BIDDEFORD — When John Gilliam fed Gavon Power for a goal midway through the third quarter it looked like Biddeford was going to get an easy victory in its boys lacrosse season opener Wednesday. Massabesic had other ideas, but the Mustangs could only draw even to send the game to overtime. It was in the extra period that Gilliam finally gave the Tigers that first victory, a 7-6 triumph at Waterhouse Field.

“I was hoping they would have put this one away a little bit more handily,” said Biddeford head coach Sean Foley, whose team led 5-1 after Power’s goal with three minutes left in the third.

Foley had every reason to think his team would keep pulling away, as Massabesic (0-2) struggled to execute on offense, while Gilliam and the Biddeford (1-0) attack started to find its stride.

But any momentum gained from Power’s goal was short-lived, as Cameron Roy scored for the Mustangs 25 seconds later. Branden Roy added a goal just over a minute later as Massabesic pulled within 5-3 heading into the fourth quarter.

“In the second half, they were hungry, came out firing and it showed up on the scoreboard,” said Massabesic head coach Matt Dearborn. “We’ve been working all week on how to set up our offense, and today they just did it and it worked.”

Kevin Nguyen scored for the Mustangs 29 seconds into the fourth and Branden Roy knotted the game at 5-5 midway through the period.

“They just stopped playing all of a sudden,” Foley said of his team. “I kept telling them ”˜you know, you’re going to regret this all season if you lose this one. This is one you should have, so take it.’”

Kyle Rhames put Biddeford back on top with just over two minutes to go, and that lead stood heading into the final minute of regulation.

The Tigers tried to play keep away and run the clock out, but the Mustangs pressured and forced a turnover, leading to a groundball recovery by Branden Roy, who muscled through the Biddeford defense and tied the game again with 21.5 seconds left.

“He’s huge for us,” Dearborn said of Branden Roy. “He’s our goal scorer. He’s our senior captain. He’s a great leader out there. He was getting the guys fired up in the third and the fourth. He was bringing it, and then the young guys follow.”

Roy’s heroics sent the game to sudden death overtime, and on a day with a multitude of sloppy play, the most unlikely of goals ended the game.

The ball bounced around in the neutral zone off the overtime-opening faceoff before the Tigers finally gained control. A pass made its way to Gilliam, who fired a one-timer that was contested by Massabesic goalie Larry Fournier. What initially looked like a stout defensive stand by Fournier turned into a slow roller that trickled past the keeper and into the back of the net.

Biddeford players rushed to congratulate Gilliam, who completed a hat trick with the game-winning goal.

“A win’s a win, that’s all I got to say at this point for this one,” said Foley. “It’s still early. We’ve just been out of the gym for a couple of practices. Everything should ”“ hopefully ”“ get a little bit better.”

Dearborn gave no fault to Fournier, who kept Biddeford at bay for much of the game while the Massabesic offense worked to find its groove.

“He was awesome. He’s been huge,” Dearborn said of Fournier. “I think he’s a stud. Our defense and our team revolves around our goalie.”

Branden Roy led all scorers with four goals. Cody Sevigny and Luke Gouldsbrough joined Gilliam, Power and Rhames as goal scorers for Biddeford. Chris Couillard made 19 saves in net for the Tigers.

— Sports Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext .323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.