NAPLES

Over the first 10 minutes of Tuesday’s Class C high school lacrosse semifinal contest, fourth- seeded Freeport had control of the pace of play and held a 4- 2 lead against No. 1 Lake Region.

A well-timed timeout by the Lakers seemed to change the momentum, and the top seed finished strong en route to a 19- 8 victory.

Freeport ended its season with a 9- 5 record, while the Lakers, 12- 2, will take on second-seeded St. Dom’s on Friday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland in the inaugural Class C state championship. The game is slated to begin at 5 p.m.

The two- goal lead for the visitors was helped along by a strong start in possession. Taylor Dostie struck just 48 seconds into the game for the Falcons, and a three- goal run on goals by Taylor Rinaldi, Dostie and Rinaldi again had Freeport in control.

“Our start made us feel like we could do this, and we just had to try and keep it close. But unforced errors hurt, and they capitalized on them,” said Freeport coach Marcia Wood.

Lake Region battled back in the first half, using a three-goal burst in turning a 5- 5 deadlock into an 8-5 Lakers lead.

“ They scored two, we scored two, and our confidence went up a lot in the first half. But after the timeout, we kind of lost it and they took off,” said Rinaldi. They’re good. They won the draw controls, and we didn’t have a midfielder today (Allison Greuel, sick), which hurt.”

A goal by Rinaldi drew the Falcons within two at 8- 6, but Lake Region tallied twice in the late stages of the first half for a 10-6 halftime edge.

“ It was deflating. We have worked on defense so much, and this game is all about momentum,” Wood said.

“ We came out really nervous, with so many fans here, and we really wanted to get to the state championship,” said Lake Region standout Lindsey Keenan, who finished with four goals and six assists in the win. “ I thought after we shook off the nerves that we took off from there. Coming out, we didn’t know what to expect from Freeport. We played the guessing game for a little bit, but then we transitioned and played our game”

Of the two late first-half goals from teammates Melissa Bonenfant and Rachel Shanks, Keenan said, “We knew this game was ours.”

“ Those late goals changed things and killed our confidence. We still knew that we could do it, but the end of that half hurt,” Rinaldi said.

Lakers pull away

Freeport began the second half the same as it started the game, by getting the first goal. Rinaldi scored off a free position, giving her four goals.

But, there was no denying the Lakers, who reeled off three quick tallies over a two-minute period for a 13-7 advantage.

A goal by Freeport speedster Margaret Perrotta drew the Falcons to within five, but Lake Region settled in defensively, led by Bella Russo, who caused havoc by standing tall on Falcon charges toward Lakers goaltenders Maddie Nelson (six saves in the first half) and Emily Lake (three second-half stops).

On the offensive end, the Lakers closed the game by scoring the final six goals. A tally by Bonenfant, her fourth to go along with two assists, provided the hosts with a 10-goal advantage, forcing a running clock over the game’s final eight minutes. Shanks finished with five goals and two helpers in the win, while Mackenzie Siebert picked up a hat trick and Lauren Jakobs tallied two goals.

Perrotta had two goals and an assist for Freeport, while Dostie finished with two scores and Chloe Davidson two assists.

Wood loses a talented senior class — Maggie Murray, Rinaldi, Dostie, Davidson, Jessie Driscoll, Mikaela Dorsey, Emma Carter, Cameron Pasquale and Izzy Masison.

“ These girls played great. My seniors worked so hard, and we wanted this really bad. We have had some good wins. But, I know this is not what they wanted,” Wood said.

Pasquale and Piper Sherbert combined on seven saves in the Freeport cage.

No. 1 Lake Region 19, No. 4 Freeport 8

Class C Girls Lacrosse Semifinal

At Naples

Freeport — 6 2 — 8
Lake Region — 10 9 — 19
Goals — (F) Taylor Rinaldi 4, Margaret Perrotta 2, Taylor Dostie 2; (LR)
Lindsey Keenan 4, Melissa Bonenfant
4, Rachel Shanks 5, Mackenzie
Siebert 3, Lauren Jakobs 2, Shauna
Hancock.
Assists — (F) Chloe Davidson 2, Taylor Rinaldi, Margaret Perrotta; (LR)
Lindsey Keenan 6, Melissa Bonenfant
2, Rachel Shanks 2.
Shots — Lake Region 29, Freeport
17.
Saves — (F) Cameron Pasquale 4,
Piper Sherbert 3; (LR) Maddie Nelson
6, Emily Lake 3.
Draw controls — Freeport 15, Lake
Region 14.
Records — Lake Region 12-2,
Freeport 9-5.
Note — Freeport’s season is completed.

Today’s Area Playoff action

Softball
#6 Greely vs. #4 Morse, 3:30 p.m. at
Saint Joseph’s College in Standish
———
Boys Lacrosse
#3 Yarmouth at #2 Brunswick, 7 p.m.
———
Baseball
#2 Richmond vs. #1 Searsport, 3
p.m. at Saint Joseph’s College in
Standish.