Stonington — Things weren’t looking particularly rosy for Stonington at halftime Friday afternoon having been outplayed by Lauralton Hall and trailing by four goals.

The Bears’ prospects seemed even worse when four players, including two starters, left to prepare for the junior prom.

Somehow, someway Stonington gave itself a chance to win its CIAC Class S girls' lacrosse quarterfinal. The Bears managed to get within two goals of the Crusaders twice but lost, 13-11.

Senior Ivy Goodman had a game-high six goals with an assist for the sixth-seeded Bears (15-6), who won the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II regular season title.

“I was very proud of how they went out in the second half,” Stonington head coach Jeff Medeiros said. “The junior prom ended up being an issue, but it fired them up and they went out and they played a great second half. And we almost came back.”

Lauralton Hall was seeded 14th and began the tournament 8-8. The Crusaders have since beaten No. 19 Somers in the qualifying round (18-10, May 28), third-seeded Valley Regional (14-7, May 31) and Stonington.

“I think as the season progressed that we’ve really found our niche,” Lauralton Hall head coach Meg Carney said. “From the beginning of the season battling so many injuries like we did to now, these girls have worked their butts off, and we’ve really come together at the end.”

Lauralton will play No. 2 Old Saybrook, the Shoreline Conference champion, in Tuesday’s semifinals. The Rams beat another Shoreline team, No. 7 North Branford, 15-13 in their quarterfinal.

Sophomore Charlotte Michener had five goals and two assists and senior Anna Garate had four assists and a goal for the Crusaders. Classmate Morgan White also scored three times and sophomore Marina Pinto added six saves, including some key stops on close-range shots.

“She saved our butts a couple of times,” Carney said.

Freshman Emma Logel had three goals, sophomore Gabriella Dimock scored twice and senior Lauren Goebel added an assist for Stonington.

Lauralton outshot the Bears, 27-20.

“They were winning the 50-50 balls all day and that was really the difference because I think we’re evenly matched teams,” Medeiros said. “Every time I called a timeout, I’m like, ‘We’re battling (for ground balls) and they’re winning them. We have to win those draws.’

“We lost the game on draws in the first half. We lost the battle of ground balls in the first half.”

The Bears trailed by as much as 9-3 with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left in the first half.

Logel scored twice to end the half, the second goal coming with only a second left in the half.

“I’m proud of the way they played in the second half,” Medeiros said. “They were great in the second half.”

n.griffen@theday.com