YARMOUTH — When it counted the most, the Waynflete boys’ lacrosse team played its best Tuesday.

The Flyers, backed by the solid goaltending of Will Hallett, rolled to a 15-8 victory against North Yarmouth Academy at Lewis Field.

Additional Photos

Waynflete goalie Will Hallett, right, makes one of his 24 saves Tuesday to stymie Matt Kibler of North Yarmouth Academy during Waynflete’s 15-8 victory. Waynflete is attempting to pass York and reach the postseason. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

Will Hallett of Waynflete holds his ground Tuesday to make a save in front of Phil Champoux of North Yarmouth Academy. Waynflete earned a 15-8 victory at Yarmouth. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

“This is the one we needed to put the punctuation mark on our season,” Waynflete Coach Bob Johnson said. “We’ve got a really good team, and I’ve told the kids it’s about getting the respect of the other teams and playing the way we really can play. This is the first game all season that we’ve put it together for the entire game.”

The victory kept Waynflete (7-3) in contention for a berth in the Western Class B tournament.  The top four teams in the region qualify, and the Flyers entered the game ranked fifth, right behind York in the Heal point standings.

It was the third consecutive loss for the Panthers, who are competing with Gardiner for the fifth and final playoff spot in Eastern Class B.
NYA (4-6) held a 32-26 edge in shots on goal, but Hallett made 24 saves to thoroughly frustrate the Panthers.

“He was really solid in the pipes,” NYA Coach Chris Carpentier said. “Like the last two games, we’re having trouble scoring. We didn’t get it done. We tried several different options, several different looks.”

Hallett stopped 7 of 8 shots in the first quarter. His quick release following most of his saves enabled the Flyers to make the transition to offense and helped them take a 5-1 lead less than six minutes into the game.

“There are two things I like about him,” Johnson said. “He makes the saves and then he makes the quick outlet pass. It sets off a lot of our fast breaks.”

NYA closed to 5-3 when Tim Millett scored the first two of his game-high five goals four minutes into the second quarter. But Waynflete scored three of the next four goals to take an 8-4 lead into halftime.

It was the first time the Waynflete seniors had beaten NYA in lacrosse.

“Everybody kept saying, ‘Will, you’re playing a great game!’ and I said  ‘It’s our game.’ ” Hallett said.

“We’ve been talking about this game for a long time. It was a huge game for us.”

Zander Majercik led the Flyers with four goals. Chris Burke and Matt Butler each had three goals and an assist. Josiah Baker-Connick scored three goals. Tuck Geoffrey added a goal and two assists. Luke Wendland scored, and Gabe Trautman and Miles Beaven each had an assist.

For the Panthers, Phil Champoux, Matt Kibler and Dylan Seely scored. Finn Haddock had an assist.

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at: pbetit@pressherald.com