KENNEBUNK — A Falmouth High senior, Peaches Stucker had never beaten the Kennebunk girls’ lacrosse team. Stucker wasn’t alone. The Rams hadn’t lost to anybody since the Class A state championship game five years ago.

That’s in the past tense. Kennebunk’s state-record winning streak is over, stopped at 58 games by Stucker and her Falmouth teammates. The Navigators prevailed 4-3 on Friday at Kennebunk’s Memorial Field in a game between the state’s top two teams.

Falmouth’s celebration began before the final seconds ticked off the clock.

“It was a team effort. Every time one of us dropped the ball, there was someone behind us. It wasn’t just one person. It was everyone, all together at once,” said Stucker, who assisted on all four Falmouth goals.

Falmouth improved to 10-0, while Kennebunk is 9-1. The Rams’ last previous loss was against Falmouth in the 2019 Class A state championship game. There was no season in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the Rams were undefeated each of the last three seasons.

“I think it taught us a lot,” Kennebunk Coach Annie Barker said of the winning streak. “Now we can grow from there. It’s off our back. It’s all about being composed. You need that composure when you get to that state game. Now we know what we need to work on.”

Most of the offense came in the early going. Falmouth’s Mallory Kerr scored 50 seconds into the game. Goals by Camdyn Keenan and Mara Muse gave Kennebunk a 2-1 lead midway through the first quarter.

Kerr scored again to tie the game at 2-2 with 1:38 left in the first quarter. With Kennebunk’s Ella Highbarger serving a penalty, Audrey Farnham’s goal with 26.5 seconds left in the first put Falmouth ahead for good.

Riley Davis added another goal for the Navigators 35 seconds into the second quarter. They didn’t score again over the final 35:25 of the game, but Falmouth put the game into the hands of its defense.

“We had our defense on lock. Our defense did exactly what it needed to do. I don’t think anyone’s held Kennebunk to three goals for a very long time,” Stucker said. “Going in, we knew communication was going to be key. When someone dropped off a cutter, someone else was on them immediately. There was no open zone for them.”

The Rams had chances but often shot high or wide, or had the play broken up by Falmouth’s strong defensive effort. Muse scored with 9.5 seconds left in the third quarter on a free possession to cut Falmouth’s lead to 4-3, but that was the final goal.

“We weren’t making great decisions on offense today. We were all clumping inside, where you needed to be big to open up the lane, and we just kept getting really, really small,” Barker said. “It wasn’t our best day offensively. They learned it’s a mental game as well as a physical game.”

Amelia Brann made four saves in the second half for Falmouth after Tessa Woodbury stopped two shots in the first half. Kennebunk’s last chance to tie the game ended when Falmouth’s Morgan Adams forced a turnover with just under three minutes to play. From there, the Navigators ran out the clock.

“I felt like that kind of solidified the game. I was proud of us, we kept the possession upfield,” Adams said. “They have awesome attacks. I’m really proud of our defense for handling that situation.”

Falmouth Coach Ashley Pullen, who coached the Navigators to Class A state titles in 2018 and 2019, said as exciting as a win over Kennebunk is anytime, there’s no doubt the Rams will be a tough opponent should they meet again in the playoffs.

“There’s a lot of lacrosse left. It’s a learning experience. It’s an opportunity to get a little bit better,” Pullen said. “We, as a coaching staff, have tried to convince them all season of how good they are. I think a win like this really helps them believe it and internalize and know that they’re capable of playing with anyone in the state.”

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