Goalie Piper Williams isn’t typically a cool, calm player, said Freeport High girls’ lacrosse coach Marcia Wood. The team calls Williams “Happy Feet” for her tendency to fidget in the goal crease.
But when the Falcons needed Williams to come up with big saves down the stretch on Monday, the happy feet were gone.
The senior helped the Falcons defeat North Yarmouth Academy, 7-5, in the Class C title game at Fitzpatrick Stadium. It’s the first state championship in girls’ lacrosse for Freeport (16-1), which was the runner-up two years ago in its first state final. NYA, the defending champ, ends the season at 11-6.
“I was pretty stressed out. I just wanted to get a couple big saves, get it back to our offense, and keep possession,” said Williams, who made eight saves.
With the Falcons holding a two-goal lead and just over four minutes left, Williams made a save on Leah Dube’s free possession shot. Even when she wasn’t making a save, Williams was able to get the ball behind or beside her net, then patiently wait for a teammate to get open to begin transition to offense.
“Not just saves, I think there were a few where she got the ball behind (the net) in our favor. She kept her composure,” Wood said. “Playoffs, she’s just another beast, and it’s awesome. So fun to watch.”
Both teams were patient with the ball throughout, hesitant to be aggressive and let the other gain control. Freeport led 3-2 at halftime, and NYA tied the game just 1:47 into the second half on a goal from Harper Fremont-Smith.
After going 12 minutes without a goal, the Falcons broke the tie, then gave themselves some breathing room with a four-goal outburst over three minutes. First, Kathleen Tracy scored a free-position goal at 22:17. Twenty seconds later, Lana DiRusso scored for a 5-3 lead. With 20:01 to play, Maddie Knight took a pass from Mia Levesque and scored, prompting the Panthers to call timeout. With 19:05 left, DiRusso’s free-position goal gave the Falcons a 7-3 lead.
The key to the offensive resurgence was eliminating the little mistakes the Falcons had made up to that point, Knight said, such as dropping passes or making poor ones.
“It was mostly a possession game, and we realized that,” said Knight, a senior captain. “We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. I think we played our best today.”
Vy Tran’s free possession goal with 10:04 left cut NYA’s deficit to 7-4. Tran scored again with 5:43 to play, but that was as close as the Panthers could get.
“They do not give up. They could’ve drained the tank already, and they’ll still keep fighting,” said NYA Coach Molly Moss-Stokes. “(Williams) played so incredibly well. I felt like it was us versus Piper a little bit. Our shots just weren’t going.”
Tracy and DiRusso each finished with two goals, while Levesque had a goal and two assists. Tran and Fremont-Smith scored twice for the Panthers. Anaya Roundy made seven saves for NYA.
Wood thought her team’s experience in big games was a factor.
“We don’t have many that were here in 2021, but we have a lot of girls who have been to a state game this year – hockey, field hockey, even Nordic in skiing,” Wood said. “So many people have been part of a tough game, I think everybody was ready. There weren’t many nerves.”
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