OAKLAND—Last season, Freeport’s girls’ lacrosse team conquered Class C.

This spring, the Falcons find themselves one victory from a Class B championship and if they keep playing like they did Wednesday evening in the state semifinals, good luck trying to stop them from their date with destiny.

Freeport, ranked second, met No. 6 Messalonskee on its home turf, but it was clear from the get-go that the Falcons are simply at another level.

Freeport started somewhat slowly, but got goals from senior Kiley Webber, senior Ava Stone and junior standout Lana DiRusso to lead, 3-0, after one quarter.

The Falcons then found the net four times in the second period, as DiRusso scored the first three before setting up Webber for a transition goal and a commanding 7-0 halftime advantage.

Junior star Mia Levesque, who was flustered in the first half, then broke out in the third quarter, scoring twice and assisting on two other goals to help open up an insurmountable 12-1 lead and induce the mercy rule, 10-goal running clock.

Freeport scored six more times in the fourth period and went on to a decisive 18-1 victory.

The Falcons got seven goals from DiRusso, four from Levesque and three from Webber and 11 players had either a goal or an assist as Freeport extended its win streak to a school-record 14, improved to 15-1, ended Messalonskee’s season at 10-6 and advanced to take on No. 4 Greely (12-4), the two-time reigning state champion, in the Class B state final Saturday at a time to be announced at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

“I feel like even though we didn’t have a close game, our energy was up and we were celebrating goals at the end of the fourth quarter and that made it special and got us ready for states,” said DiRusso.

Dominant, regardless of class

After finally breaking through and winning a championship last season, Freeport moved up to Class B this spring and didn’t miss a beat, winning 13 of 14 contests, with the lone loss coming to Greely in overtime (see sidebar for links to previous stories).

The Falcons earned the No. 2 seed in Class B and defeated No. 7 York in the quarterfinals Saturday, 13-7.

Messalonskee’s appearance in the semifinals on its home field came as a bit of a surprise. The Eagles overcame an 0-2 start to the season to wind up 9-5 and sixth in Class B, then stunned No. 3 Brunswick, 10-5, in the quarterfinals.

Freeport and Messalonskee did not meet this year and had no playoff history.

Wednesday, on a comfortable June evening (65 degrees at the start), the Falcons made quick work of the Eagles and was able to turn their attention to the next step that awaits.

Just 71 seconds in, Webber put Freeport in front to stay, as she finished a feed from junior Emma White.

Stone added an unassisted goal with 9:09 to go in the opening stanza, but Messalonskee sophomore goalie Adriana Pettingill denied Stone and DiRusso to momentarily keep her team in the game.

Then, with 4:33 left in the frame, DiRusso tickled the twine for the first time, taking a pass from junior Julia Whalen in transition before finishing.

Late in the quarter, Pettingill saved a free position shot from sophomore Reed Proscia and senior Emma-Jane Parsons was just off-target for the Eagles, keeping the score 3-0 Falcons after 12 minutes of play.

DiRusso, one of the state’s elite goal-scorers, then had her fun in the second period.

After Parsons robbed White, Levesque was denied, but she got the ball back and fed DiRusso with 6:52 on the clock.

DiRusso then scored on a free position with 5:03 remaining before halftime.

After Levesque missed wide, then hit the post, Levesque passed to DiRusso, who spun, shot and scored with 2:45 remaining.

A mere 14 seconds later, after Levesque won the draw to DiRusso, DiRusso fed Webber for a transition goal to make it 7-0 Freeport heading to the break.

The Falcons broke it open even more in the third quarter, as after a turnover, Webber set up Levesque for her first goal just 40 seconds into the half.

“(Lisa) Goldberg, our assistant coach and goalie coach, talked me through my shot, following through and how to finish,” Levesque said. “That helped me mentally and physically with how I was shooting.”

“Mia was hitting the goalie in the first half every time,” Freeport coach Marcia Wood said. “She might get down on herself for a minute, but she knows how to change it. She just doesn’t dwell.”

After Freeport junior goalie Hailly Curtis robbed Messalonskee sophomore Alexa Caccamo, the Levesque-to-DiRusso connection produced another goal with 9:31 left, making the score 9-0.

