READFIELD — Ethan Chilton had never scored eight goals in a game before.
But on Thursday night, Chilton found the back of the net early and just wouldn’t stop.
Chilton’s eight goals led the Maranacook/Winthrop boys lacrosse team to an 18-3 win over Lincoln Academy at Ricky Gibson Field of Dreams. The Hawks are now 11-1, sitting atop the Class C standings and have scored 184 goals this season, an average of just over 15 per game.
“It feels awesome (to score that much),” said Chilton, a junior. “Honestly, I was just shooting when I was open. Their goalie stopped a few of them, but I got a few more in there. I was just racking them up, that was basically it.”
Bennett Ross scored three goals and had two assists for Maranacook/Winthrop, while Owen Lyons added three goals and three assists.
Gavin Albert led the Eagles (5-8) with two goals and goalkeeper Sean Cushing had 20 saves.
Since a 21-10 loss to Deering on May 10, the lone blemish of the season, the Hawks have won four straight. In that stretch, Maranacook/Winthrop has scored 71 goals, or an average of just under 18 per game.
“I think the team just works well together, has a lot of chemistry,” Lyons said. “The individual efforts have been great, but we just work really well together.”
Confidence and trust have been driving forces for the Hawks all season. Seven different players scored Thursday night.
“We have a lot of depth, so we can trust just about every guy that’s out there,” Lyons said. “That leads to a lot of goals and a lot of wins.”
Selflessness has helped the Hawks, too. Owen Lyons, who reached 100 career goals in a 13-7 win over Oak Hill on May 6, is quick to make the pass to an open teammate. He also has the ability to find creative ways to score. One of Lyons goals came on a shot from the side of the goal, with his non-dominant hand.
“The craziest thing about Owen is, he doesn’t try anything, he just takes what’s there,” said Maranacook/Winthrop head coach Dan Brannigan. “(The shot) was left-handed, it was all hand, and he’s right-handed. He just reached out and put it between (Cushing’s) legs.”
Brannigan was quick to credit assistant coach and former Hawks standout Wyatt Lyons — older brother of Owen and Jacob Lyons — with helping improve the offense.
“He has been purely the offensive guy,” Brannigan said. “He’s put in plays, he’s put in a whole bunch of stuff that has allowed us to open up more, that structure that we’ve been missing.”
Brannigan is in his first season leading the Hawks but has long been a veteran of the central Maine lacrosse scene. Only 34, Brannigan has 13 years of coaching experience, leading Oak Hill to a 38-22 record from 2012-2015, as well as a stop as an assistant at Thomas College.
Brannigan said the win over Lincoln was the most complete game the Hawks have played all season, and that the team’s play has picked up at the right time, just as the playoffs are drawing near.
“We’ve been putting the pieces together all season,” Brannigan said. “We started off really strong and then we would fall asleep during games. Then it got to starting off slow and then picking it up. This is the first (game) that (was strong) from beginning to end.”
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