She may feature the best combination of skill and experience of any lacrosse player in the Class A state championship game Saturday.
It’s possible that senior midfielder Maquila Dimastrantonio of Massabesic won’t score a goal. But when the Mustangs play Messalonskee for the girls’ championship at 10 a.m. at Fitzpatrick Stadium, she’s likely to serve as a great distraction.
Massabesic (14-1), the second seed out of the South, is going for its third state title, its last coming two years ago. Messalonskee (13-1), the North’s top seed, is making its second straight title game appearance after losing to Marshwood 13-5 last year.
Massabesic beat top-seeded Marshwood 7-6 in the South title game Wednesday. Dimastrantonio scored the Mustangs’ first two goals and watched her teammates get the rest.
“You can’t give too much attention to one of their players,” said Marshwood Coach Bernie Marvin. “It’s like trying to take one leg out of the table. They’re 14-1. There’s a reason for that.”
Still, Marshwood did try to contain Dimastrantonio, only to see Madison Drain score four times and Josie Ring put in the winner.
“I think my job was to distract everybody and let my teammates go to work because they’re all talented,” Dimastrantonio said.
“I was surprised I had two goals. They had me marked up pretty well. … I try to pull traffic so when I cut, everyone is saying ‘She’s cutting, she’s cutting,’ and it draws (defenders) away.”
Indeed, Dimastrantonio was cutting – with defenders wary of her – when Ring saw an opening and crashed in with the winner.
“Maquila makes it possible for a lot of girls to score,” Coach Brooks Bowen said. “She has tremendous stick skills. She has good vision. When she moves her feet, she’s slippery.
“She creates opportunities for others.”
Dimastrantonio almost didn’t get an opportunity to play lacrosse. She thought about it in sixth grade but a stress fracture in her back prevented her. She gave up on the idea until high school.
After a freshman year on the junior varsity, Dimastrantonio has been a varsity player to watch. She will attend Division II St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, and plans to play lacrosse and run cross country. In last fall’s state Class A cross country meet, she finished 25th in 21 minutes, 15.65 seconds over 3.1 miles.
Dimastrantonio handles the ball well and plays like a veteran. She has one more advantage: she’s 5-foot-8 and dominant on the draws.
She’s adept at getting the ball in the air and reaching it before her opponent, or knocking it to a teammate, usually Drain. Against Marshwood, Dimastrantonio won possession in all but two of the 15 draws.
“She’s excellent,” Marvin said. “We have to get it on the ground because we’re not going to win it against that kid.”
Dimastrantonio will look to dominate the draws again Saturday. She’ll try to score, but her most effective threat may simply be her presence. Defenders cannot ignore her but other Mustangs will be ready to pounce when given the chance.
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