WATERVILLE — Nine regional titles in 11 years is anything but disappointing — unless you turn only one of them into a state title.

That’s what York was facing on Saturday afternoon at Thomas College. The Wildcats had gone 1-7 in their previous eight state title games, and were down by a goal to Gardiner in the second half.

Although Gardiner was almost a longshot to reach the state final this season, the Tigers showed undeniably they were a worthy champion in Eastern B. In the end, that was not quite enough, as York’s determination and a late goal by Kayla Kelley lifted the Wildcats to a 2-1 victory in the Class B state field hockey final.

“It’s just good to get over that hump,” York coach Barb Marois said. “We’ve been here, and been here, and been here. Honestly, it was gettin’ old.”

“Because we lost last year, it just made us want it 10 times more this year,” said York sophomore midfielder Lily Posternak. “We could not let ourselves lose. Even after their first goal, we knew, 110 percent after that, we were not going to let up.”

Posternak, a member of the USA Field Hockey under-17 national team, was dazzling with her stick skills. Time and again, she created penalty corners simply by possessing the ball until she could get a foul in the circle, and York had a 15-6 advantage in corners for the game.

If a player is judged on how much the other team focuses on him or her, then Posternak is one of the best players to play field hockey in Maine in some time. Gardiner double and triple-teamed her. The Tigers tried running into her when she turned her back to draw obstruction calls, but the referees never called it.

Posternak and the Wildcats attacked Gardiner relentlessly in the opening minutes, but the Tigers tilted the field after a timeout by coach Sharon Gallant. The game was scoreless at halftime, but just 1:34 into the second half, Nickyia Lovely drove the ball into the circle to her sister Hailee Lovely, and Hailee sent it along for the goal and a 1-0 Gardiner lead.

“York’s been scored on twice all season,” Gallant said. “We came out and scored on them first. I just thought they did a great job. We really weren’t expected to be here. So for my kids, this was all frosting, and I thought they played great.”

There was plenty of time remaining, but York still looked rattled enough that Marois called timeout with 22:57 to play.

“I think we held our composure a lot more this year,” Kelly said. “We had a little instant panic, but then we got together, like, ‘Guys, we can do this. There’s 23 minutes left. We have so much time to do this, and we know if we play as a team, we can generate a really strong attack.'”

It took the Wildcats less than three minutes after the timeout to tie the score. Devon Datsis hit one that deflected up and over Gardiner goalie Kaylin Mansir with 19:59 to go.

York now had the momentum, and with exactly 15 minutes left, Kelly pushed in a rebound, and the Wildcats had a 2-1 lead.

“I saw the rebound coming toward me,” Kelly said, ” and I was like, ‘All right. I gotta get this thing on goal.’ Sure enough, I heard it hit the backboard — the most relieving feeling I’ve ever felt.”

With 8:50 to play, Posternak was down for several minutes and limped off the field. Gardiner’s Maddy Beaulieu drew a yellow card on the play, and Gallant was on the field for over two minutes trying to get an explanation for the call. Referee Shannon Whiting at first ignored Gallant, then later made a pushing motion with her hand near the scorer’s table. The call meant Gardiner had to play short-handed for five minutes.

“I think I just hyper-extended my leg,” said Posternak, who was back in the game shortly after play resumed. “I stepped, and then my knee just felt helpless for a second. I’m perfectly fine. I was in the moment, just needed to walk it off.”

Posternak spent the final minutes dribbling near the sideline and successfully playing keep-away. Gardiner tried to bash the ball downfield with long drives, but they were intercepted. The Tigers had to be satisfied with a remarkable season and a regional title.

“I’m just real, real pleased with my girls’ effort today,” Gallant said. “They just did a phenomenal job. This whole season, they’ve just done a phenomenal job. I don’t have anybody on my team’s that’s a big gun. Every single game, someone new has chipped in. I’m not unhappy in any way.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @Matt_DiFilippo

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