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The Thornton Academy boys lacrosse team heard all the hype about Falmouth.

The Golden Trojans knew Falmouth’s roster is full of all-Americans and NCAA Division I commits. They were also aware of the Navigator’s 28-game winning streak that included two regular-season blowouts over the Trojans, in April and June. And of course, they heard about the legacy Falmouth could cement as one of the best lacrosse teams in Maine history if it defended its Class A state championship.

The second-seeded Trojans didn’t care about any of that. Thornton took the early lead, stayed in front for almost the entire game and upset the top-ranked Navigators, 8-6, on Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

“We came in as the underdogs, but we all had faith,” Thornton junior goalie Colin Pennell said. “And I think at the end of the day, it came down to how much we believed in this team, how much we believed in the guys, and we just put our hearts and soul (into the game). I’m tired, exhausted, but we got the job done, so it doesn’t matter.”

Junior attacker Ben White added: “It just motivated us so much to the point where we just wanted everything. We just knew. Like the week before, we just knew. Our coach gave us a speech, and I think it just hyped us all up, and we knew that we were going to win this game.”

White led the Trojans with two goals and two assists, and Pennell stopped 16 shots, including 11 in the second half. It’s the third Class A title for Thornton (14-3), and the program’s first since back-to-back wins over Falmouth in 2018 and 2019.

Falmouth (16-1) won both regular-season matchups this year, 19-7 on April 17 and 19-6 on June 2, so Thornton coach Ryan Hersey knew he had to make some changes. Sophomore long-pole Grady Hersey moved to the face-off X, the defense strengthened its zone to shut down shooting lanes, and the Trojans used heavy pressure on its ride to force uncharacteristic Falmouth errors.

“We knew we could not run and gun with them,” Ryan Hersey said. “We knew we had to slow this game down. And we said if it’s over 10 goals, it doesn’t look good for us. So they executed our game plan very, very well. Slowed it down, made them come out and play us.”

The switch worked. In the first two minutes of the first quarter, Grady Hersey won two face-offs and White found Ben Knox and Will Edborg (two assists) for goals on the ensuing possessions. Senior attacker Jack DeLeo made it 3-0 with 2:23 left in the quarter.

Falmouth, which averaged 18.3 goals per game prior to Saturday and had not scored less than 14 all year, didn’t convert until Evan Yale (two goals, one assist) found the back of the net with 32.1 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

DeLeo scored again early in the second quarter but left the game shortly before halftime after being hit in the head. He did not return.

“We just needed to slow it down way more without (DeLeo), but I still thought we can do it without him because we have depth,” White said. “Just because Jackie’s one of the best players in Maine doesn’t mean we can’t find replacements for him. We still played out of our mind without him, and I feel like we just did it for him.”

Falmouth senior midfielder Gio Guerrette scored at the halftime buzzer to cut the deficit to two, and then scored twice more to the tie the game at 4-4 with 10:19 left in the third. Pennell, though, stopped the next six Falmouth shots and 10 of the next 12.

White put the Trojans back on top with 8:55 left in the third, and Grady Hersey scored nine seconds into the fourth quarter. White struck once more at 8:05 to give Thornton a 7-4 cushion.

Yale scored for Falmouth midway through the fourth, but Casey Fournier responded for Thornton with 2:26 remaining. Yale found Guerrette for another score with 35.1 seconds left, but the Navigators couldn’t finish the comeback.

Cameron Sinclair stopped 13 shots for Falmouth.

“They just completely slowed it down,” Falmouth coach Dave Barton said. “And credit to them, that’s how I would defend us, too, and it’s the right thing to do. We just didn’t get the possessions we’re used to, and probably half the shots were used to. … We knew what we wanted the game to look like, and we just couldn’t speed it up to play at our pace.”