TURNER – To figure out which team had the one-goal lead late in Saturday’s Western Class B field hockey semifinal at Leavitt Area High School, you simply needed to follow the flannels, blankets and beach towels.

Lake Region couldn’t seem to find enough layers among the baggage surrounding its bench. Leavitt, on the flip side, jumped around in its summer garb, smiled broadly and acted as if the 30-to-40 mile per hour wind gusts weren’t the least bit bothersome.

Of course, Courtney Erskine’s early goal probably had a warming effect. The sophomore scored off a rebound with 16:04 remaining in the first half, and it stood up for the No. 2 Hornets in a 1-0 triumph over the No. 3 Lakers.

“We still knew we had to keep going,” Erskine said.

Keep going the Hornets did, limiting Lake Region to one additional shot on goal prior to the half and allowing nothing within a zip code of the cage after intermission.

Kristen Capen made four early saves. After that, the defensive effort of Caroline Bochtler, Megan Miller, Katelyn Beeckel and Patti Pomerleau ensured that Capen was Leavitt’s loneliest player on this cold afternoon.

Leavitt (12-3-1) advanced to its first regional final in eight years. The Hornets will confront the York-Greely winner on Wednesday.

“It was a big goal,” said Leavitt coach Wanda Ward-MacLean. “Once you get ahead, you can’t stop playing, of course. But you no longer have to score, whereas they do.”

The Lakers (12-4) mustered few opportunities after a cluster of three penalty corners in the first 10 minutes of the game.

Shutting down Lake Region represents a satisfying reversal of fortune for the Hornets. Lake Region is a perennial power in the Western Maine Conference, while Leavitt now maintains its winning tradition in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference after many years in the Mountain Valley Conference.

They seem to cross paths as frequently as next-door rivals, however, and the Lakers have been somewhat of a nemesis to this particular swarm of Hornets. Lake Region eliminated Leavitt in last year’s Western B quarterfinals. Over they summer, the teams collided again in a scrimmage and left unfinished business in a 1-1 deadlock.

“This is fantastic. I haven’t seen anything this exciting since the Red Sox won the World Series,” Bochtler said. “That’s what it feels like. It feels like we just beat the Yankees to win the American League championship.”

Baseball teams wait out rain delays and outlast foul weather to win their titles, and field hockey isn’t without its quirks and interruptions. To complicate the biting chill, the game started one hour, eight minutes late when the second referee turned up absent.

The official didn’t know about the assignment until someone from Leavitt contacted her at home Saturday morning. A family member forgot to give her the message earlier in the week.

Both teams were sent back to the locker room while the missing official made the 40-minute commute. If anything, it probably helped Leavitt’s attention to detail.

“We just kicked back and listened to some music,” Miller said.

Kristina Hamaty made 14 saves for the Lakers. Leavitt nearly notched two additional goals, once rattling the post and later having one disallowed when the play was whistled dead just before it crossed the line. Kelsey Powers and Kayla Nowell also broke up numerous Leavitt bids in the Lakers’ defensive zone.