Falmouth girls roll into semifinals

BOX SCORE

Falmouth 15 Bangor 0

B- 0 0- 0
F- 13 2- 15

First half
24:15 F Adams (Stucker)
23:31 F Adams (Stucker)
23:00 F Barry (free position)
19:25 F Adams (unassisted)
16:58 F Adams (Scribner)
16:00 F Stucker (unassisted)
15:12 F Scribner (Stucker)
13:21 F Stucker (unassisted)
12:10 F Adams (unassisted)
11:30 F Scribner (Adams)
10:26 F Clement (unassisted)
6:02 F Ginevan (Scribner)
2:01 F Alcock (Scribner)

Second half
17:31 F Tolley (Ginevan)
11:31 F Shiben (Scribner)

Goals:
F- Adams 5, Scribner, Stucker 2, Alcock, Barry, Clement, Ginevan, Shiben, Tolley 1

Assists:
F- Scribner 4, Stucker 3, Adams, Ginevan 1

Draws (Falmouth, 13-4)
B- Martinez 4 of 17
F- Stucker 7 of 8, Barry 5 of 8, Ginevan 1 of 1

Ground balls:
B- 12
F- 37

Turnovers:
B- 19
F- 9

Shots:
B- 4
F- 33

Shots on cage:
B- 3
F-24

Saves:
B (Lynch) 9
F (Riley) 1 (Brann) 2

FALMOUTH—Falmouth’s girls’ lacrosse team wasted no time advancing Thursday afternoon at home in the Class A North quarterfinals.

The second-seeded Navigators staggered No. 7 Bangor with seven goals before the game was even 10 minutes old and never looked back.

Sophomore Peaches Stucker set up Whitney Adams for consecutive goals early and Adams scored five times in the first half as Falmouth built a 13-0 lead at the break.

The Navigators then took their foot off the gas in the second half, but still cruised home to a 15-0 victory.

Adams’ five goals led the way and nine different players scored as Falmouth improved to 10-3, ended the Rams’ season at 4-10 and advanced to host No. 3 Windham (8-5) in the semifinals Saturday afternoon, at a time to be announced.

“We wanted to make sure we came out of the gate really strong and put together a good, solid 50 minutes and we did that,” said Navigators coach Ashley Pullen. “We made sure we were sharp in all areas, defense, shooting, on the draw. We wanted to be tuned-up and playoff-ready.”

Quick strike

Falmouth has been the premier team in Class A North since it moved up in class in 2018, but this year, the Navigators were leapfrogged by Yarmouth for the top spot, despite a solid 9-3 regular season (see sidebar for links to previous stories).

Bangor started the season 1-8, but won two of its last three games, then defeated No. 10 Edward Little, 19-11, in the preliminary round Monday.

The Navigators and Rams had never met and Thursday, after the rain stopped, on a 60-degree afternoon, Falmouth quickly took care of business.

Falmouth senior Kinsey Barry (10) and freshman Maeve Ginevan look to chase after a loose ball early in the Navigators’ 15-0 win over Bangor in Thursday’s Class A North quarterfinals. Hoffer photos.

Senior Kinsey Barry won the opening draw and just 20 seconds in, the Navigators had a great chance to take the lead, but junior Adelaide Tolley was robbed by Bangor sophomore goalie Lydia Lynch.

The next shot proved to be the charm for Falmouth, however, as 25 seconds later, Stucker set up Adams for the first goal and Falmouth was on its way.

After freshman Maeve Ginevan hit the crossbar and Lynch robbed Scribner, the Stucker-to-Adams connection worked again for a 2-0 lead with 23:31 left in the first half.

Barry then scored on a free position 31 seconds later and with 19:25 to go before halftime, Adams ran around the crease before firing a shot into the net.

After Lynch denied Scribner on a free position, Scribner set up Adams in transition with 16:58 on the clock to make it 5-0.

The next goal came 58 seconds later, as Stucker scored for the first time, beating Lynch top shelf.

With 15:12 left, after a turnover, Stucker found Scribner for a commanding 7-0 lead.

“We just knew we had to play like we know we can play,” Stucker said. “We couldn’t get too cocky. We just have to stay unselfish and keep our heads up and see each other.”

The onslaught continued, as Stucker scored unassisted with 13:21 remaining.

Then, after Falmouth junior goalie Patty Riley stopped the Rams’ lone shot of the first half, a bid from senior captain Laela Martinez, Adams scored an unassisted goal with 12:10 on the clock and 40 seconds later, Adams found Scribner for a 10-0 advantage, inducing the mercy rule running clock.

Freshman Maisy Clement added a goal, unassisted, with 10:26 left, then Scribner found Ginevan for a goal with 6:02 to go before Scribner fed freshman Kira Alcock for her first career goal with 2:01 on the clock to make it 13-0 at the half.

In the first 25 minutes, the Navigators enjoyed a 28-1 shots advantage. Eight saves from Lynch prevented the margin from being even bigger.

Falmouth freshman Maeve Ginevan possesses the ball as Bangor senior Fallon Eggett defends.

Early in the second half, Martinez had a chance to get Bangor on the board, but her free position shot was denied by freshman Amelia Brann, who had come on to play goal after halftime.

With 17:31 to play, Ginevan set up Tolley for the first goal of the second half.

After Brann denied Martinez again, Scribner set up junior Sydney Shiben, usually a defensive standout for Falmouth, for the game’s final goal with 11:31 to go.

The Navigators were then content to throw the ball around and pass up shots and they went on and closed out their 15-0 victory.

Falmouth freshman goalie Amelia Brann is congratulated by junior Sydney Shiben following the win.

Adams scored five goals, but she had plenty of company.

Scribner had two goals and four assists, while Stucker continued to emerge as a top player with two goals and three assists.

“I knew I had to fill in some roles, like the goals that Sloane got, and I try to do a lot in the circle too,” Stucker said. “I have a bigger role than I did last year or at the beginning of this year.”

“We look to Peaches as a leader on the field,” said Pullen. “She’s huge coming up with ground balls, she’s super-speedy in transition and she’s a big asset on offense.”

Alcock, Barry, Clement, Ginevan, Shiben and Tolley all added one goal apiece.

Nine of Falmouth’s 15 goals were assisted, as Adams and Ginevan also set up scores.

“Having balance was a goal of ours,” Pullen said. “We wanted to make sure we shared the love and had different players scoring.”

Riley made one save in the first half, while Brann stopped two shots in the second half.

The Navigators won 13 of 17 draws, had a 37-12 edge in ground balls (Barry and Stucker each had a game-high eight), enjoyed a 33-4 shots advantage (24-3 on cage) and only turned the ball over nine times.

For Bangor, Lynch made nine saves and Martinez and senior McKayla Kendall shared ground ball honors with three apiece.

The Rams turned the ball over 19 times.

Tougher test

While Falmouth had no history with Bangor, it does know Windham well. The Navigators won the regular season meeting, 11-4, May 18 at home and are 3-0 all-time versus the Eagles in the playoffs, with last year’s palpitating 13-12 overtime victory in the regional final the most recent.

“We have to play our game and play like we know we can,” Stucker said. “We just have to stay us. We have a lot of confidence. We know we’re still a great team, even without Sloane. The biggest thing for us is keeping a good attitude. I’m hopeful.”

“We’ve seen them once, so we kind of have an idea of what’s coming,” Pullen said. “We have to be ready. That’s a team that has a ton of heart and grit. X’s and O’s don’t beat grit and heart. We have to come in and want it and play like it’s our field and it’s our game to win. I fully expect after what happened last year, that (Windham) will be hungry.”