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KENNEBUNK — Abby Trainor, Neve Ledbetter and their Windham High girls lacrosse teammates made it clear.

The Class A championship is still theirs and they won’t be giving it up easily.

In a classic midseason matchup, Windham handed Kennebunk its first loss of the season, 8-6, on Tuesday. Windham did the same thing last season to the Rams. That time it was in the state title game, by a 12-9 score.

“We definitely wanted to come out and make a statement that we’re the same team as last year,” said Trainor, who posted five assists and one goal. “We only graduated three seniors. We wanted to make a statement that it wasn’t a fluke, us winning states. We’re here to stay and we’re here to stay at the top.”

Kennebunk (9-1) had outscored its opponents, 118-36. Windham (7-2) had lost to Class A contenders Thornton Academy and Yarmouth.

Lebetter scored three goals, assisted on Trainor’s tally and got the edge in the draw controls.

“After our few losses we had in our season, we really wanted to come out with some talent and really show who we are as a team,” said Ledbetter, who scored both of Windham’s second-half goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Windham jumped ahead 2-0 in the opening three minutes on goals by Ledbetter and sophomore Brooklyn Roy, both coming off crisp Trainor passes. Meanwhile, the Windham defense was forcing turnovers, giving Windham the early edge.

• Kennebunk tied the game 2-2 in the first quarter on goals from Julianna Urban and the first of five goals by Anna McCarron. Urban’s goal was assisted by senior Camdyn Keenan, who before the game was recognized for recently registering her 300th career point. Keenan now has 313 points (141 goals, 172 assists), 14 points behind Kennebunk all-time leader Ruby Sliwkowski.

• With temps hovering around 90 degrees when the game started, both teams looked to be patient offensively. Windham utilized its second-quarter possession advantage to take a 6-3 lead into the half. Trainor, Roy (twice) and Olivia McPherson scored the goals.

• The second half was a slowdown affair except for a brief period where McCarron made long runs that she finished with unassisted goals, both coming after saves by Rams goalie Eliza Nass. McCarron’s fifth and final tally, after several dodges, came with 9:35 to play and cut the lead to 7-6. Kennebunk also switched its defense and started face-guard marking Trainor and Ledbetter to try to keep the ball away from them, with another defender focused on Roy.

• Windham twice used timeouts after getting defensive stops. After the second they were able to regain their two-goal cushion with 7:58 to play. Trainor threw a pass to Ledbetter that led her across the goalie’s sight line. Ledbetter had the poise to hold the ball an extra instant to get Nass to commit then zipped a shot over the keeper’s back shoulder.

STATISTICAL LEADERS:

• Windham: Abby Trainor (1 goal, 5 assists); Neve Ledbetter (3 goals, 1 assist); Brooklyn Roy (3 goals); Avery Adams (4 saves)

• Kennebunk: Anna McCarron (5 goals); Camdyn Keenan (3 assists); Eliza Nass (4 saves)

THEY SAID IT

• “They won the draw and they had the ball, and that’s what they’re very good at, and you really want to limit them in having the ball. We slowed them down when we marked those three girls off. Perhaps we should have done that sooner. Now we know.” — Kennebunk coach Annie Barker

• “We had some tough losses against (Thornton) and Yarmouth, and to bounce back against that team that is so talented. At their place. We’ve never won here. Not against them.” — Windham coach Matt Perkins.