LEWISTON — Seeing his team come together just in time for the postseason has put a large smile on Windham coach Peter Small’s face.
The sixth-ranked Eagles set the tempo of a Class A North boys lacrosse semifinal game and overpowered No. 2 Lewiston with a 17-3 victory on Friday night.
“I think this season we had a schedule that seasoned us pretty well,” Small said. “We played a lot of teams that showed us a lot of resistance. So we had to adjust, and I think over time, we did. I think we are jelling at the right time.
“I think we are moving the ball better than we have all season, so those type of the things hopefully help us move it forward. Lewiston came out sharp. We had seen them already. We had played them in preseason. I think they are a well-coached, well-disciplined team.”
Windham next faces top-seeded Falmouth, which defeated No. 4 Oxford Hills 20-1 on Friday, in the A North final Tuesday.
Holden Anderson, Alex Yeaton and Connor Cummings all turned in hat tricks Friday for the Eagles, who quickly built a 12-2 lead by halftime. William Woolston scored two goals.
Nolan Brennan, Sam Glicos, Travis Brown, Derek Palow, Hunter Vail and Tobias Perkins each added a goal for Windham.
“I got a little nervous when (Lewiston) scored two quick (goals) and made it 4-2,” Anderson said. “Someone called a timeout and there was a stop in play and we kind of just rallied and got the momentum going (in the second quarter) and we didn’t take our foot off the gas the rest of the game. So it felt good.”
Anderson said the Eagles have gotten their act together just in time for the playoffs.
“I am just proud. The boys are coming together. We are peaking,” he added.
Windham’s lead at the end of the first quarter was 4-1 thanks to a pair of goals from Woolston and one each from Anderson and Yeaton. Eli Bigelow scored Lewiston’s first goal near the end of the first, and he added another early in the second to cut the deficit to 4-2.
Then the Eagles flew the coop with an eight-goal uprising, with Yeaton scoring two of his three goals.
Windham cruised into the second half with a 12-2 lead.
“Windham is a very good team. Their offense is very, very skilled,” Lewiston coach Ben Fournier said. “They move the ball around well and the capitalized on their opportunities. They played a very solid lacrosse game tonight.
“My guys, the effort was definitely there. I couldn’t ask more from them. But sometimes, we just fall short.”
The Eagles built a 12-goal lead in the third quarter in spite of a Lewiston’s third goal from Bryce Dufour. That 12-goal lead meant the clock ran rest of the way.
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