Our Communities. Our Teams. Our Future.
We’re proud to make high school sports coverage free for everyone—because these moments matter. At Maine State Credit Union, we’re here for the people and places that make Maine strong. Let’s Go! Learn more at mainestatecu.org. 

WINDHAM — With top scorer Abby Trainor getting lots of attention from the Cheverus defense, the Windham girls lacrosse team relied on big contributions from Neve Ledbetter and Grace Joly to push their winning streak to 13 games with an 18-9 victory Thursday in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Ledbetter tallied seven goals, including four straight in the second quarter. That helped counteract the Stags’ decision to face guard Trainor, who scored her 200th career goal earlier this week.

Trainor finished with three goals and six assists. Joly scored four goals.

“I think, through thick and thin, I can always rely on the team, and when I need help, I can always have some outlet, too,” Ledbetter said. “We all play together on offense, I play midfield, personally, but we all play together on the whole field. I think that over the course of the week, we’ve been practicing so hard and we’re so close and bonded together that everyone knows the next move that we’re going to make.”

Ledbetter’s four consecutive goals were part of a seven-goal second quarter that gave the Eagles a commanding 11-3 halftime lead.

Windham (13-1), which is ranked fourth in the Varsity Maine poll and hasn’t lost since its season opener, heads into the Class A postseason as the No. 2 seed, while Cheverus (10-4) will likely be the fourth seed.

How the Eagles won

• Windham’s defense closed off strong shooting angles, and Cheverus struggled to generate ball movement in the first half. All three of the Stags’ first-half goals were scored by Sophia St. John off 8-meter shots.

• Fast breaks by Windham’s midfield off the draw circle disrupted Cheverus, allowing the Eagles to get off quick shots before the Stags’ zone defense was in place.

• Windham only placed four more shots on goal than Cheverus, 22-18, but Avery Adams finished with a 50% save rate, stopping nine shots.

“It’s easier to just stand really tall until you see the ball release from their stick, and then you go and make the save,” Adams said. “Sometimes it’s hard when they fake or when it bounces, but other than that, if you really can watch and everyone’s out of the way, not crowding near the crease, it’s really easy to see where the ball is heading.”

Statistical leaders

• Windham: Neve Ledbetter (seven goals, two assists), Grace Joly (four goals), Abby Trainor (three goals, six assists), Avery Adams (nine saves).

• Cheverus: Sophia St. John (four goals), Sophia Tamulevich (three goals).

They said it

• “Class A is a really impressive league and has come a long ways. I think, arguably, it’s the best league right now in the state. Look at the teams in it, they’re just tough.” — Windham coach Matt Perkins

• “We get our fair share of cards, we play aggressive and we play physical. We always try to play it within the bounds of the game and (with) sportsmanship. But, sometimes you can’t control that either, and that’s just an aspect of the game that happens.” — Cheverus coach Will Tuttle

• “There were some times I felt like they caught us a little bit where we weren’t set. We’ve got to work on that, obviously. (Cheverus is) really good, and in this game, you’re very handcuffed defensively; there’s a lot of rules that keep you from doing certain things on defense, and it’s part of the game for everybody that you get a challenge to figure out.” — Perkins