Massabesic attacker Brianna Stephenson goes in for a goal in the Mustang’s Class A quarterfinal matchup against Thornton Academy. Massabesic pulled away in the second half for a 14-10 win. (JASON GENDRON)

WATERBORO — Despite having two standout players in senior midfielders Skylar Renaud and Kenzy Ouellette, Massabesic girls’ lacrosse coach Brooks Bowen prefers to have a more balanced offensive attack.

That balance was on display Wednesday night in a Class B South quarterfinals match against Thornton Academy.

Renaud and Ouellette each scored three goals, five other Mustangs also scored, and  No. 2 seed Massabesic opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take down the No. 7 Golden Trojans 14-10.

“It makes it very hard to defend when you have multiple people,” said Bowen. “It’s really always been our philosophy (to spread it around). It’s too easy to shut down one or two girls, it’s difficult to shut down eight or nine.”

Thornton made things interesting in the first half behind the individual play of senior Catherine Henaire and sophomore Izzy White, who each scored three goals in the opening stanza, as the teams went into halftime knotted at 6-6. But Cailyn Forrester scored 42 seconds into the second half to jumpstart Massabesic’s (10-3) run.

Four minutes later, after a Thornton turnover, Ouellette took the ball down the right side of the field, went around the net to the left side and put one in the cage to make it 8-6. Massabesic slowly started to pull away as Forrester, Brianna Stephenson and Camryn Champlin each scored over a nine-minute stretch to make it 11-6 with 11:20 remaining.

“We had a chance to talk at halftime, and pretty much just reiterated what our game plan was coming into the game,” said Bowen. “But you still have to come out and execute.”

With just under 10 minutes remaining, it was Renaud’s turn to take over. The senior scored twice – one off of an assist from Ouellette and the other from the right side of the circle – to give Massabesic a 13-6 edge with 7:46 left.

“(Massabesic’s) a good team,” said Thornton coach Craig Agreste. “So, any advantage they get, they are going to make you hurt for the mistakes you make.”

Emily Jacobs scored the Mustangs’ final goal off an assist from Stephenson to make it 14-7 with  3:14 remaining.

Despite the game being firmly in Massabesic’s hands as the minutes ran down, Thornton (3-10) continued to fight as Henaire scored twice in a 19-second span. On her second goal, she evaded a pair of Massabesic defenders with a spin move and scored from just inside the circle to make it 14-9. Izzy White added another with 59 seconds left. Henaire finished with a game-high five goals and White added four.

Thornton Academy senior Catherine Henaire looks to make a move against Massabesic’s Emily Baker. Henaire finished with a game-high five goals for the Trojans. (JASON GENDRON)

“Cat’s been great all season,” said Agreste. “I expected her effort to be great today, and her and Izzy (White) played great today and kept us in it for most of it.”

Even though Massabesic enforced its will in the second half, Agreste was pleased with the way his team continued to compete despite being down, and praised his senior class (which includes Henaire) for the legacy they’ll leave on the program.

“They left their mark for sure,” he said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the way they went out, as far as the effort they gave.”

Massabesic moves on to face No. 3 Gorham (11-2) in the semifinals in Waterboro Saturday at 6 p.m. The Mustangs beat the Rams 6-2 back on May 28.

“(Gorham’s) athletic,” said Bowen. “We saw them under horrendous conditions at USM … I’m not really sure what that matchup looks like under better conditions, but I do know they’re athletic, tall, well-skilled, well-coached.”

Bowen saw much to be encouraged by in the second half against Thornton, but he knows his team will need a more complete effort to get past the Rams.

“We are going to have to improve tomorrow and Friday, and get back to some of the stuff we’ve been doing in order to compete and win.”