SCARBOROUGH — Scarborough’s girls’ lacrosse team was experiencing déjà vu, and not in a good way, late in its Class A South semifinal Friday evening against Massabesic at Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex.
But after letting a lead slip away in a loss to the Mustangs during the regular season, the Red Storm wrote a different ending this time.
Scarborough, the No. 2 seed, couldn’t hold a three-goal lead in the second half, but junior captain Darby Stolz weaved through the defense to score the go-ahead goal with 8:07 remaining and propel the Red Storm to a 12-9 victory.
Maya Sellinger added a pair of late free position goals as Scarborough (11-3) advanced to face top-ranked Kennebunk (14-0) in the regional final at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Kennebunk.
Sellinger and Stolz each scored four times for the Red Storm.
“I knew it would be a really hard game and it would be about momentum, lulls and fighting through the lulls, and we just had to believe and we did,” said Red Storm Coach Emily Field.
The third-seeded Mustangs (8-6) opened the scoring on a goal from Noelle DesVergnes. The lead didn’t last long. In a 63-second span, Stolz scored twice on free positions and Sellinger got her first goal for a 3-1 lead.
Emily Jacobs answered for Massabesic, but Natalie Bilodeau and Paige Spooner scored to put Scarborough up 5-2.
After the Mustangs drew within one on goals from Mary Duffy and Emily Baker, Sellinger made it 6-4 going into the halftime break.
Scarborough’s Kayla Conley and Massabesic’s Brianna Stephenson traded goals early in the second half, then Stolz gave the Red Storm an 8-5 lead. But the Mustangs fought back, as Baker, Jacobs and Stephenson scored to tie it with 14:42 to play.
Spooner put the Red Storm back on top, but Jacobs tied it again with 10:01 left.
After Scarborough goalie Kathleen Murphy (11 saves) barely made a stop on a shot from Jacobs, Stolz took over and beat Mustangs goalie Haley Park (three saves) to put the Red Storm in the lead for good.
“Losing last time to Massabesic in the last minute really motivated me,” said Stolz. “I didn’t want that to happen again. I just saw my lane and shot and hoped I’d make it.”
Murphy then stopped a shot from Micaela Jacobs to preserve the lead, and Sellinger put it away with her final two goals – the second coming with 14.7 seconds left.
“It was nerve-wracking, but we had to not get frustrated and keep playing our game,” said Sellinger. “It’s really exciting to go to the regional final.”
Massabesic was seeking a fifth straight trip to the Class A South final, after winning three consecutive regional titles from 2016-18 and finishing second to Kennebunk in 2019.
“It takes a lot of energy out of you when you spend all game trying to (come back), and we spent the whole game doing that,” said Massabesic Coach Brooks Bowen. “We finally evened it up, then it took the wind out of our sails when it slipped away at the end, but I’m proud of the girls.”
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