CUMBERLAND — An early speed bump couldn’t stop the Greely girls’ lacrosse team on its road back to the Class B state final.
Eva Williams scored five goals, Carley Ferentz and Charlotte Taylor added three apiece and the second-seeded Rangers returned to the championship game, beating No. 3 Cony 16-3 in the semifinals Wednesday afternoon.
“I think the girls came into the season hungry and never let up on that,” said Greely Coach Becca Koelker. “This has been a goal for them, so they should be really proud of all the effort they put in to get back there.”
Greely, which fell to Yarmouth in last year’s final, improved to 12-2. The Rangers will face fourth-seeded York on Saturday at Portland’s Fitzpatrick Stadium.
“Last year was a tough loss,” said Williams, who also dominated in the draw circle as Greely won 16 of 20 faceoffs. “But I think we’re coming back this year even stronger.”
Cony, which was seeking its first state final appearance, finished 11-3.
“Draws were key, and this game is a possession game,” said Rams Coach Gretchen Livingston. “We didn’t have it on our sticks enough to control the game, and they had it a lot.”
It didn’t go entirely to plan for the Rangers. Cony jumped in front 2-0 in the opening minutes, with Azabell Assaf (two goals) scoring with 22:51 left in the first half and Sierra Prebit adding a free position goal 27 seconds later.
Greely shook off the slow start. Ferentz jarred the ball free from a Cony player for a turnover and immediately went down the field and scored to put the Rangers on the board. Williams took the ball from the left side, darted across the goal and scored to tie the game, and Ferentz converted a pass from Allie Read right off the ensuing draw to give Greely its first lead.
“It was kind of a wake-up call,” Williams said of the early deficit. “I think it really pushed us and created a fire within us.”
Greely’s defensive pressure and dominance on draws kept the surge going. Williams worked her way through the Cony defense for another goal, Ferentz bounced in a shot, and Taylor scored on a free position to quickly make it 6-2.
Ferentz was one of the leaders of Greely’s ride, the term for pressure applied on defense in the opponent’s end.
“All parts of the team work as a unit,” Ferentz said. “Attack is attacking as a unit and riding as a unit. We’ve seen some other teams like Yarmouth and Falmouth, Kennebunk, they have really aggressive rides where you just feel like you’re being swarmed. That’s really powerful. We’ve learned from that.”
Williams added two more goals, Taylor had another and Asja Kelman scored as Greely upped its lead to 10-2 by the break. In the second half, Lauren Dennen had two goals, and Williams, Kelman, Taylor and Kylie Lord also scored.
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