GARDINER — Based on postgame reaction it was tough to tell the victors from the losers in a Class B North boys quarterfinal lacrosse game between top-seeded Gardiner and No. 8 Winslow.

Gardiner has had better days despite a 10-4 victory, thanks to a late surge and a strong second period.

Winslow drew an outstanding performance from senior goalkeeper Doug Carmichael (23 saves). The Black Raiders battled back from a six-goal halftime deficit to cut the lead to three (7-4) with 5:40 left to play. The Tigers responded with three quick goals to put the outcome to rest.

Gardiner (13-0) will host Oak Hill, a 9-7 winner over Cony, in a semifinal game Friday while Winslow finished 6-8.

“We were off our game,” said Gardiner senior Tristan Hebert, who scored three goals, all in the second period. “We didn’t show up to play like we wanted to. That probably carried over from yesterday. We didn’t have a very good practice. We just need to pick up the tempo and have a little more urgency with our game like we usually do.”

The carryover from Tuesday was evident in the first period when the teams played to a 1-1 tie with Isaac Lambrecht scoring for the Raiders and Parker Hinkley for the Tigers. Gardiner dominated the second quarter, out-shooting Winslow 17-0 while passing the ball well on offense and double and triple-teaming the Black Raiders on defense.

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“We really force the issue. We press on defense a little bit,” said Gardiner coach K.C. Johnson, citing senior defenders Kaleb Caron, Jake Folsom and Cam Bell.

The Tigers drew eight penalties in the second half, which helped the Raiders get back into the game.

Junior Evan Dart scored a pair of goals on nearly identical jump shots while leading scorer Bryce Hillier added a goal to cut the lead to 7-4.

“We just said one goal at a time and it’s the little things,” Winslow coach Bruce Lambrecht said of his halftime advice. “Win balls.”

Johnson shuffled his lineup in the third period in part because he was dissatisfied with his team’s effort.

“I think definitely some overconfidence,” Gardiner junior Sloan Berthiaume said. “Not coming in expecting what we should have been, not focused enough. Our first couple of lines weren’t doing all that great, especially in the third quarter.”

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The Black Raiders out-shot the Tigers 9-4 in the third quarter but couldn’t put many shots on goalie Noah Keene (three saves). That wasn’t the case at the other end of the field, where Carmichael made several good saves.

“He had 17 saves the other day in our playoffs win versus Morse,” Lambrecht said. “Today, he’s the only reason we kept it as close as we did.”

Connor Manter, Michael Poirier and Berthiaume scored goals in a two-minute span near the end of the game to put it out of reach. Berthiaume scored twice to run his season total to 38 while Hinkley scored two and Kyle Johnson one.

Winslow graduated several seniors a year ago, including Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference player of the year Jimmy Fowler, while Gardiner returned a veteran group ready to make a deep run into the playoffs.

“We have six seniors and there’s some continuity there,” Johnson said. “They just like each other and they’ve come together. This didn’t show it today but when we’re playing well.”


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