RICHMOND – All three times Rangeley encountered Richmond in girls’ soccer competition this fall, the outnumbered Lakers packed in their defense with the hope of limiting the explosive Bobcats to half a field.

And every time it worked. For half a game.

Stymied and held scoreless before intermission Tuesday, top-seeded Richmond finally solved Rangeley’s “bunker defense” when Amy Russell struck gold 36 seconds into the second half. The Bobcats blasted home a bunch more and wound up 5-0 winners in a weird Western Class D semifinal.

Mud and cold weather were the only dramatic differences between this rematch and two September encounters in the East-West Conference. Richmond led each of the regular-season clashes by a tenuous 1-0 margin and won both going away, 6-0 and 5-0.

“I don’t think there are many teams in this league that can say they kept Richmond that close for a half,” said Rangeley coach Phil Olivieri. “The quick goal did us in. Maybe if we could have kept them off the board for another 20 minutes into the half, our mindset might have been a little different.”

No. 4 Rangeley (8-7-1) played the equivalent of a basketball zone defense, loading nine players in the box in front of goalkeeper Krista Jamison whenever Richmond lodged a scoring threat.

The Lakers gave themselves extra insurance by shifting sweeper Hayley White behind Jamison, just in front of the goal line. White frustrated the Bobcats (14-1) by making a half-dozen kick saves to complement Jamison’s 21 stops.

White played a similar role in Rangeley’s quarterfinal win over Greater Portland Christian, clearing one certain goal and paving the way to the Lakers’ 2-1 win.

“I was joking with the girls in the first half that she must’ve already had four or five saves by herself,” said Richmond coach Troy Kendrick.

Once Russell cashed in Katie Cray’s throw-in to put the Bobcats on the board, however, it solved the riddle. Russell scored twice and assisted Shelby Hurley in the first 16 minutes. Hurley converted a crossing pass from Melanie Schanck for her second goal, and Schanck applied the finishing touches with an unassisted tally in the final two minutes.

Richmond rolled up a whopping 50-2 advantage in shots on goal.

“I was really frustrated,” Russell said. “I knew somebody had to score to get us going, but I didn’t expect it to be me. I haven’t been much of a scorer.”

There lies the distinct difference between the two programs. While Richmond has myriad options, Rangeley made its longshot bid with only one substitute player on its bench.

“It’s kind of like the way our girls’ basketball team plays basketball all summer long,” Olivieri said. “(Richmond) plays 17 soccer games on a regulation field before we play our first scrimmage. I’ve seen it from coaching baseball, also. Their kids are clinically tough.”