PORTLAND — Sometimes when players are making their first trip to a state championship game the moment can get a little too big for them.
The Thornton Academy boys lacrosse team made its Class A state final debut on Saturday evening and the Golden Trojans found themselves down by three goals after the opening period.

The Trojans certainly weren’t fazed by the early deficit — or the gravity of the moment — as they stepped up and stole the show in front of a large crowd at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

Thornton Academy scored five straight goals in the fourth quarter to take the lead and the Trojans would bring home the first state championship in program history with a 14-12 victory over Falmouth.

“I can’t even describe (what it means) to finally bring back some type of state championship to the community I love — the Thornton Academy community,” said TA senior Jack Webb.

Thornton would strike first in the state final as junior Tom Levasseur scored at the 9:32 mark of the first off an assist from senior Wyatt LeBlanc.

Falmouth’s Reilly Tucker answered just under two minutes later, but TA junior CJ LaBreck scored the first of his six goals to give the Trojans a 2-1 lead with 6:26 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Yachtsmen would take control in the final six-plus minutes of first quarter as they scored four straight. Lyendae St. Louis, Louis Mainella, Tucker and Nick Farnham all found the back of the cage to give Falmouth a 5-2 lead heading into the second period.

LaBreck started a strong second quarter for TA as he used a nasty spin move to free himself from a Falmouth defender and beat the goalie just 24 seconds into the frame.

The Falmouth lead would be cut to 5-4 just 37 seconds later when LaBreck found himself one-on-one with the Yachtsmen goalie and scored.
Riley Reed and Tucker answered for Falmouth with back-to-back goals to push the lead to 7-4 with 6:29 left in the first half.

The Trojans would then take advantage of a man-up opportunity to cut into the lead. Levasseur scored his second goal of the game — once again off a LeBlanc assist — to make it 7-5 with 3:29 remaining in the half.

Webb, who stands at 6-foot-5, would use his big frame to back down a Falmouth defender and scored with 1:40 left to make it 7-6.

The Yachtsmen seemed to give themselves a two-goal halftime lead when Mainella scored with just 22 seconds left, but Thornton Academy coach Ryan Hersey took a timeout with 17 seconds left and the move paid dividends.

TA senior Noah Edborg scored an unassisted goal with just 5.7 ticks left to cut the Falmouth lead to 8-7 at the break.

The Trojans were able to tie the game — for the first time since midway through the first quarter — when LeBlanc fought through three defenders and somehow got a shot off and into the cage to make it 8-8.

“I was just trying not to get hit,” said LeBlanc on fighting through traffic to get the goal at the 7:28 mark of the third.

Levasseur put the Trojans back on top just 17 seconds later when he scored off a Noah Edborg assist to make it 9-8.

The lead wouldn’t last long for TA as Falmouth got scores from Thomas Fitzgerald and Farnham in the final five minutes of the third to take a 10-9 lead into the fourth.

Farnham gave the Yachtsmen an 11-9 lead with a goal two minutes into the fourth, but Webb answered for the Trojans just over a minute later — and it would be all TA from that point on.

The Trojans tied the game with 6:50 left in regulation. Senior Cam Houde won the battle for a loose ball and got a pass to Webb, who found a wide open LaBreck — and the junior standout buried a shot into the cage.

Thornton would take the lead for good after a Falmouth turnover and a heads-up play from one of the Trojans’ senior captains.

After the Yachtsmen turned the ball over in their own zone, Noah Edborg quickly put the ball back in play and found LaBreck, who once again beat the Falmouth goalie to give TA a 12-11 lead with 4:57 remaining.

LaBreck and Noah Edborg would put the finishing touches on TA’s first-ever state title with goals in the final four minutes — and the hundreds of Thornton Academy fans in attendance would begin to celebrate.

“I’ve never personally won a state championship until this year and it’s just a great experience. It doesn’t even feel real yet. It’s just a great time … everyone is making history and I’m glad I’m doing it with this team,” said LaBreck.

‘Pain was only temporary’
What made LaBreck’s performance even more impressive was the fact that he injured his hamstring during the Trojans’ regional final win over Cape Elizabeth.

