Gardiner/Hall-Dale girls lacrosse spoils Lincoln Academy star's milestone

Lincoln Academy’s Mariam DeLisle jumps into the arms of teammate Zofie Day after DeLisle scored the 200th goal of her career on Thursday against Gardiner. Purchase this image

GARDINER — Mariam DeLisle got her moment, but the Gardiner/Hall-Dale girls lacrosse team got the win on Thursday afternoon.

DeLisle, a senior midfielder for Lincoln Academy, scored the 200th goal of her career in the second quarter, but the Tigers scored twice in the final three minutes to win 12-10 in a Class B/C crossover at Hoch Field.

Catherine Mansir led Gardiner/Hall-Dale (6-4) with five goals and five assists. Lydia Gero and Maggie Blais each added two goals.

“We’re so excited, it was such a close game the whole way through,” said Mansir, a junior attacker. “It was just great to come out with a win at the end of it. It was hard to fight through everything, penalties. But we did it.”

DeLisle led Lincoln (7-3) with six goals. She has 55 goals this season and 203 for her career.

It’s the third straight win for the Tigers, who climbed to No. 4 in the Class B Heal Point standings, just behind rival Cony (8-3). Gardiner/Hall-Dale also has recent victories over Camden Hills/Oceanside and MCI/Nokomis.

“We’re trying to play team-centered defense, team offense, team transition. We don’t want just one person scoring the goals,” said Gardiner/Hall-Dale coach Jess Prince. “We want to function as a team and as a unit. … We’re trying to play that next level of lacrosse, and they’re doing great with it.”

Added Mansir: “We don’t have just one person who can put six (goals) away every time, we have a whole team effort. We have people who assist on goals. We have lots of people on the scoreboard. I’m just really proud that’s the team that I have.”

Members of the Lincoln Academy JV lacrosse team held up balloons to celebrate Mariam DeLisle’s 200th career goal. *Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel*

DeLisle hits rare mark in Maine lacrosse

To reach 100 goals in a career is impressive in Maine high school lacrosse. DeLisle flew past that mark. Not bad for someone who never played the sport before high school.

“I started my freshman year having never picked up a stick in my life,” said DeLisle, who will continue her career at the University of Southern Maine. “I really challenge myself every game, and I have a goal that I’m going to try to score a lot, I’m going to assist my teammates. Getting that 200th goal showed me that all my hard work paid off. I’m super proud of myself and super proud of the team.”

DeLisle scored her 200th goal with 1:10 left in the second quarter. She cut through the Gardiner/Hall-Dale defense, took a pass from teammate Lexie Houghton and fired a shot past Tigers goalie Leah Shepard. Play was halted to allow teammates and coaches to celebrate the milestone.

“(Her success) is more than goals, it’s defense, and you can see that out there,” said Lincoln Academy coach Mic LeBel. “She’s tenacious trying to win ground balls, and she plays our zone (defense) strong. But it’s consistency, it’s drive, and she has that drive to score. (Being) a three-sport athlete, especially basketball, she’s learned a lot about changing direction and dodging (defenders). It translates well to lacrosse.”

DeLisle entered the game at 197 goals and felt pressure to hit the mark, as teammates had signs and numbered “200” balloons to celebrate the occasion.

“I thought I was going to throw up before the game,” DeLisle said. “I was insanely nervous. … I was scared, but I persevered.”

DeLisle is actually the first of two girls lacrosse players expected to hit 200 career goals this week. Mt. Ararat senior attack Evelyn Goudreau has 197 goals heading into a home game against Camden Hills/Oceanside at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

What does it mean?

• Gardiner/Hall-Dale needed this win to move up in the standings and gain momentum heading into the final four games of the regular season.

• The Eagles, who entered the game as the No. 1 seed in Class C, will have to recover from their loss quickly, as they host No. 2 Maranacook/Winthrop (7-1) on Friday night.