After seeing his team overcome Thornton Academy in three nail-biting overtimes in Wednesday night’s Western Class A regional final, Massabesic girls lacrosse coach Brooks Bowen sat on his team’s bench, sipping on a blue Gatorade, cooling off and observing his team’s extended postgame celebrations on the field.

It was a moment to take in, but Bowen was already thinking ahead. So when asked about his team’s next opponent ”“ win or lose it’s last opponent of the season ”“ Bowen cracked a wry smile and said knowingly, and almost ironically, “Cheverus again.”

Yep, coach, it’s Cheverus again.

The Mustangs and Stags will convene on Fitzpatrick Stadium’s turf at 3 p.m. today, meeting on the final day of the high school sports season to contest the Class A state championship game for the second year in a row.

Cheverus came out on top in an 8-7 thriller last June 15, scoring three-straight goals down the stretch and then hanging on for dear life as Massabesic mounted a charge in the final minute, with only a last-ditch intervention by the Stags’ Emily Rodrigue robbing Karlie Pike of a great chance to send the game into overtime with three seconds to play.

It’s a defeat that has weighed on the Mustangs for each of the 371 days since, and Pike, who assisted on Alexis Foglio’s winner against the Golden Trojans on Wednesday, didn’t hesitate when asked for her thoughts on getting a second crack at Cheverus in the title game:

“Revenge. We were actually hoping for this. It really hurt last year and this year we knew what we have to do.”

Massabesic (14-1) has already done enough to top Cheverus (12-3) once this season, coming back from an early three-goal deficit and scoring the final two goals of the game to beat the Stags 12-10 on May 15 in Waterboro. But the Mustangs also won the regular season game between the teams last season, only to fall in the rematch when everything was on the line.

“That’s a season behind us,” Foglio said of that 12-10 win, when her defense against Cheverus standout Alex Logan played a major part. “Last year we beat them and then we lost, so it’s a level playing field now.”

Level playing field sums it up well.

The teams have met five times overall over the past four years, with three of those games decided by one goal, one by the two goals and the other by three goals. In total, Massabesic, which holds a 3-2 edge in the series, has scored 41 goals in those five games, while Cheverus has ”“ you guessed it ”“ also scored 41 goals in those contests as well.

“With Massabesic, it’s always been back and forth, and it’s fun to play teams like that because you’re always getting that challenge,” Cheverus coach Mallory Pelkey said.

“(Saturday’s) about who’s going to come out and play their top game, and our girls are looking forward to it. Just to get the chance to play them again and have a chance to get back what we lost in the regular season, it’s cool.”

Beyond the numbers, the two teams have similar, up-tempo styles, with quick-striking fast breaks and athletic, speedy players in midfield and attack. That makes taking care of the ball and winning the faceoff draws especially crucial, Bowen said.

“I think that when you look at Cheverus, there’s a lot of similarities in what we do, defensively and in transition especially,” Bowen said. “We need to control the tempo of the game. It’s probably going to be hot, and if you’re playing on turf you can probably add 15 degrees to that. So controlling the ball is going to be a big part.”

In last year’s state game, the Stags turned the ball over 20 times to the Mustangs’ 19 but won 10 of the 17 draws thanks to Logan. And in this year’s regular-season game, Massabesic again won the turnover battle, but also controlled the draw circle as Rayne Whitten won 17 of the 25 draws from Logan, including five straight during a crucial stretch in the first half as the Mustangs turned a 5-2 deficit into a 7-5 lead.

“We really just need to come out and protect the ball, make sure we’re passing it well and having good transitions,” said Pelkey. “It’s going to come down to defense. Who’s playing defense well, how both goalies are doing and how we’re protecting them.”

If there is some separation, it’s in the roads they traveled to get to today as the top seeds in their respective regions.

Cheverus ran through the arguably easier Eastern side of the playoff bracket, pounding Brunswick (20-5), Windham (14-8) and Messalonskee (13-7) to reach the title game.

Massabesic also had a blowout in its first game, beating Westbrook 12-0, but was tested by Marshwood in the semifinals (11-9) before scraping by Thornton 6-5.

In all, Massabesic has played in nine games decided by three goals or less this spring, going a sterling 8-1, while Cheverus has played in six such games with a 3-3 record.

So if today’s game is close, and if recent history is anything to go by it almost certainly will be, the Mustangs could have the slight advantage and get that revenge ”“ and that trophy ”“ they’ve been waiting more than a year to obtain.

“It’s been a real interesting season in terms of the hurdles and the obstacles along the way,” Bowen said. “We’ve played in about every situation imaginable throughout the course of this season.

“I don’t know if (Cheverus) feels the same, but the rematch is something we’ve been looking at for a while since we both made it into the tournament as the top seeds. We’re expecting a really close game.”

Pelkey confirmed that the Stags are also expecting a close game, and said she hopes her player’s experience ”“ Cheverus returned all but four girls from last year’s team, including all four who scored a goal in the title game ”“ will see them through if the pressure is on in the closing minutes.

“Regardless of winning states last year, it’s a whole new year,” Pelkey said. “But I think it’s good we have that background to come out a little bit more composed and a little more calm.

“We have that leadership, and we know how to pull out a win. Of course that doesn’t always happen, but we have that experience now and know what we have to do.”

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or cdunbar@journaltribune.com.