With 8:48 to go, Levesque fed Klein, who sideways flicked the ball into the net to induce the mercy rule running clock.

Webber scored again, from Levesque, with 7:07 remaining, but on the ensuing draw, Parsons got to a loose ball, raced in and beat Curtis for what proved to be Messalonskee’s lone goal of the game.

With 4:47 on the clock, Stone set up Levesque for a highlight reel goal, a backhanded flick, that made the score 12-1 heading to the final stanza.

Where Freeport finished in style.

Just 18 seconds in, sophomore Liza Flower set up Levesque for a goal.

Levesque then struck again, with 10:45 play, unassisted, for a 14-1 advantage.

DiRusso scored unassisted with 7:41 left, then Proscia took a pass from freshman Ella Tracy and beat Pettingill with 4:44 on the clock.

DiRusso scored her final goal with 3:21 to play, getting a pass from White and scoring.

Then, just inside the final minute, sophomore Nora Eames took a pass from White and buried her shot.

From there, the Falcons ran out the clock and closed out their 18-1 victory.

“It was a new environment, so we had to keep our energy up and celebrate every single thing,” Levesque said. “We really came together as a team.”

“I forget sometimes that they get nervous, so we just had to get used to some things,” Wood said. “We made a few little mistakes here and there, then we locked in. We were trying to do too much at the beginning. We just had to play our game and see what happens.”

DiRusso continued her terrific season with seven goals and an assist.

“Scoring goals all season is great, but now is when it really matters,” DiRusso said. “It’s so much more celebrated and much more important.”

“I didn’t cap Lana today,” said Wood. “It’s playoffs. If she wanted to go nuts, I let her go to goal as much as possible.”

Levesque, who didn’t score in the first half, wound up with four goals scored, to go with four assists.

Webber had three goals and Eames, Klein, Proscia and Stone all had one.

White finished with three assists, while DiRusso, Flower, Stone, Tracy, Webber and Whalen all had one.

In total, 11 different players factored into the scoring, be it putting the ball in the net or setting up a teammate to do so.

“That shows everybody on our team is here for a reason and we need everyone pitching in and helping,” said Levesque. “I love that everyone can contribute.”

“Our balance is super-important,” DiRusso said. “We have a whole team of scorers and players who can assist, so Greely can’t faceguard us.”

“There’s more people who can step up if (Lana and Mia) are shut down,” Wood added. “The others know now that if they can’t get going, then it’s their turn.”

Curtis made three saves.

Freeport had a 20-3 advantage in faceoffs, as Levesque won 16-of-18 opportunities. The Falcons had a 23-13 edge in ground balls (Levesque, Proscia and Whalen all finished with a team-high three), an emphatic 33-5 advantage on shots (24-4 on cage) and overcame 18 turnovers.

Parsons scored the lone goal for Messalonskee, which got six saves from Pettingill, a team-high three ground balls from senior Emily Hammond, and turned the ball over 21 times.

Saturday showdown

Freeport and Greely have been on a collision course since the teams’ memorable first meeting April 19, an 8-7 overtime win for the Rangers in Freeport.

Greely held off No. 1 Mt. Ararat, 13-9, in its semifinal Wednesday.

The teams have no postseason history.

They’re about to pen a first chapter that you won’t want to miss and the Falcons can’t wait to take a shot at adding a Class B trophy to the Class C crown they won a year ago, as they’d love to do it against the team which has beaten it eight straight times.

“We know a lot about Greely and we’re really hungry for a win against Greely, since it’s been a long time since we’ve beaten them,” DiRusso said. “Playing them at states motivates us even more.”

“I’m excited for the rematch,” said Levesque. “I think we’ll bring lots of energy. I’m excited for a great game. We’ve shown we can compete with any team in Maine.”

“I cannot wait,” added Wood. “We’ve had two seasons with one blemish and that one blemish was Greely by one point, both games. I’m ready for this and I think the girls are too. I’m excited to put on a good game for the fans. That’s what you want for a state game. We have to play a good game. The passes need to work. The defense needs to work. We need to capitalize on their mistakes, if they ever make any, and if we make them, we have to redeem ourselves.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net