BATH – Mike Andreasen begged his soccer team to play like they were down a goal in a state championship game.

It wasn’t a hypothetical situation the Greely boys’ coach was presenting. That was the reality for the Rangers early in the second half Saturday in the Class A state championship game with unbeaten Hampden Academy. Down 2-0, the Rangers had gotten one goal back late in the first half but still had work to do.

The Rangers began to play with a sense of desperation. Eventually, Greely tied the game on a Jake Dawson goal and subsequently won it with a Greg Frost tally to seal the Rangers’ 3-2 victory. It was the fourth state crown for Greely and first since blanking Hampden 5-0 in 1998.

“I thought the second half belonged to us,” said Andreasen. “We played with some urgency. When you’re down two goals, you want to play like you’re down, which we clearly were.”

The Rangers (13-4-1) mounted a furious comeback in the second half, outshooting Hampden 12-1. Greely’s rally really began with a late first-half goal from Iain Eldredge. He headed home a Sam Burrell cross with 34 seconds left in the half.

“I call that the play of the game,” said Andreasen. “If its 2-0 at halftime, we’re done.”

The Rangers could sense it and the Broncos (17-1-1) were caught on their heels in the second half. With midfielder Peter Alexander out nursing an ankle injury, Hampden struggled to counter Greely’s pressure. Even when Alexander returned, the Broncos couldn’t thwart the Ranger rally.

“We just didn’t have the usual fire we have in the second half,” said Hampden coach Ryan Shaw. “We weren’t covering out wide, and that’s where they were developing their runs. That’s the way it goes.”

Greely even went to a trick it used in the playoffs last year. The Rangers moved goalkeeper Joe Monthey into the field briefly to help spark the offense. Sure enough, all the pressure paid off when Dawson’s low shot found the net with 11:53 left in regulation. It was Dawson’s first goal of his career.

After the tying goal, the Rangers had momentum and plenty of time remaining.

“I could feel it,” said Frost. “We still had 11 minutes left in the game. That’s a lot of time.”

A direct kick from about 25 yards away led to the game-winner. Frost typically alternates on free kicks with Alex Burnham. Frost got the nod on this kick because of his composure and accuracy. Frost proved it to be a wise choice. His shot snuck inside the right post with 6:14 remaining.

“I was just trying to curl it up over the wall,” said Frost, who finished with 10 goals this season. “It went right around the wall. The keeper covered it well. I thought it was going wide.”

Hampden took 2-0 lead in a span of just over two minutes late in the opening half. An Andre Cushing corner kick wasn’t cleared by Ranger defenders, and Alex Reynolds put it in with 9:33 left. Then with 7:26 remaining, a cross by Kongsuriya in the midfield was headed by Greely defender Bob Burgess. The ball skipped off his head into into the Greely goal inside the right post.