YARMOUTH — The first half of the boys lacrosse matchup between North Yarmouth Academy and Maranacook/Winthrop on Friday was reminiscent of last year’s state championship game: An offensive slugfest between two of Class C’s top teams.

Thanks to some timely stops and an offense that found its rhythm, a strong second half lifted the Panthers to a 17-10 win over the Hawks at Lewis Field.

“It was a great game against a good team,” said NYA senior goalkeeper Harry Seely. “We knew coming in that (Maranacook/Winthrop) was going to want it bad after last year. We just wanted to take it hard and have a good game.”

It was the teams’ first meeting since last year’s Class C final, which NYA won 9-7, giving the program its fourth state crown, and first since 2019.

How did they get there?

A strong start to the second half. Maranacook/Winthrop (3-3) put offensive pressure on NYA (4-2) at the start of the third quarter. But Seely made key stops, with help from his defense knocking the ball out of the sticks of the Hawks’ attackers, and the Panthers were able to turn the momentum. They also scored three consecutive goals to start the half to take an 11-7 lead.

“I’ve got a good crew, a good defensive unit,” Seely said. “We’ve got to fix a few things, but we’re going to work on those things in practice and get better over time.”

Added NYA coach Peter Gerrity: “(The halftime speech) was just kind of the same as the other games, ‘Wake up and play our game a little bit.’ We have the tendency to play all right at the onset and then falling asleep until halftime. Second half, sometimes, if we start putting it together, we can run away with it, or at least take control.”

The Panthers led 13-8 after three quarters, then outscored Maranacook/Winthrop 4-2 in the fourth to seal the game.

“We started a new play, a two-man game with an X near the (goalie) crease, I think that worked well all game,” said junior Deagan Nadeau. “From the start, we got going, and the second half was even better.”

Ethan Chilton lead the offensive effort for the Hawks. He scored three times in the first period to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead. He added another goal in the second quarter, and Maranacook/Winthrop entered halftime trailing 8-7.

What does this mean?

NYA maintains its spot at the top of the Class C Heal point standings. The victory was a good response for the Panthers, who had dropped two of their last three games, with the losses to Class B squads York and Greely.

“We’ve had a few rough games, so it was nice to get a win here,” Nadeau said.

The Panthers are working with a smaller roster, due to a several graduations from last year’s title team.

“We graduated all of our close defensemen, we graduated all of our attackmen,” Gerrity said. “Most of our midfield is back, so we knew our midfielders were going to be strong, and we knew Harry was going to be strong. It’s just filling in the defense, but they’re doing a good job. We’re generally midfield-driven, but we’re also getting other guys involved (on offense).”

Maranacook/Winthrop is also dealing with a smaller roster than last season, but continues to battle its way through the schedule, picking up wins over Oxford Hills (Class A), John Bapst (Class B) and Lincoln Academy (Class C).

“(Seely) stood on his head back there,” Maranacook/Winthrop coach Dan Brannigan said. “We just keep getting (opposing) goalies that are hot. … I don’t think we necessarily played bad. A couple of calls don’t go your way and it starts to screw with your head. I’m confident that we’ll make it to the end and we’ll get a chance to fight again.”

Statistical leaders

• NYA: Stephen Connolly (6 goals), Deagan Nadeau (4 goals), Gavin Thomas (4 goals)

• Maranacook/Winthrop: Ethan Chilton (7 goals), Jacob Lyons (3 goals)