 8-10.

“We had guys on base all game,” said Portland coach Mike Rutherford. “(Marshwood’s Marshall Smaracko’s) one of the best pitchers in the league and we had guys in scoring position and had plenty of opportunities to make it 2-0, 3-0, 4-0. That kid made great pitches when it counted.”

Softball

The Cheverus/North Yarmouth Academy co-op team, as well as Portland, went one-and-done in the softball playoffs last week.

The Stags, seeded ninth in Class A South, went to No. 8 Bonny Eagle for a preliminary round playoff game and took a 9-0 lead over the Scots, but gave it all back and dropped a 12-9 decision to finish 8-9. Madisyn Durgin and Caroline Taylor each had two hits, but Cheverus/NYA gave up six runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.

“I think the most crucial part of a game is what happens after one team scores,” said Stags coach Theresa Hendrix, who made four pitching changes in the fateful innings. “And (the Scots) didn’t hang their heads, they came back and took our high and made it into a long inning for us.”

Portland, the No. 11 seed in Class A South, went to No. 6 Biddeford for its prelim and dropped a 4-2 decision to finish the year 5-12. Jill Joyce was the hard-luck loser for the Bulldogs.

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“The girls didn’t quit,” said Portland coach Robbie Ferrante. “They battled. I’m  really proud of (Joyce). The kids look up to her.”

Track

The final competition of the outdoor track season, the New England championship meet, was held Saturday in Saco and several local athletes took part.

Emma Gallant of Class A champion Cheverus was fourth in the girls’ 200 (25.21 seconds) and teammate Emma White placed ninth in the triple jump (36 feet, 5.25 inches) and 10th in the 100 hurdles (16.06). Portland’s Jaidyn Appel came in eighth in the high jump (5-3) and 29th in the triple jump (33-3). Deering’s 4×800 relay team (Hadley Poirier, Grace Tumavicus, Megan Cunningham and Joanna Rosenthal) placed 25th in 10 minutes, 21.95 seconds.

In the boys’ competition, Cheverus’ Frank Morang came in 18th in the triple jump (41-5.5), Giovani Fornaro was 18th in the shot put (47-10.5) and 22nd in the discus (131-3), Deering’s Alec Troxell finished 22nd in the two-mile (9:56.02).

Press Herald staff writers Mike Lowe and Kevin Thomas and Journal Tribune sports editor Anthony Lombardi contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.


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