FREEPORT

There’s no telling where the Freeport High School boys lacrosse team might be without goalie Zac Wogan.

On Thursday against Fryeburg Academy in his final home game, Wogan stood tall and made 15 saves that kept the Falcons in a hard-fought Western Maine Conference duel.

In the end, the Raiders got in on goal one too many times and handed the hosts an 8-7 defeat, but coach Geoff Arris knows that the game, and ultimately the season, was what it was because of his senior netminder.

“I’m pushing for him for All-American,” Arris said of Wogan. “He’s absolutely amazing. He’s the true anchor of our team. I think he’s one of the stronger goalies in this league.”

Down 5-4 in the third quarter, Connor Dostie of Freeport (3-8) scored a big equalizing goal heading into the final frame. In a back-and-forth game that was nearly dead-even in shots, faceoffs and possession, it was the Fryeburg (6-5) response in the fourth quarter that made the difference.

The Raiders scored two straight goals at the 7:55 and 6:15 marks, and when Dostie countered with another goal, it took the visitors all of 37 seconds to score right back and tighten their grip on the game.

“We had a couple of letups where they penetrated our defense,” Arris said. “They kind of walked in on a couple of those goals. We’d try to address it — I think we shut it down at the very, very end — but too little, too late.”

An otherwise sturdy Freeport defense broke down on the first two goals of the period scored by Jared Chisari and Jeremiah Schrader, allowing the pair to slip in for one-on-one chances with a defenseless Wogan in net. The Falcons’ goalie saved six shots in the fourth quarter and kept the score in check multiple times. But when they did go in, he didn’t blame his teammates.

“The whole game of lacrosse is changing this year with the reffing and the new rules,” Wogan said. “The hits need to be way less violent than years prior. I think our guys are just a little timid when it comes to that. Considering they score when they’re a man up, so if we hit the guy when he’s coming to crease, that’s a penalty and he might even score anyway. It’s just tough.”

Evan Donald tacked on a goal with 1:29 left in the game that gave the Falcons a shot to tie it late, but Fryeburg shut down a final play called out of a timeout to seal the win.

“I think we held it a little bit too much towards the end,” Arris said. “If we just let the ball do the work, it saves our legs and it gives us a chance to mess up their defense.”

Strong start

Freeport’s offense was in sync early as Brady LaFrance opened the scoring with a goal 8:28 into the first quarter. After a pair of Fryeburg scores, LaFrance kept at it and scored the game’s next three goals. The Falcons took a 3-2 lead into the second quarter and 4-3 lead into halftime.

“We came out on fire, and we carried that to the very end,” Arris said. “That’s what we’ve prided ourselves on this whole season —starting strong and finishing strong. I think we did that.”

LaFrance led all scorers with four goals, while Chisari notched three for Fryeburg. Zach Owen led the Falcons with 11 groundballs. One of the few lopsided stats in the game came on penalties, where Freeport had five to the Raiders’ two. For Wogan, they added up.

“Definitely penalties,” he said of the difference. “They got to kill a lot of time and capitalize on a few goals that we didn’t.”

The loss all but eliminates the Falcons from playoff contention, as they sit 13th in the Class B North Heal Point standings and have only one game — Wednesday at Waynflete, 4 p.m. — left to play.

“It’s definitely a bummer,” Wogan said. “This was the win that we really needed to even get a chance at the playoffs. It’s just disappointing. I think we played a decent game, but they capitalized on the little mistakes that we made.”

But, as Arris addressed the home crowd and paid tribute to his seniors at halftime, Freeport’s playoff situation wasn’t the focus.

“Very, very proud,” Arris said. “These kids just give it their all every day in practice, every game. It’s honestly the closest team I’ve ever coached. They love the game, they love each other and that’s what I look for. These guys are great — I can’t say enough about them.”

Fryeburg 8, Freeport 7

Thursday, at Freeport High School

Fryeburg	—	2123	—	8
Freeport	—	3112	—	7

Goals — (Fry) Jared Chisari (3), Evan Caracciolo (2), Marcus Schneider, Caleb Eklund, Jeremiah Schrader; (Free) Brady LaFrance (4), Connor Dostie (2), Evan Donald. Assists — (Fry) Jeremiah Schrader (2), Marcus Schneider; (Free) Eli Fox, Reid Poissonnier (2), Nate Thomas. Shots — Fryeburg 33, Freeport 33 Saves — (Fry) Chase Coen 6; (Free) Zac Wogan 15. Face-offs — Freeport 9, Fryeburg 8. Records —Fryeburg 6-5, Freeport 3- 8. Up next for the Falcons — Wednesday at Waynflete, 4 p.m.