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OAKLAND — The Maranacook/Winthrop girls lacrossse team was a state champion a year ago and there has been little to suggest the Black Bears aren’t the team to beat again in 2026.

The Black Bears delivered another fine performance Monday night, earning a decisive victory over the first-place team one class above them.

Maranacook/Winthrop claimed an 18-8 victory over Messalonskee in a Class C-Class B showdown at Veterans Field. The Black Bears scored eight straight goals in the first half and improved to 10-0.

“We knew that it was going to be a tough game because they’re a class ahead of us, and they’re a super good team,” said Maranacook senior Alice Ferran. “We knew that we had to come in strong like we always do, and we do a good job in the beginning of hyping each other up.”

HOW THEY DID IT

• The Black Bears owned the first half. Stella Stewart and Mya St. Pierre scored late in the first quarter to give Maranacook/Winthrop a 4-1 lead entering the second. The Black Bears then scored the first six goals of the second to make it 10-1, ultimately taking an 11-2 lead to the break.

• Willow Woodford. Although Messalonskee (8-2) didn’t fail to pressure the goal, the Maranacook/Winthrop sophomore goaltender — playing just her second year of lacrosse — fended off the Eagles with 11 saves, many of them fine ones.

“She’s insane,” Stewart said of Woodford. “She was originally a softball catcher, but I am just so glad that she’s on our team … She’s progressed like crazy; the amount of progress she’s made in these two years has been unbelievable.”

• Balance. Five players — Ferran, Stella Stewart, Ingrid Stewart, Mya St. Pierre and Cooper Davis — scored at least three goals for Maranacook/Winthrop, which has scored at least 10 goals in every game this season.

STOPPING A RUN IN ITS TRACKS

If there’s any game where a big lead can become a small one quickly, it’s lacrosse. As well as Maranacook/Winthrop played, Messalonskee, which trailed 13-2 early in the third quarter, scored five straight goals to cut the deficit to six.

Yet Maranacook/Winthrop made sure Messalonskee wouldn’t get closer. The Black Bears responded with the next five goals — three in the first minute of the fourth quarter alone — to put a game that had been infused with a little more drama back in running time.

“That can happen fast in lacrosse, and we were on a downward spiral there for a quick minute, but they just got it back together and pushed from there,” said Maranacook/Winthrop coach Zach Stewart. “I’m just super proud of how hard they work; they never stopped fighting until the last second.”

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

“A lot of our players on this team also play soccer (Maranacook won the Class C state title in November) and basketball and multiple other sports. We’re multisport athletes, and that athleticism carries over in every sport that we play; not one of us plays just one thing and focuses only on that.” — Alice Ferran

STAT LEADERS

• Maranacook/Winthrop: Alice Ferran (four goals, two assists), Ingrid Stewart (four goals), Cooper Davis (three goals, four assists), Stella Stewart (three goals, three assists), Mya St. Pierre (three goals, assist), Willow Woodford (11 saves)

• Messalonskee: Chloe Masse, Grace McKay, Giuliana Roderick, Sophia Ventimiglia (two goals each), A.J. Pettengill (seven saves)

UP NEXT

• Maranacook/Winthrop: vs. Mt. Ararat, 3:30 p.m. Thursday

• Messalonskee: vs. Mt. Blue (5-4), 5:45 p.m. Friday