
Windham was playing in its first girls lacrosse state final, but the Eagles handled it like old pros.
Second-ranked Windham dominated the first six minutes, then limited top-ranked Kennebunk’s chances for most of the game to claim the first state championship in program history with a 12-9 victory in the Class A title game Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.
“It’s surreal; like I’ve been saying, I don’t even have words,” Eagles senior Grace Joly said. “I love this team so much, I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with anybody else. We’ve worked so hard to be here, and I think we earned it.”
The Eagles scored twice in the first 90 seconds, then added two more goals to lead 4-0 before the midway point of the opening quarter.
Kennebunk, which entered the game unbeaten, was limited to only a few possessions in the first quarter, thanks to Neve Ledbetter’s dominance on draw controls for Windham and the Eagles forcing turnovers.
“We lost 12 seniors last year, and it was a rebuilding year for us,” Kennebunk coach Annie Barker said. “We were very young, and we (still) got here, but it’s a game of possession. We just didn’t have possession of the ball very much. When we had it, we made it work, but there’s nothing you can do if you don’t have the ball.”
The Rams scored on their first five shots on goal, their fifth cutting Windham’s lead to 8-5 three minutes into the second half. But the Eagles scored the next three goals, and each team added another goal to head into the fourth quarter with Windham ahead 12-6.
Windham’s Abby Trainor tallied a game-high five goals, giving her 21 in the postseason, and added an assist. Joly finished with three goals and two assists, freshman Brooklyn Roy also scored three goals, and Morgan McLain had one.
Both teams entered the state final on 16-game winning streaks. The only defeat this season for the Eagles (17-1) was a 10-6 season-opening loss to Kennebunk (16-1), which has won five state championships, including three straight from 2021-23.
Windham used shooting space on free-position opportunities to score three of its six first-half goals — two by Trainor and one by Joly. Trainor said overplaying the top of the 8-meter worked because of the Eagles’ ability to catch, dodge and drive from the center. That also led to several free-position shots, due to Kennebunk’s defense crashing in and getting called for shooting space violations.
“I think we’re really smart on offense, and I think in the beginning, we hit Morgan McLain and Brooklyn Roy, who aren’t the first scorers on our team,” Trainor said. “I think that was amazing and it set the tone that anyone can score on our team.”
Perkins added that Kennebunk’s strategy seemed to target the top three scorers for the Eagles — Trainor, Joly and Ledbetter — but Windham anticipated that and entered the game planning to rely on secondary scorers.
“We felt we were better, and we felt that if we could take advantage of certain things, and we set the tempo, we felt like we had it pretty much the whole game,” Perkins said. “(Kennebunk) had a little run in the second, got two or three goals, but we were able to get it right back and control the pace.”
Along with controlling possession, Windham’s defense limited Kennebunk’s offense, especially in the first half. Joly said Kennebunk’s strong crashes forced the Eagles’ defense to look for backdoor cuts after the initial crashes fanned back out.
“I think our defense has come a long ways. Everybody’s talked about our offense all year, but defensively, we’ve been dynamite,” Perkins said. “It feels like we’ve been validated, you know, all the work these guys have done to get here, I’m just happy they get the reward that they’ve earned.”
Windham goalie Avery Adams made several big saves in the second half to prevent the Rams from cutting into the Eagles’ lead.
Kennebunk finally controlled possession in the fourth quarter and scored the only three goals, but after cutting the deficit to 12-9 with about three minutes left, Windham won the draw and drained the rest of the clock.
“We shot like four in a row, and we just missed the cage,” Barker said. “You know, everything’s got to go your way to win something (like a state game), right? We were prepared mentally, and you got to be proud of them. They never stopped fighting.”
Helen Kennie found the back of the net four times for the Rams, and Camdyn Keenan finished with three goals.
We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs. You can modify your screen name here.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday as well as limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your CentralMaine.com account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.