WINDHAM — Belle Skvorak got it done in the first half and goalie Kaitlyn Gedicks did the job in the second half to lead second-seeded Windham to a 10-5 victory over No. 3 Portland in a Class A North girls’ lacrosse semifinal Saturday morning.

Skvorak scored five goals in the first half, including a backbreaker in the final minute, and Gedicks made 10 of her 14 saves in the second half as the Eagles improved to 12-1 and set up a regional final showdown at 4 p.m. Wednesday at No. 1 Falmouth (12-1), the defending state champion.

Windham handed the Yachtsmen their lone loss, 7-6 on May 2.

“It was important to get an early lead,” said Gedicks. “We got comfortable and got our heads in the game and it helped with stress.”

Skvorak opened the scoring with a free-position shot, then finished a feed from Emma Yale.

After Yale scored (from Alanna Joyce), Skvorak and Carissa O’Connell each added a goal for a commanding 5-0 lead.

“We worked well connecting passes,” said Skvorak. “I was just the one who was able to finish.”

Portland Coach Beth Broderick’s timeout to attempt to turn the tide didn’t work, as Yale and Skvorak scored to stretch the lead to 7-0.

The Bulldogs showed some life late in the first half, getting goals from Elena Clifford and Chloe Kilbride. But after a timeout, Skvorak weaved through the defense for a goal with 16.4 seconds left, and then Yale beat Portland goalie Samira Doiran (eight saves) with 5.5 seconds remaining to give the Eagles a commanding 9-2 halftime lead.

“It was a good time to catch our breath and settle down,” Windham Coach Matt Perkins said of the timeout. “These girls are a dream to coach. They understand the game so well. Their lacrosse IQ is the best I’ve seen. They adapted so well there.”

Portland’s Hazel Praught scored 45 seconds into the second half, but Joyce countered for Windham.

The Eagles didn’t score the rest of the way, but they didn’t need to, as Gedicks came up big time and again, especially on free-position shots.

“I just got in a zone,” said Gedicks. “I don’t think it was anything I did. Our whole team worked so hard.”

Portland did get goals from Annika More and Praught but got no closer.

The loss ended a school-record 11-game winning streak for Portland (11-3), which also set a program record for wins in a season.

“We’ve done a lot of things well all season, (but) today we just couldn’t put it together and (Windham) had a good day,” said Broderick. “I’m really proud of the heart and hustle we showed. We played hard to the whistle.

“The girls should be proud of how hard they worked together. They were willing to learn every day.”

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