“He definitely tweaked a hamstring, but it just seemed like he took control today,” said Hersey. “He was able to really get into the second and third person and they were chasing his stick and he was going right by them and getting nice, open looks.”

LaBreck wasn’t going to let an injury keep him out of the state championship game.

“I knew this was a big game, the biggest game I’ve ever been in and I had to dig deep,” LaBreck said.  “(I knew the) pain was only temporary and I could make it through this game and I just had to be a leader … I knew we could win this game.”

Noah Edborg wasn’t surprised to see LaBreck put on a show in the state final.

“He is, in my opinion, the best (midfielder) in the state. He’s able to take over games like that, just like he did today,” said Edborg. “I’m perfectly fine with him scoring six goals as long as we get the gold. I’m happy for him. He’s just amazing and it’s awesome to see the kid play.”

“He was huge. When we were down and our backs were against the wall, he pulled us out of that hole,” added Webb.

The faceoff factor
LaBreck was a key reason why the Trojans captured their first state championship, but without the work of sophomore Sam Edborg at the faceoff the title could have easily ended up in Falmouth.

“He won the state championship for us in my mind,” said Hersey of Sam Edborg, who won 21 of 28 draws. “The fact that we were able to play make it, take it pretty much for the (final three quarters) … it was 11-11 and I was like, ‘we got this. He’s winning every one, so if we score we can win it and get it back again.’ Without a doubt in my mind, that was the pivotal person on our team.”

St. Louis won several faceoffs for Falmouth in the opening period, but then Sam Edborg started winning draw after draw — and the Yachtsmen faceoff specialists were called for several holding calls in the final three quarters.

“It was huge. It kept giving us a chance on offense to score and kept the possession away from them … and it was getting in their head a lot — we got a few penalties off it,” said Sam Edborg.

Senior leadership
One reason why the Trojans got to celebrate a state championship on Saturday evening was the play and leadership of their strong senior class.
“Like I’ve said before, just such great leadership,” said Hersey of the class of 2018. “These guys have done it the right way for so many years and they were leaders last year, they were leaders as sophomores. I’m just so proud of them because they were able to bring everybody together which is such a difficult thing to do at this time of the year with graduation and everything else … it’s just such a difficult thing to bring 30 kids together and focus on a goal.”

The seniors certainly stepped up on Saturday for the Trojans. Noah Edborg finished with two goals and three assists, while Webb had two goals and one assist and LeBlanc dished out three assists and scored once.

While LeBlanc’s offense was an important piece of the Trojans’ victory, Hersey praised the senior’s play on both ends of the field.

“I told (the team), the best defender today was Wyatt. When we needed  a clear, it was Wyatt … he’s the person that we look to on this team as our beacon. I’m just so proud of him. He definitely deserves this,” said Hersey.

The TA coach believes players like Noah Edborg, Houde, LeBlanc and Webb have shown the underclassmen how to be successful — both on and off the field.

“I think the (underclassmen) have seen how to do it the right way and how important it is to do it the right way,” said Hersey. “You can be doing something at 100 percent the wrong way and it’s not going to help you. These guys, day in and day out, in the classroom, outside of school and outside of lacrosse (have just shown the younger) kids how to focus on a goal.”

Sam Edborg, who will return next season along with standouts like LaBreck and Levasseur, credited the seniors with helping turn the Trojans into state champions.

“They’ve changed this program’s history. I remember a few years ago there was a few problems with the senior leadership … last year (the senior leadership) was pretty good, but this year the leadership was awesome,” said Sam Edborg, who is hoping the returning Trojans can repeat in 2019. “Expectations are set high … definitely trying to do it again next year.”

Winning a state championship in front of a large TA crowd was the perfect way for these seniors to end their high school careers.

“It’s unbelievable to not only make history, but do it in the final game of my career and with this group of guys. Everything about this season was so special and I’ll never forget it for as long as I live,” LeBlanc said.

Notes
The Trojans would finish with a 35-28 advantage in shots and a 23-21 edge in shots on cage … TA goalie Ean Patry stopped nine shots in the cage … Thornton Academy finished the season with a perfect 15-0 record … Falmouth was led by Farnham with four goals and three assists …. Kai Berry stopped nine shots in goal for the Yachtsmen, who ended the season with a 13-2 record.

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.

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