BIDDEFORD — With the ball on her stick in overtime, Kaitlyn Pierson had both motive and opportunity.
And with a flick of her wrists, she also had the winning shot on a free attempt, in Thornton Academy’s 8-7 triumph over Massabesic.
The SMAA girls lacrosse tilt was played Saturday at UNE’s Big Blue Turf.
Pierson, whose tally early in the second half knotted the score, 7-7, provided Thornton with the difference maker in a tilt between two playoff hungry squads.
“All you have to do is play hard,” said Pierson, a sophomore middie. “Play with your team, and do what you do. It’s not a one person game. You have to play together, which I think we did today.”
Even so, in a contest that came down to one shot, it was Pierson’s job to park it, and she did, with 5:28 gone in the extra session.
“That’s the story of our lives, I guess,” said Mustangs (3-6) coach Brooks Bowen. “We do have to get into gear to find somehow someway of getting it going again, or it’s going to slip away.”
A left handed shot, Pierson said she used the element of surprise to her advantage.
“Not many people defend left handers,” she said. “I just saw an opening on the left and attacked that.”
Said Thornton (5-5) coach Craig Agreste, “We think she’s a playmaker. I think we’re starting to see the best she has to offer.”
The teams jockeyed to a 3-3 deadlock through the early stretches of the opening half, before Thornton lurched out to a 6-3 lead in one 51 second span.
A pair of goals 14 seconds apart by Ashley Kane, plus one by Jackie Costello put the Trojans on a fast track.
However, the Mustangs eased back into a tie at the half, with Alyssa Gilman netting hers with 9.8 left to make it 6-6.
Goals were scarce in the second half, just one apiece, both of which were netted in the first 8:28.
Heather Everett gave the Mustangs their only lead, when, at 3:23, she polished off a nice feed from Smith to make it 7-6.
That lasted just five minutes, as Pierson knotted the score, 7-7, with a whirling move across the crease, which she finished with a flair.
“She was spinning around,” said Agreste. “I can’t believe that she was still standing.”
From that point, the defenses carried the play with goalies Allie McCarthy of Thornton and the Mustangs’ Kaitlyn Toothaker both coming up with big saves.
McCarthy made perhaps the most critical stop, thwarting Smith on a free attempt with less than a second to go in regulation.
“Allie is Allie,” said Pierson, “and that’s her spot. She’s phenomenal in the goal.”
That save set the stage for Pierson’s clincher.
Both teams will play host, today, with Thornton set to welcome Cheverus and Massabesic facing Bonny Eagle.
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com or follow on Twitter @DanHickling.
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