Stonington — East Lyme has mowed down Eastern Connecticut Conference competition, regularly winning by comfortable margins.

The Vikings haven't lost to a conference opponent since the opening game of the 2014 season.

There appears to be no end in sight to their dominance, as top-seeded East Lyme rolled into the conference tournament championship game with an 18-8 win over No. 4 Stonington in Tuesday's girls' lacrosse semifinal.

East Lyme (14-3) will face first-time finalist Bacon Academy, the No. 3 seed, at 7 p.m. Thursday at East Lyme High School. The Bobcats rode a second half surge to beat No. 2 Waterford, 14-8, in the first semifinal at Stonington High School.

The Vikings swept the regular season series, taking both games by 17-7 scores. Coach Phil Schneider says they can't afford to take any team for granted.

"Teams are going to come and give us their best game every time we step on the field," Schneider said. "We just have to play our best game and it took us a half to settle in and figure things out.

"... (Bacon) is not going to roll over. They want to be champions as much as we want to be champions. We can't take anybody lightly at this point because if you do, you go home."

It will be difficult to knock off the Vikings, who'll be shooting for their 10th straight tournament title.

Stonington (12-5) looked in good position, using a quick-strike attack to seize a 6-3 lead. Senior Hannah Johnson scored three goals and freshman Hannah Lamb added two.

The Vikings didn't panic.

"We definitely got a little nervous," junior Elena Hynes, a transfer from Northwest Catholic. "But you've got to keep your teammates motivated and know you can come back. Lacrosse is a high scoring game."

The lead didn't last.

By halftime, East Lyme had surged in front, 9-7, taking the lead for good with 34.4 seconds left on junior Stephanie deLaforcade's great individual effort.

An East Lyme blitz at the start of the second half generated four straight goals in roughly a two-minute span, increasing the lead to 13-7.

Senior Stacey Brodeur's strike capped the outburst, as she scored off a nice feed from Hynes, who contributed five goals and three assists. DeLaforcade finished with four goals and three assists.

Stonington coach Jeff Medeiros wished the game lasted just 25 minutes.

"We got off to a great start and played the way we wanted to play," Medeiros said. "East Lyme is a very talented team and they jumped down our throats in the second half. A penalty put us a man down and they score so quickly. Next thing you know, we're down by six."

Stonington actually dealt East Lyme its last ECC loss, 13-12, in 2014.

The first semifinal followed a similar pattern as the second game.

Waterford roared out to a 4-1 lead about 10 minutes into the game. Junior Mary Grace Wyatt curled around the front of the net and scored to create a three-goal cushion.

But Bacon grabbed the momentum, scoring five straight goals. Sophomore Molly Kelly's goal handed her team a 6-4 edge.

The Bobcats opened the second half with four straight goals, two by senior Emily Armstrong, and then closed it out from there.

"Bacon is an excellent team," Waterford coach Audrey Montanaro said. "This was very similar to the first time we saw them this season. ... We played with them the whole first half and then something changed in them and they picked things up and we weren't able to keep up."

It was a breakthrough victory for the Bobcats, who qualified for the ECC tournament for the first time.

"It's exciting," Bacon coach Chris Faulkner said. "It's a huge step for our program."

g.keefe@theday.com