BOX SCORE

Greely 11 Brunswick 2

B- 0 2- 2
G- 10 1- 11

First half
24:28 G Goldburg (unassisted)
20:08 G Dean-Muncie (free position)
18:37 G A. Taylor (Dean-Muncie)
15:19 G Dean-Muncie (Williams)
7:31 G Dennen (unassisted)
6:43 G Dennen (free position)
4:48 G Dennen (free position)
3:24 G Ferentz (unassisted)
2:28 G Dean-Muncie (A. Taylor)
1:32 G Dean-Muncie (unassisted)

Second half
24:49 B Cloutier (unassisted)
18:17 B Putnam (Cloutier)
16:17 G Dean-Muncie (Ferentz)

Goals:
B- Cloutier, Putnam 1
G- Dean-Muncie 5, Dennen 3, Ferentz, Goldburg, A. Taylor 1

Assists:
B- Cloutier 1
G- Dean-Muncie, Ferentz, Williams 1

Draws (Greely, 9-6)
B- Cloutier 6 of 15
G- Goldburg 7 of 12, Williams 2 of 3

Ground balls:
B- 30
G- 35

Turnovers:
B- 28
G- 26

Shots:
B- 10
G- 18

Shots on cage:
B- 5
G- 16

Saves:
B (McCarthy) 5
G (Perfetti) 3

CUMBERLAND—Greely girls’ lacrosse coach Becca Koelker knows what its like to take the field for a state final in a Rangers uniform.

Now, her team her is just one away win from embarking on that adventure as well.

Saturday afternoon at Glen A. Hutchins Field, second-ranked Greely made quick work of seventh-seeded Brunswick in a Class B state quarterfinal and is creeping ever closer to making history.

The Rangers went on top to stay just 32 seconds in, when senior Samantha Goldburg scored.

Greely then got goals from seniors Elsa Dean-Muncie and Abby Taylor before Dean-Muncie added another for a 4-0 lead.

Sophomore Lauren Dennan then got in on the fun, scoring three times in a three-minute span and by halftime, the Rangers had added tallies from junior Carley Ferentz, Dean-Muncie and Dean-Muncie again for a commanding 10-0 advantage.

The Dragons, to their credit, played very well in the second half and got goals from senior Emily Cloutier and freshman Elizabeth Putnam, but Dean-Muncie scored once more and Greely closed out an 11-2 victory.

Dean-Muncie scored five times and Dennan added three goals as the Rangers improved to 11-3, ended Brunswick’s season at 9-5 and in the process, advanced to Wednesday’s Class B state semifinal where they’ll host No. 3 Messalonskee (13-0) at a time to be announced.

“When we move the ball, that’s when we have success,” Koelker said. “We took control in the beginning, then kind of fell off. We’ve really come together as a unit. We’re dangerous when we play together.”

The next step

Greely has surged down the stretch and entered the playoffs viewed as the biggest threat to top-ranked Yarmouth in Class B.

The Rangers started with decisive wins at North Yarmouth Academy (15-6) and at home over Gray-New Gloucester (21-2), then lost at Falmouth, 14-4, and at Yarmouth (13-6), before bouncing back with a vengeance with wins at Brunswick (19-1), at home over Scarborough (7-1), at Lake Region (8-7), at York (15-7) and at home over Gorham (11-3). Greely then dropped a narrow 11-9 home decision to Yarmouth before closing by downing visiting Freeport and Cape Elizabeth by 12-6 scores.

The Rangers began their playoff run with a 15-0 victory over visiting Westbrook in the state preliminary round Thursday.

Brunswick, meanwhile, lost to Oxford Hills, Greely, Yarmouth and Messalonskee, but beat everyone else in the regular season.

The Dragons began the playoffs with a 10-5 home victory over No. 10 Gardiner in the preliminary round Tuesday.

In the teams’ regular season meeting May 8, Ferentz scored six goals and sophomore Charlotte Taylor added four.

Entering play, Brunswick and Greely had never met in the postseason.

Saturday, on a beautiful 73-degree afternoon, the Rangers quickly seized control to advance.

Goldburg won the game’s opening draw, then she scored unassisted with 24:28 to play in the first half to give Greely the lead for good.

Dean-Muncie scored for the first time with 20:08 on the clock, converting a free position, and Dean-Muncie set up Abby Taylor for a 3-0 lead just over a minute later, forcing Dragons first-year coach EmaLeigh Aschbrenner to call timeout.

It didn’t help, as Dean-Muncie took a pass from freshman Eva Williams and beat Brunswick junior goalie Alamea McCarthy with 15:19 on the clock.

Then, after Greely senior goalie robbed Cloutier and sophomore Kelsie Carlson hit the post, Dennen scored for the first time, unassisted, with 7:37 to go.

A mere 54 seconds later, Dennen scored on a free position and with 4:48 on the clock, she did it again for a 7-0 lead.

“I was just looking for the drive and then looking for the defense to collapse and that usually leads to those free positions,” Dennen said. “I kind of mix (the shots) up a little bit.”

Ferentz added an unassisted goal with 3:24 remaining, Dean-Muncie scored (from Abby Taylor) 56 seconds later and with 1:32 to go, Dean-Muncie raced in and scored unassisted for a 10-0 lead, which stood into the break.

Brunswick showed its heart in the second half, however, as just 11 seconds in, Cloutier scored unassisted and with 18:17 on the clock, Cloutier set up Putnam to cut the deficit to 10-2.

Dean-Muncie scored her final goal with 16:17 remaining, set up by Ferentz, and Greely went on to an 11-2 victory.

“Brunswick showed up a different team, they worked really hard and gave us a fight to the very end,” Koelker said. “They should be proud.”

Dean-Muncie had a game-high five goals, while Dennen added three.

“Lauren really stepped up today,” Koelker said. ‘She’s grown exponentially this season. I’m so impressed with how hard she’s working. She deserves a lot of credit, for scoring and in transition. I’ve been so impressed with our young underclassmen. They’ve really stepped up all season. There have been games where the seniors have led and others where underclassmen stepped up and carried the game.”

Ferentz, Goldburg and Abby Taylor added one goal apiece.

Dean-Muncie, Ferentz and Williams all had one assist.

Senior goalie Hannah Perfetti made three saves.

The Rangers had a 9-6 edge in draws, a 35-30 advantage in ground balls (Taylor led the way with six), an 18-10 edge in shots (16-5 on cage) and overcame 26 turnovers.

Brunswick got goals from Cloutier and Putnam and an assist from Cloutier.

McCarthy saved five shots.

Senior Gia Guernelli led the team with six ground balls.

“The girls gave every last ounce of effort and drive to play this game today,” said Aschbrenner. “I really couldn’t be prouder of that second half.”

A historic opportunity

Wednesday, Greely will look to punch its ticket to the state final for the first time since 2000. That year, the Rangers lost, 5-4, to Bonny Eagle, with the then-Becca Lambertson on the team.

Greely didn’t face Messalonskee this year and the teams have no playoff history.

“I know it’s a team goal, so we’re all working toward the same thing, hoping to make it to Fitzpatrick (Stadium),” said Dean-Muncie. “Usually we lose in the semifinals, so it means a lot to have the potential to have another shot at it.”

“We have things we can work on,” Koelker said. “I don’t know anything but Messalonskee. We get to play here, which is a help. We don’t have to play on turf and they’ll have to travel.

“We have to rise and play to the level we know we can play. We’re close to making history. This team, I have to give them credit, has worked so hard. They’ve earned it. Now, we just need to finish it.”

Press Herald staff writer Steve Craig contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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