READFIELD — Morse made all of Maranacook/Winthrop’s hard work from the first half dissolve less than three minutes into the second half of Wednesday’s Eastern Class B boys’ lacrosse quarterfinal.
The Hawks needed to regroup. Despite the rapid change in momentum, they were willing to take their time doing it. Knowing they had the quick-strike capability of Zach Glazier and the quick hands and feet of Zach Bessette, they could afford to slow things down.
Glazier scored back-t0-back goals to break a 6-6 tie and spark fourth-seeded Maranacook/Winthrop as it dominated the rest of the game, thanks also in large part to Bessette’s outstanding work in the cage, which limited No. 5 Morse to two goals in the final 21 minutes of a 14-8 victory.
The Hawks advance to the semifinals, where they will face top-seeded and unbeaten Gardiner on Friday for the fourth time this season.
“We just got a little hop to our step and we got back to our game,” Bessette said. “We came out (for the second half) a little flat-footed. They scored three quick goals, but we came back and got back up and really put them down and never let them back in the game.”
Toby Smith added three goals and Dan Condon and Jesse Evans chipped in with two goals apiece for the Hawks. Alexander Paulus, Oliver Kruz and Alec Beveridge tallied two goals apiece for the Shipbuilders.
Maranacook/Winthrop (11-2) scored three times in the final 2:26 of the first half to take a 6-3 lead into the intermission. But Morse (9-4) came out firing in the second half. Paulus ignited the rally with a goal just 12 seconds in. Beveridge and Matt Buczkowski followed with goals 34 seconds apart to make it a 6-6 game.
“I think the lead made us forget that they are a good team and their offense is explosive at times,” Glazier said. “After they put those three goals in, we got it back together.”
“We needed to slow it down,” Maranacook/Winthrop coach Zach Stewart said. “We needed to wait for the tic-tac-toe. We just couldn’t keep our foot on the gas. Everybody had to be a little bit patient. Once we slowed it down and collected ourselves… it just all clicked.”
It took the Hawks more than three minutes to take the lead back for good. Glazier spun off of a defender and unleashed a submarine shot that bounced past Morse goalie Kevin Thibodeau (nine saves) for a 7-6 lead with 5:49 left in the third quarter.
“I just got the roll dodge and I thought I was close enough to the net, so I let it go underhand for the bounce,” Glazier said. “It felt good to get shots on net.”
Glazier added another successful shot on net to make it 8-6 with 4:23 to go. Paulus pulled the Shipbuilders back within a goal 22 seconds later, but Smith, Condon and Godbout answered by going tic-tac-toe, with Condon finding Smith as he charged the cage, to make it a two-goal game again with 49 seconds left in the period.
The Hawks opened the fourth quarter with another score, but officials waived it off because a player left the penalty box prematurely. Glazier made it a non-factor a little more than two minutes later by scooping up a ground ball behind the net and unleashing another underhanded shot past Thibodeau. A minute later, he scored in transition to make it 11-7.
“I had hit the post twice on a couple of good shots. I had a couple of bad shots, too,” Glazier said.
Bessette kept the momentum in the Hawks’ favor, and added to it a few times, with several nifty stick and kick saves. Morse didn’t score its eighth goal until Paulus finally beat him with 2:26 left and the game already out of reach, a span of 16:35 between scores.
“At first, I couldn’t really find it. But in the second half, I really got my game together,” Bessette said. “Something just clicked. I’ m not really sure what it was.”
“I’ve said it since day one, he’s one of the best in the state,” Stewart said. “It’s not just his ability to stop the ball. It’s his field smarts. It’s his ability to lead. He’s a gem to coach. He’s the heart of our defense, which has been one of the best in our conference (KVAC).”
The Hawks have lost all three previous meetings with Gardiner, two in overtime, including last Saturday’s conference title game (6-5).
“Gardiner’s a good team, but we’ve been coached well. We’ve been working hard all year,” Glazier said. “Maybe we just have to get a couple of bounces and play hard and we’ll come away with this one, hopefully.”
“I think if we play like we did in the KVACs, we can beat them,” Bessette said.
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