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TOPSHAM — The Mt. Ararat boys lacrosse team trailed by six goals in the second quarter of its season opener Friday against Morse. Coach Jason Lachance never felt the Eagles were out of the game. Neither did his players.

Mt. Ararat rallied and earned a 14-13 win when midfielder Joey Beaucage scored with 4.4 seconds left. The faceoff specialist collected a shot that ricocheted off the goalie stick of Morse freshman Thomas Totman (24 saves) before sending an 18-yard skip shot into the left side of the net.

“That last game-winning shot, that was really just our teammates all working together,” Beaucage said. “We just pulled it off for that win.”

“We dug ourselves a hole, but we got right back out of it,” said junior midfielder Phoenix Norton, whose sixth goal of the game tied it with 22.1 seconds remaining.

How it happened

• Austin Wood scored a pair of goals, Taber Gale and Lawson Mayer also scored, and Morse got another goal when a ball deflected into the net out of a scrum, leading to a 5-1 advantage. Levi Keller added a pair of goals to extend the margin to 7-1 with 8:37 left in the second quarter.

• Brennan Fitzpatrick, Norton and Nolan Greenleaf helped Mt. Ararat close the gap, but Wood scored twice within 10 seconds and the Shipbuilders took a 9-4 lead into halftime.

• The Eagles struck first out of the break with renewed energy in the attack. Goalie Jack Young, who sat the first half because of illness, pushed the ball upfield multiple times after saves, pressuring the Shipbuilders’ young defense. Mt. Ararat got within two twice, but Morse responded with goals each time.

• The teams traded scores again to open the final quarter, with Morse maintaining a three-goal lead. Physical defense helped Mt. Ararat string together four goals in the final 4:15, however.

Statistical leaders

• Morse: Austin Wood (five goals, two assists), Taber Gale (three goals), Levi Keller (two goals), Sawyer Wright (two assists), Thomas Totman (24 saves)

• Mt. Ararat: Phoenix Norton (six goals, one assist), Joey Beaucage (two goals, two assists), Brennan Fitzpatrick (two goals, two assists), Sam Chi (five saves), Jack Young (five saves)

Notable quotables

• “They just got way more possessions in the second half. I think they kind of beat us up at the faceoff X and were able to control the wall a little bit more. (We) kind of ran out of speed, I don’t know, we got a little tired. I think it showed toward the end of it.” — Morse coach Cooper Quenneville

• “It was just maintaining that momentum that we had. The guys really recognized the fact that we needed to get our passes on the sticks, and I think the biggest thing was just them working as a team, coming together in that last couple minutes, and understanding that we still had an opportunity to win that game. And that’s what we went and did.” — Mt. Ararat coach Jason Lachance