PORTLAND—Greely’s girls’ lacrosse team had seen its lead over host Waynflete cut from a seemingly safe five goals to just one and early in the second half of the teams’ interclass showdown at Fore River Fields, the Rangers needed to find another gear.

And the defending Class B champions have exactly that.

Another gear that most teams can only dream about.

Greely closed the game on a 7-2 run, riding its tremendous balance and confidence to remain one of the hottest teams around.

The Rangers shot to a quick 3-0 lead, then made it 7-2 on senior standout Charlotte Taylor’s fourth goal with 6:23 to go in the first half, but the proud Flyers refused to buckle and battled back to 8-6 at halftime, as promising sophomore Lydia Birknes scored four times.

When Birknes struck again three minutes into the second half, Waynflete was on the brink of a season-altering come-from-behind win, but Greely refused to let it happen.

Sophomore Jane Flynn scored to turn the tide, then senior Lauren Dennen, junior Asja Kelman, Flynn, sophomore Kylie Lord and Taylor added goals in short order and the Rangers went on to a 15-9 victory.

Greely got goals from six different players, led by Taylor, who had five, won its seventh straight game, improved to 8-1 and in the process, dropped the Flyers to 1-6.

“It’s the same team this year, but it feels like a different team,” said Rangers coach Becca Koelker. “The confidence that comes from winning a championship, the girls are just riding that and they’re working so hard every day to get better.”

Unstoppable

Greely hasn’t skipped a beat in its title defense, passing every test to date but one.

The Rangers started with a 20-0 home win over Gray-New Gloucester, then fell at reigning Class A champion Kennebunk, 14-4, before bouncing back with a 13-8 home win over York in a rematch of last year’s state game. Greely then knocked off host NYA (10-4), won at Windham (14-4) and Freeport (5-4), beat visiting Yarmouth in Cumberland for the first time in 18 years (8-7) and Saturday, handled visiting Messalonskee (14-3).

Waynflete, meanwhile, opened with a 14-8 home loss to NYA, then fell at Scarborough in a shootout (14-11), at Wells (7-5) and at Yarmouth (11-5) before getting in the win column at home against Traip Academy (18-3). The Flyers let a late lead slip away Friday and lost at Portland, 7-6.

Last year, Greely beat visiting Waynflete, 12-4, in a game that essentially ended the Flyers’ repeat title hopes, as standout Jesse Connors broke her ankle and was subsequently sidelined the remainder of the season (she’s now playing at the Dominican University of California).

Wednesday, on a beautiful afternoon (70 degrees and sunny), Waynflete looked to beat Greely for the first time since May 2, 2015 (10-7 in Cumberland), but instead, the Rangers made it six straight victories in the series.

Taylor won the opening draw and 75 seconds into the game, started the scoring, taking a pass from Lord and beating Waynflete senior goalie Pippa Huffard to put Greely on top to stay.

With 21:30 left in the first half, Taylor set up senior Jenny Medrano for a goal and after Huffard robbed Kelman, Kelman finished (from senior Allie Read) with 18:27 on the clock for a quick 3-0 lead.

But the Flyers settled in and answered.

With 17:18 to go in the half, Birknes scored her first goal, from junior Morgan Earls.

Rangers senior goalie Addyson Babcock then denied Kelly on a free position and saved another Kelly shot and at the other end, Huffard stopped shots from Dennen and Kelman.

With 11:54 remaining, Waynflete drew within one, as Birknes set up Kelly.

Greely then returned to its scoring ways and opened up a five-goal lead.

With 8:58 to play before halftime, Taylor buried a free position shot.

A little over a minute later, in transition after a Flyers’ turnover, Dennen found Flynn for a goal to make it 5-2.

Longtime Waynflete coach Cathie Connors called timeout in an attempt to turn the tide, but it didn’t help.

At least not initially.

After Kelly had a shot saved by Babcock, Taylor extended the Rangers’ lead, taking a pass from Flynn and beating Huffard with 6:58 to go.

Thirty-five seconds later, Taylor scooped up a ground ball in the defensive end, then went coast-to-coast to score for a 7-2 advantage.

Birknes momentarily stemmed the tide with an unassisted goal with 5:18 left, but 31 seconds later, Medrano found Kelman to restore the five-goal lead.

The Flyers then controlled play the rest of the half and made things interesting.

First, with 4:35 on the clock, Kelly fed Birknes for a goal.

After Kelly had a free position shot saved by Babcock, she got the ball from junior Sasha Melnick and tried again and this time, found the net with 3:32 remaining.

