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LEWISTON — When a game starts to go sideways, leaders need to step up.

That’s how the Maranacook/Winthrop boys lacrosse team got past Gardiner in a Class C semifinal Wednesday on Don Roux Field at Lewiston High School.

Attacker Jacob Lyons, who scored the tying goal against Oak Hill in last year’s semifinals, netted the winner Wednesday to give the third-seeded Hawks an 11-10 victory over the second-seeded Tigers.

Maranacook (10-6) moves on to face North Yarmouth Academy on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s state championship game, which NYA won 9-7.

“I saw an opportunity to take my defender around up top, which is my bread and butter, really,” Lyons said. “And I took the shot around him, and the goalie never saw it.”

Lyons’ goal with 1:41 remaining broke a 10-10 deadlock, but he said it was defender Ryan Bourque who set the tone in the final minutes. After Gardiner (10-6) scored three straight goals to cut its deficit to 10-9 with 4:24 remaining, Bourque called a timeout.

“I just went up to the boys, reminded them that it’s our game,” Bourque said. “It’s our game to win, and to calm down. Like, the momentum was definitely in their favor. But I reminded them that we are the better team, and that it’s our game to run away with. And (we) went out there and proved it.”

Maranacook/Winthrop will be playing in its third straight state final but is looking for its first championship.

To get back, the Hawks had to survive a game of twists and turns. Maranacook was down 4-2 after one quarter but evened it at 5-5 by halftime behind attacker Ethan Chilton’s two goals and one by Lyon.

Attacker Caleb Morgan scored four of his five goals in the second half — three straight in the third quarter and one in the fourth that gave the Hawks a 10-6 advantage with 8:12 remaining.

“It’s all my teammates,” Morgan said. “I mean, opening up plays for me, moving the ball.”

Hawks coach Daniel Brannigan said his squad has several players who can step up when others have an off night or are being locked down by opponents.

“I have three absolute studs,” Brannigan said of his attackmen. “And I don’t know of a single team in Class C that has three stud defenders. So everybody’s got to take a turn to eat.”

Gardiner was led by freshman Luke Whalan, who scored five times. Logan Cote recorded three goals and Brayden Elliot had two

“We were up 4-1 at one point,” Gardiner coach KC Johnson said. “And we didn’t put the hammer down, and it is what it is; kids play tough. They battled through adversity all season long. We played a tough schedule, and we just didn’t perform on the offensive end very well.”