Guilford — The East Lyme High School girls' lacrosse players came into the game believing they could score against Branford, having beaten the Hornets previously this season.

Just waiting for a possession Tuesday night seemed like torture at times for the Vikings.

“I think it could have been a different game if we could have gotten possession a little bit more,” East Lyme's Elena Hynes said. “When you're not getting the ball, it's something you've got to deal with.

“I think we came in really confident. We were playing really well. They got up on us a little quicker than we anticipated.”

Fourth-seeded Branford avenged a season-opening loss to No. 1 East Lyme with a 16-13 victory in the Class M state tournament semifinals at Guilford High School. It was the second straight season the Hornets ended East Lyme's season, beating the Vikings in last year's Class M quarterfinal round 15-6.

East Lyme defeated Branford 11-9 to open the 2017 season behind three goals and an assist from Hynes and two goals each from Steph deLaforcade, Hailey Gordon and Karlie Rowe.

This time, not only were the Vikings missing deLaforcade, their all-state center mid, who suffered a season-ending stress fracture about halfway through the season, they were minus two more key players as they tried to launch a second-half comeback Tuesday.

Sophomore defender Nancy Harrington injured her knee, getting leveled while scoring a first-half goal, and sophomore midfielder Julia Bates — a critical part of East Lyme's usually pinpoint transition game — was issued a second yellow card with 1 minute, 49 seconds to play in the first, disqualifying her for the remainder of the game.

“We were playing short-handed,” East Lyme coach Phil Schneider said. “Those were two players that have been key people for us all year.”

East Lyme got its first goal just 25 seconds into the game from Hailey Gordon, assisted by Hannah Gellar, but that would be the Vikings' only lead. Autumn McHenry tied the score for Branford just about a minute later and Sophie Spencer gave the Hornets the lead 27 seconds after that on her first of what would be an eight-goal performance.

Branford held a three-goal lead at 11-8 before a goal by Rowe on a significant heave by Hynes charging down the field beat the halftime buzzer to pull the Vikings within 11-9. Gordon then took the opening draw for the second half straight to the net to make it 11-10.

But Branford, as it did all game long, got possession off the draw and scored on a bouncer by Spencer just 21 seconds later. The Hornets increased the lead to as many as four at 15-11 and 16-12 and became a little more deliberate, playing keep-away from the Vikings, who uncharacteristically had trouble clearing the ball from their end of the field.

Branford advanced to meet No. 2 Pomperaug for the Class M championship Saturday at Law High School.

“We have just a completely different season,” Branford coach Jackie Ceccolini said of the turnaround against East Lyme. “Just our team offense, our team defense … that experience just pays off. We knew possession wins games. We fought for the 50-50 balls and our girls wanted revenge from the first game.”

Rowe finished with five goals for East Lyme, Hynes had three goals and two assists and Gordon had two goals.

East Lyme finished the season 18-3 with an Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I and ECC tournament title. The Vikings graduate three all-state picks in deLaforcade, Hynes (who will play next season at UConn) and goalie Alex Rose.

“I had the most amazing season with these girls,” said Hynes, who was emotional following the game, as were the rest of her teammates. “They are amazing people. Our team is a family. We deserved a better outcome, but they play us very hard and very well.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com