BRUNSWICK — It scored early, often, and in bunches, too.

It dominated on faceoffs to control possession and otherwise did what it wanted from the opening whistle to final horn Wednesday night.

The Brunswick boys lacrosse team punctuated its still-unblemished season with a 21-4 pounding of Messalonskee in the Eastern A championship game Wednesday night.

TJ Sullivan, one of 16 seniors on the roster, led the onslaught with a season-high seven goals. Matt Brooks scored a goal and finished with a team-high six assists for the top-seeded Dragons (15-0), who will play South Portland in the Class A state game at 10 a.m., Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

No. 2 Messalonskee finished 10-5.

“It was our worst game of the year at the worst possible time,” Messalonskee coach Tom Sheridan said. “Brunswick is going to be tough to beat at states. It was just one of those days. We’ll bounce back.”

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Connor Smith scored three goals for the Eagles, who trailed 6-1 at the end of the first quarter and 14-2 at the half.

Cam Glover scored three goals and as many assists for the Dragons while Ryan Croatti finished with four goals.

“We played a great game,” Brunswick coach Donald Glover said. “Prepping for this game, we expected a tight game. We’ve been nip and tuck with them this season.”

Indeed, the two teams staged some competitive games, including a 17-13 Brunswick victory on May 27 in which Messalonskee led at the half. The Dragons also scored a 19-12 victory in the regular season and prevailed 15-7 in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A title game.

But there would be no drama Wednesday night — Sullivan and the transition-dominant Dragons made sure of that early.

Christian Glover gave the Dragons a 1-0 lead just 30 seconds into the contest when he buried a shot from out front of Messalonskee goalie Elija Tuell.

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Brunswick then scored four goals in under a two-minute span later in the quarter to take a commanding 5-0 lead.

“All three games with these guys have been close,” Sullivan said. “I didn’t expect this. But this is what we were hoping for all season, and we wanted to come out strong.”

Brunswick controlled the pace of play thanks in large part to senior Ian Schlosser, who was key on faceoffs all game.

Coach Glover estimated Schlosser won more than 80 percent of his draws this season, and he did just that Wednesday (11 of 13, or 85 percent).

“He’s gifted at his trade,” Glover said. “When you have someone like that, you can dictate the pace of the game. It was huge. We love the transition game. We love the fast play. If you don’t take the faceoffs you are at a disadvantage.”

Brunswick piled it on in the second, with Sullivan scoring three consecutive goals in a little over three minutes to push the lead to 12-2.

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Things went from bad to worse for Messalonskee in the second half, when Brunswick scored four unanswered goals in the first six minutes of the third to push its lead to 18-2.

“They moved the ball quickly,” Sheridan said. “They made good cuts. Overall, we had a good season. We’re going to have to go back and rebuild for next season.”

Bill Stewart — 621-5618

bstewart@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @billstewartmtm


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