This weekend, the final three games of the U.S. girls’ scholastic lacrosse season will take places under the supervision of the Maine Principals’ Association.
For it is at Memorial Stadium in Portland, located near the source of the Fore River Estuary in between the main north-south interstates in the city, where the Class A, B, and C finals will take place tomorrow and Saturday. Each of these three games has its own story, its own set of personalities, good players, and coaches looking for a slice of immortality.
As a service to the U.S. lacrosse community, we’re providing capsule previews of all three matches for you. Whether you go to the game or watch on the NFHS Network, take a printout of these with you.
6/19, 5 p.m.: MPA Class B Final — Cumberland Greely (Maine) vs. Freeport (Maine) — Freeport won last year’s Class B championship, and is looking to repeat against a Greely outfit which won the 2024 state championship. This is the fourth straight season that Freeport is playing for a state championship. Not to be outdone, Greely will be playing its fifth state championship game this decade.
Both teams made this final thanks to timely surges in the state semis. Freeport had a five-goal outburst in the second quarter that opposing Oakland Messalonskee (Maine) could not counter. In the opposite half of the bracket, Greely scored six straight goals in the first half after Brunswick (Maine) scored the opener.
6/20, 10 a.m.: MPA Class C Final — Maranacook/Winthrop (Maine) vs. North Yarmouth (Maine) Academy — As what sometimes happens with small schools, Maranacook and Winthrop, two neighboring districts in Kennebec County, have been joining forces. Right now, the co-op team is in dreamland. The defending Class C champs are undefeated this season in 16 games, and have outscored their opponents 269-75. Senior Alice Ferran has been one of the key players for Maranacook/Winthrop.
Opposing the Black Bears is North Yarmouth Academy, which needed a four-goal comeback and an overtime game-winner from Kenlie Nadeau in a 7-6 win over Wells (Maine). In a regular-season match on May 12, Maranacook-Winthrop beat North Yarmouth by a 10-9 score. Despite the numbers generated by the top seed, I think NYA is not going to be afraid of a second meeting.
6/20, 3:30 p.m.: MPA Class A Final — Kennebunk (Maine) vs. Saco Thornton Academy (Maine) — One year ago, Kennebunk finished runners-up to Windham. Saturday, they look to ascend the final step on the medal stand. The top seeded Rams got by Portland Cheverus (Maine) 13-12 in overtime in the semifinals, and should be confident coming in. The program has won three state championships out of their four previous appearances in the final.
Thornton Academy lost a game on April 24th at Kennebunk by an 8-3 count, the lowest offensive output it has had this season. In every other game, the Golden Trojans have scored in double figures. A big part of this comes from center Oceanna LaMarre, who is not only a scorer, but a draw-taker of considerable skill. Her play in the semifinal led to Thornton taking an 8-1 lead just 16 minutes into the state semifinal against Windham, last year’s state champ. Thornton, if it wins, will have its first girls’ lacrosse state title in program history.