When Scarborough girls lacrosse coach Marcia Wood spotted Brunswick coach Beth Caputi watching from the stands during a recent game, she had an idea of what the end result would be.

Should the two teams eventually meet in the Class A finals, Wood thought, Caputi would likely try to smother senior forward Lauren Hagerman.

She was right.

Hagerman was marked tightly in Saturday’s championship game between the two teams and held to just one goal – after scoring 14 in the previous two games.

Unfortunately for the Dragons, though, Hagerman did have people to pass the ball to. All the attention she received opened up space for others, most notably junior Marisa Hebert, a player Wood has been expecting big things from all season.

“I know Marisa, so I knew that she had it in her,” said Wood. “I think that she was kind of stuck in the shadow of Lauren and Jess Baker and Brittany White. I knew it was just kind of a matter of time before she realized that she can do it and she can charge the goal.”

And charge the goal she did.

Hebert led the Scarborough offense in the 13-12 double overtime win by scoring five goals.

It wasn’t so much the quantity, though, as it was the quality – and the timing. Hebert scored her first goal in the first half to pull the Red Storm to within a goal of Brunswick. She raced down the left sidelines, cut to the middle and lost the ball before scooping and shooting in the same motion.

After that, she waited until Scarborough’s season was on the line. Her team down 9-7 with less than four minutes remaining, Hebert took matters into her own hands.

“I looked up at the board, and I thought, ‘We have to do it,” she said.

So, with 3:25 to go Hebert converted a pass from Hagerman to make it, 9-8. Less than a minute later, she quick-sticked a feed from behind by Amy Brigham.

And then, with 1:33 remaining, Hebert gave Scarborough its first lead of the game. She controlled the ball through in front of the net, lost it briefly, then fired through traffic.

“We were seeing that they were collapsing on the person that had the ball and that was leaving us wide open,” said Hebert, who had three goals in each of Scarborough’s previous three playoff games. “That’s how I scored all my goals, just being open and being there.”

Hebert’s final tally came 1:14 into the first non-sudden death overtime period. This time, she circled behind the Brunswick net, from right to left, made like she was going to center the ball to the middle and then shot over the right shoulder of Brunswick goalie Beth Fisher.

“I just knew that I had to step it up and be part of the team and not back down, and I knew that I had to go out there and give it my all,” said Hebert. “That’s what I did.”

Next year, Hebert will be expected to do even more.

Said Wood: “Between her and Brittany Kane, one of my top defenders, they’re going to run offense and defense.”

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