LEWISTON—Elyse Caiazzo and Meredith Willard proved to be more than just an ordinary one-two scoring combination Wednesday.

The sophomores were a lethal duo as they combined on 11 goals to help 6th-seeded Cheverus oust No. 3 Lewiston with a 12-8 Class A East quarterfinal girls’ lacrosse playoff match.

The playoff tilt was held on the artificial turf field at Bates College once an afternoon rain burst left standing water at an already soaked surface at Lewiston High School.

The pair took turns in beating their defender one-on-one while their teammates cleared the area and allowed them the space to work their magic in offensive sets. Caiazzo found the back of the net six times and assisted on two other goals. As Cheverus (8-5) built a 6-3 lead at the end of the first half, Caiazzo had her hand in all six scores

Willard did her part, finishing with five goals and adding an assist.

“Last year as freshmen it was trial by error,” said Stags coach Jamie Chamberlain. “This year they’ve been more patient. Meredith’s just got pure speed and Elyse has the shiftiness.”

After Lewiston’s Kelsey Dumond tied the match at 2-2 with 8:14 to play in the first half, Caiazzo asserted herself with a pair of goals within 15 seconds. Both scores came of the faceoff as she collected the ball and raced down the right side. Each time she beat her defender in full stride before cutting into the middle and charging the net and firing shots past Blue Devil net minder Sam Cote (eight saves).

“It’s just basic and working really hard to get out quickly,” said Caiazzo of her ability to slip past defenders. “They played really good man-to-man and they’re aggressive. Sometimes you’d see an opening and you’d have to take it.”

Dumond’s three goals led the Blue Devils (11-2). Her second came with 7:24 remaining in the first half to close the gap to 4-3, but Willard and Caiazzo hooked up for a pair of scores in the crucial final 70 seconds before the break. Each assisted the other to give the Stags a 6-3 advantage.

“We had a lot of pregame jitters,” said Lewiston coach Butch Dow. “This program hasn’t gone to the playoffs in a while. To get to this point was a new experience for the girls.”

The first half was one of missed opportunities and turnovers for Lewiston. Four times a player cut to the net on a successful pass only to misfire or sail a shot wide of the net. The home squad also turned the ball over numerous times near midfield.

“Those were the jitters,” lamented Dow. “That first half we had a hard time adjusting. The girls just got desperate and we kind of fell out of our game plan.”

Lewiston held a big advantage in ball possession until late in the match when Cheverus began milking the clock. The advantage didn’t necessarily lead to offense as the Cheverus tight zone left little room to operate.

“We’ve been working really hard on our defense,” said Caiazzo. “We communicate a lot, we’re loud and we keep our sticks up.”

The Blue Devils made a run in the second half, tallying four of the first six goals with Natalie Rousseau scoring one and assisting on two others. She would finish with two goals and three assists.

With 11:57 left in the match, Rousseau set up offensively behind Cheverus keeper Hope Correia (six saves). She then threw a pass into traffic to a cutting Kayla Hamel who somehow caught the feed before burying a shot past Correia to pull the Blue Devils to within one at 8-7.

But that’s as close as the home team would come. Caiazzo connected on a clear out set. As she worked her way to the net, the Blue Devils slid a second player down to double team her. Caiazzo thwarted that strategy and put the Stags back up by two. Minutes later, it was Willard’s turn to go one-on-one as she beat her defender and gave the Stags an insurmountable three-goal lead with 5:19 to play.

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