Boys’ lacrosse: Lewiston takes down Messalonskee to reach regional final

Lewiston’s Roman Dennis breaks from a pack of Messalonskee defenders after having his helmet partially removed during the Blue Devils’ 15-11 victory in the Class A North semfinal at Don Roux Field on Saturday.

LEWISTON — The weight of Saturday’s game was not lost on the Lewiston boys’ lacrosse team.

With the season was on the line against rival Messalonskee in the Class A North semifinals, the Blue Devils seized a spot in the regional final by beating the Eagles 15-11 on Saturday at Don Roux Field.

“We strung together much more of a complete game today, and played a full four quarters,” Lewiston coach Ben Fournier said. “And that’s what happens when we play like we can.”

Adding importance to the Blue Devils was that Saturday’s game was the last sporting event on Don Roux Field. The dismantling of the stands and the adjacent baseball field have already begun, and in the near future the field will be a parking lot.

“A playoff game at home, and the last time playing on this field,” Lewiston junior Alex Rivet said. “We’ve been playing on this field (for a long time), I’ve been playing on this field since my freshman year. So many generations have been playing here.

“So I think we wanted to end on a good note. It’s better to end on a good note, especially if it’s the last time you’re going to play on something.”

Messalonskee, the third seed in A North, got on the scoreboard first with a goal by Connor Smith 55 seconds into the game.

Second-seeded Lewiston responded near the midway point of the opening quarter with goals 63 seconds apart by Sam Payne and Rivet to give the Blue Devils a 2-1 lead.

They took that lead and ran with it in the second quarter. Jayden Wilson scored, then eight seconds later Rivet scored, and 54 seconds after that Rivet’s third goal made it 5-1.

Goals by Garrett Poussard, Wilson again and Rivet again pushed the lead to 8-1 with 3:14 left in the first half.

“We were moving the ball well and cashing in our chances,” Fournier said.

The Blue Devils, who split the season series with the Eagles, looked like they were on their way to a big and fairly easy win.

However, by halftime, it was clear Messalonskee wasn’t going to allow anything to be easy.

The Eagles scored four times within a 2-minute, 7-second stretch to cut the lead to 8-5 before Wilson scored with three seconds left in the half to make it 9-5.

“Second quarter, that was a big one right there,” Messalonskee coach Tom Sheridan said. “We changed things around a little bit after that, but I think it was too much of a hill to climb. And then that goal at the end of the quarter kind of was a backbreaker, too.”

By the end of the third quarter, Lewiston’s lead was down to 10-8.

After he limped through the second and third quarters, Rivet dominated the fourth, scoring three of his game-high seven goals and assisting on another.

“Every time we got the ball in the box, it seemed like he would just get it and go to the net and score,” Poussard said. “Every sport he plays, he just seems to do that — hockey, lacrosse.”

Each time Messalonskee cut into its deficit, Lewiston responded and rebuilt the gap that separated the teams. Along with Rivet, Ben Bolduc and Wilson, who finished with four goals, also scored in the fourth quarter.

“We did really well at not letting them go on huge runs,” Fournier said. “They would score, and we would come answer back, and were able to hold onto our lead.”

Smith led the Eagles with four goals, while Austin Pelletier and Alden Balboni each added three.

“The kids didn’t quit,” Sheridan said. “They came fighting back every time.

“They’ve got a lot of pride in how they play, and they don’t want to lose.”

Now the Blue Devils (10-4) advance to face unbeaten Brunswick (14-0) in the A North final on Wednesday at Brunswick. The Dragons swept the season series with the Blue Devils.

“We finally put a full game together, so that was nice. We’ve been trying to do that all year — nice that came against Messo in the playoffs,” Poussard said.

“It was a good win. Gotta keep it rolling into Brunswick.”

Lewiston’s Roman Dennis (27) and Tanner Cortes (16) fight for a ground ball with Messalonskee’s Jonathan Kaherl, left, and Daniyal Gusmanov (24) during the Blue Devils’ 15-11 win over Messalonskee on Saturday.

Messalonskee’s Daniyal Gusmanov breaks away after winning a faceoff against Lewiston’s Roman Dennis during the Class A North semifinals on Saturday.

Tanner Cortes (16) hangs from the goal post as the Lewiston boys’ lacrosse team walks over to the scoreboard for a team photo following its win over Messalonskee in the Class A North semifinals at Don Roux Field on Saturday.

Lewiston’s Alex Rivet talks to teammate Gunnar Wade as they walk back on the field following a timeout in the fourth quarter of the Blue Devils’ 15-11 win over Messalonskee in the Class A North semifinals Saturday.

Lewiston’s Alex Rivet scores one of his three fourth-quarter goals as Messalonskee goalie Dawson Charles and defender Matthew Trembly close in. Rivet finished with seven goals in the Blue Devils’ 15-11 win in the Class A North semifinals Saturday at Don Roux Field.