After Birknes hit the post with 2:54 to go, she got the ball from Earls 11 seconds later and scored again to cut the deficit to two.

Waynflete had a chance to make it a one-goal game in the waning seconds, but Babcock denied Kelly and Greely took an 8-6 lead to the break.

The Flyers hung tough in the first half, as Kelly won 10 of 15 draws.

Six Babcock saves helped the Rangers hold the lead.

Waynflete then crept within a single goal three minutes into the second half, when Birknes took a pass from Earls and scored.

After Huffard robbed Kelman, the Flyers would have two chances to draw even, but first, Kelly had a shot saved by Babcock, then they turned the ball over.

Off the giveaway, Dennen got the ball to Flynn and Flynn scored with 19:10 on the clock to turn momentum for good.

With 15:16 to play, Taylor set up Dennen for a 10-7 lead.

A little over a minute later, after a turnover, Kelman raced in and scored unassisted.

With 13:15 on the clock, Lord fed Flynn for a goal to make it 12-7.

With 11:44 remaining, the tandem connected again, as this time Flynn set up Lord.

Then, with 10:04 left, Kelman assisted on a Taylor goal to break it open and make the score 14-7.

“We lost a little momentum there at the end of the first half, but Charlotte did a nice job adjusting on the draw in the second half and our attack held possession,” Koelker said. “We have five or six players you have to shut down. That makes us so dangerous.”

Kelly finally ended the Greely run with 5:56 to go, scoring on a rebound, but Dennen answered with 1:05 left, scoring unassisted.

In the final minute, after Kelly hit the post, Earls found sophomore Lauren McNutt-Girouard for a goal, but it was far too little, too late and the Rangers closed out their 15-9 victory.

“I think sometimes we get a little all over the place with the heat,” Taylor said. “We don’t sub as much as other teams do. We just needed to take a break and take a breath. We pivoted really well today. I feel like there’s a lot of trust that we can come back. We have a lot of faith that a few goals won’t define how the game will go. We are finally figuring out where everyone should be and trying new plays. Utilizing our speed was my favorite part of today.”

“I love playing Waynflete,” said Koelker. “Cathie’s a mastermind. She disciplines her team so well. Games like this teach us and show us where we need to improve.”

Taylor led the way with five goals and two assists, won nearly half her draw opportunities and had a team high 12 ground balls.

“Having Charlotte is like having another coach on the field,” said Koelker. “Her lax IQ is better than mine. She’s so smart on both sides of the field. She has worked hard to study the game and improve her skills and fitness so that she can make in-game adjustments and come up with big plays when we need them.”

Flynn and Kelman both scored three goals, Dennen added two and Lord and Medrano both had one.

Dennen, Flynn and Lord also had two assists, while Kelman, Medrano and Read all finished with one.

Babcock made 10 key saves.

Greely had a 48-42 advantage on ground balls (Read had nine and Kelman collected seven), enjoyed a 30-24 edge in shots (23-19 on cage) and turned the ball over 19 times.

Something to build on

Waynflete was paced by Birknes, who scored five goals and had an assist.

“Lydia has come a long way,” said Connors. “She was playing middie and I popped her up on attack to give us more power there.”

Kelly added three goals and an assist. McNutt-Girouard scored the other goal.

Earls had four assists and Melnick added one.

Huffard made eight saves.

Kelly had a game-high 16 ground balls and won 15 of 26 draws.

The Flyers’ comeback was ultimately thwarted in part by 21 turnovers.

“I’m so pysched that we came back,” Connors said. “I feel like it was a closer game than the score shows. We figured out a lot. We made some big changes being down and we pulled it together. I’m so proud of the girls.”

Plugging away

The road gets no easier for Waynflete, as it goes to Class C favorite Freeport Monday. The Flyers then come home to take on Class A contender Gorham, as well as Lake Region.

“We’ll keep moving forward,” Connors said. “We need some wins. Hopefully we’ll play like we played the first half today and continue it for the whole game. We have to put it together quick. If we figure it out, it will be sweet.”

Greely looks to stay on a roll when it welcomes Fryeburg Academy Friday. The Rangers will get a test next Wednesday at Yarmouth.

“I’d say our success so far can be attributed to our veteran players,” Taylor said. “We have strong veteran players at every position. Everyone is stepping up and filling roles. Our team really does want it. Our next step is to keep our eye on the Class A games. I love the competition. It keeps our heads in the game and keeps us from getting comfortable.”

“We still have some big games coming up, so we’ll be in good shape for playoffs,” said Koelker. “We’re getting some momentum.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. 

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.