East Lyme — There were 45 signs of encouragement hanging in front of the home bleachers Thursday night at East Lyme High School, testimony to the impact of this senior class … and all the external pressures facing the girls’ soccer team.

Senior Night, division title on the line and a potential career scoring record for a young woman who will go down as one of the all-timers in Vikings Lore and Legend.

And what a night. In order:

The seniors went home happy, the Vikings clinched the Division I title within the Eastern Connecticut Conference and senior Stephanie deLaforcade illustrated exactly why she’s headed to Maryland.

DeLaforcade scored four times and set the school record during East Lyme’s 6-2 victory.

She has 33 goals and counting. Last year, deLaforcade tied the East Lyme single-season record of 30, originally set by Kim Hartzler in 1992.

“For the most part I just tried to relax,” deLaforcade said. “I play better when I’m focused on what’s in front of me and not all those other things, even though they are important.”

She scored three times in the first half in a game that was never in doubt for East Lyme, 12-1-1 overall, 7-0 in the division and ranked 10th in the state Class LL/L poll. NFA is 6-6-1, 5-2 and was bidding to tie the Vikings for first place.

“I’m so happy I’ve had the training to do all this,” deLaforcade said. “And there’s not a single girl I can’t thank for helping and being a great teammate.”

Her attitude mirrors exactly what coach Rachel Redding is trying to teach. This may have been a historic night. But to Redding, it was just another one.

“I have to be honest,” she said. “I didn’t even know the division title was on the line. One of my assistants mentioned it to me. I didn’t even tell (the kids). We play game to game.”

Hannah Belleville scored twice for the Vikings, who led 4-0 at halftime. Maybe the game’s best play came in the second half, though, when deLaforcade’s final goal came on a shot she tucked into the left post.

“Steph never wants the attention on her,” Redding said. “She’s always thanking her teammates. That’s what is so enjoyable about this team. They listen. They are very coachable.”

m.dimauro@theday.com