Our Communities. Our Teams. Our Future.
We’re proud to make high school sports coverage free for everyone—because these moments matter. At Maine State Credit Union, we’re here for the people and places that make Maine strong. Let’s Go! Learn more at mainestatecu.org. 

PORTLAND — The result was the same almost every time. The Cheverus High School girls lacrosse team would win a draw at midfield and in a matter of seconds Messalonskee was back on its heels, trying to contain the Stags’ transition attack.

“We practice a lot on our transition, just getting the ball off the draw and coming in, flicking the ball out if (the shot) isn’t there,” Cheverus junior Abby Biegel said. “I know if I don’t get the ball, one of my teammates is going to be behind me to pick me up.”

Controlling the draws meant Cheverus controlled the game. After falling behind early, the Stags took control midway through the first half, and earned a 13-7 win and the Eastern Class A championship.

Cheverus, now 12-3, will face the winner of Wednesday night’s game between Massabesic and Thornton Academy in the state championship game on Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium. Messalonskee ends the season 11-4.

“It’s tough when you’re getting beat on the draw. They knocked down a ton (of shots). They have really good sticks, really good reflexes,” Messalonskee coach Ashley Pullen said. “Even when we had the ball, they forced a fair amount of turnovers. We tried to force some things, force some feeds to cutters that were marked.”

The Eagles took a 2-1 lead on first half goals by Mikayla Turner and Kristen Kern, but after a timeout with 12:59 to play in the first half, Cheverus got into an offensive groove. The Stags reeled off five consecutive goals in just over six minutes to take the lead for good.

“We’ve had a hard time in all our games, kind of getting a good start. We start to play our game, I guess,” Biegel said. “We picked up our passing, and our catching skills, our basics. That’s what we really focused on.”

Alex Logan scored the tying goal for Cheverus, with an assist from Elyse Caiazzo, with 11:32 left in the first half. A minute and half later, Meredith Willard scored to give the Stags the lead.

Williard scored again 31 seconds later, and Biegel added a pair of goals at 7:17 and 6:16 to push the Cheverus lead to 6-2.

“My teammates were looking to the middle, and I happened to be there. Elyse, Sadie (Lyons), they’re both consistent feeders,” Biegel, who scored four goals, said. “When you’re open, nine out of 10 times you’re going to get the ball.”

Pullen tried to account for Cheverus’ speed advantage with a change in defensive style.

“For a good part of the game, we weren’t playing a high pressure defense, and I did that intentionally because I know they have a lot of speed. I waited as long as I thought I could before we started pressuring the ball,” Pullen said.

Kern scored with 4:36 left in the first half to cut Messalonskee’s deficit to 6-3 at the half, but the Stags opened the second half with three consecutive goals to esentially put the game away.

Williard scored three goals for Cheverus, while Caiazzo, who missed half of the first half with an ankle injury, scored two goals and assisted on four others.

Ally Fischang scored four goals for the Eagles, all in the second half.

“I’m proud of the way they played. They showed incredible growth over the course of the season,” Pullen said. “Incredible guts and determination today. They certainly gave it everything they had.”

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

[email protected]

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM