Gorham’s Abe Eaton and Cam Wright hashed a hat trick apiece in Westbrook on Wednesday night, leading the Rams to a 12-11 quarterfinal W over the Blazes. The Rams had scant time to celebrate, however, as the victory advanced them to Saturday’s semifinal against mighty South Portland. There they stumbled at last, falling 16-7 to the Riots, who moved on to Wednesday evening’s A West Final against No. 2 TA.

No. 5 Gorham vs. No. 4 Westbrook

Wednesday evening proved a beautiful playoff rematch of a beautiful regular season game between the Rams and the Blazes. But where Gorham succumbed to Westbrook 9-7 back on May 18, they emerged on top three weeks later.

“The first time we played [Westbrook], we made a lot of mistakes,” said Gorham head coach Dan Soule. “We learned a lot from film, really studied what we were doing wrong and what we were doing right, and it was nice to have that time off to prepare for these guys.

“These guys are a very, very good quality squad; hats off to them. It was a great game. Both sides played very hard, we just had the edge at the end.”

The teams tracked each other closely through all four quarters, and the advantage changed hands several times: Gorham led 4-3 after one, but Ryan Shackley gave Westbrook their first lead, 6-5, midway through the second. Ram Tristan Brunet soon tied things up again, but only until the start of the third, when Curtis Knapton put the Blazes back on top once more.

Knapton also brought Westbrook even with Gorham late in the fourth, 10-10. Then, however, the Rams notched a couple of quickies. The first was an ugly affair, the ball trickling past Blazes goalie Alex LeBlanc while he was splayed on the grass (hey, a goal’s a goal, right?), but the second…the second was a virtuoso display by Mike Susi, who sliced through the Westbrook defense for an unobstructed bullet past LeBlanc.

“They cashed in on a few more opportunities than we did,” said Westbrook head coach Josh Plowman. “That’s what it came down to.”

“Curtis Knapton stepped up big for us today, but it was a great team effort. That’s probably the best lacrosse game I think I’ve seen at the high school level, period.”

With 51 seconds to play, sly Shackley, loitering near Gorham keeper Carter Landry, whipped home one last Blazes point, but the Rams grabbed possession on the following faceoff and played keepaway until the final buzzer.

Knapton finished with four goals and two assists; Shackley had two goals, as did John Tibbetts. Grayson Post added a goal and two assists, Tommy Kostopolous one and one, and Noah Oliver one goal.

In addition to their three goals each, Eaton had one assist and Wright three. Brunet and Alex York had two goals and two assists each, and Susi had two goals.

The Blazes retire for the year at 9-4. Rather than getting down on themselves, however, they can look forward to next season, when they will return the vast majority of their outstanding roster. The Rams moved to 10-4, and moved on – to the towering challenge of South Portland.

No. 5. Gorham vs. No. 1 South Portland

The Riots controlled from the outset of the teams’ semifinal. Andrew Whipple found Jack Fiorini for South Portland’s first point, just 1:42 into the opening quarter. A minute and 10 seconds later, Whipple assisted Jake Angell for their second. Whipple followed up with two more assists, both to Andrews, before adding a goal of his own with just 6.2 seconds to play in the first.

In the second, the Rams doubled-down on both Jack Fiorini and Whipple, and slowed the Riots’ attack for a long stretch. Mike Susi gave Gorham their first point midway through the quarter, but soon enough, South Portland answered. Heavier coverage on Fiorini meant other talented Riots marksmen opened up.

Cam Wright had two goals and one assist for the Rams in the loss. Susi, Abe Eaton, Alex York, Tristan Brunet and Brett Stiles each had a goal, and York also had an assist. Gorham heads back to the sidelines till 2016 at 10-5.

Taylor Perkins charges upfield for the Rams.Westbrook’s Tommy Kostopolous and Gorham’s Matt Esposito chase after a loose ball.Noah Oliver carries the ball for Westbrook in their narrow loss to Gorham last Wednesday.Curtis Knapton carries for Westbrook; Mike Susi of Gorham launches into a check.Grayson Post skirts a Rams defender in Westbrook last Wednesday.Steve Shackley passes forward during Westbrook’s quarterfinal bout with Gorham last Wednesday.Ram Ryan Hamblen takes a swat at the Blazes’ Grayson Post.Abe Eaton ducks around a Blazes defender in Westbrook last Wednesday.Gorham’s Mike Susi levers into a shot at South Portland on Saturday.Boys lacrosse players are often told to pressure their opponents’ hands…but sometimes the chin gets in the way. South Portland’s Lucas Michaud collides with Gorham’s Alex York in the teams’ semifinal on Saturday.Cam Wright loses his footing trying to escape from heavy Riots defense.Gorham’s Mat Anderson harangues South Portlander Patrick Graff in the teams’ semifinal on Saturday.Gorham’s Mat Anderson guards Riots standout Andrew Whipple.South Portland’s Andrew Whipple elbows into Gorham defender Alex York.