PORTLAND — This time, there was no letdown for Kennebunk against Waynflete.

A year ago, the Rams held a four-goal lead against the Flyers at halftime, only to lose in triple overtime. On Thursday, Kennebunk held a four-goal lead again, but the Rams took care of business in the second half and won 8-4 in a WMC girls lacrosse game at the Fore River Athletic Complex.

“We just really wanted to come out really hard and beat them just because of the past two years,” said Kennebunk junior attacker Jenny Bush.

Bush admitted that the thought ran across her mind at halftime that Kennebunk (2-0) had the same seemingly comfortable lead last year, and she told herself to not be superstitious. Kennebunk head coach Annie Barker said she told her team at halftime that the lead wasn’t comfortable yet.

“You never can be comfortable here,” said Barker.

The Flyers (2-1) made sure the Rams didn’t get too comfortable to start the second half, as Beata Vest scored 1:28 into the frame to cut the Kennebunk lead to 6-3.

But unlike last year, when Kennebunk went scoreless in the second half after leading 5-1, the Rams made sure they put in some insurance goals.

Liv Sandford scored her second goal of the game less than five minutes in, then Bush tallied her third less than two minutes later.

“We knew we just had to keep pushing the offense,” said Bush. “After we scored one, I was like alright, we need to keep it going and not stop.”

The Kennebunk defense took over the rest of the way, holding Waynflete to just one more goal. The Rams held the Flyers scoreless for 17-minute stretches in both halves.

“We knew what to expect coming in. We practiced really hard this week on defense. Our zone is getting a lot stronger,” said Kennebunk senior defender Hannah Pepin.

“We kind of realized that there were a limited people that were going to be shooting, and so we recognized that early on and we told the defense that,” said Barker, who has a rebuilt defense that is “coming together.”

Adding to the defensive effort was goalie Bella Kudas, who made seven saves.

As in the second half, the Flyers got on the board first to open the game, as Christian Rowe scored 1:14 into the contest.

Kyra Schwartzman tied it for Kennebunk just over a minute later, but Rowe put the Flyers back on top 6:33 in.

It was all Rams for the rest of the first half, however, Carly Sandler tied the game back up nine minutes in and Bush put Kennebunk up for good one minute later.

Schwartzman and Bush both tallied second goals, and Sandford scored on a free position shot with one second on the clock in the first half.

“It definitely pumps us up a lot,” Pepin said of the win. “This will just help boost our confidence a little bit, and get us going for those other big games.”

Barker pointed to composure as a reason for Kennebunk’s downfall in last year’s game. It’s something the team worked on coming into this season, trying to right the wrongs from last year as well as preparing for having a target on its back as the favorite in Western Class B this year.

“I knew our team just had to be mentally focused for this game,” said Bush. “And we have to be mentally focused for every game going in.”

— Sports Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.