Fairfield – Coach Phil Schneider gathered his East Lyme girls’ lacrosse team for the final time this season in the corner of the turf field Sunday at Sacred Heart University.

It was an emotional scene.

Minutes earlier, the top-seeded Vikings accepted their Class M state tournament runner-up trophy, a terrific accomplishment but not the prize that they wanted.

Tears flowed as Schneider thanked the senior class, the foundation of the program in recent years. He also reminded them about their accomplishments this season. They went undefeated in the Eastern Connecticut Conference and posted a 20-2 overall record.

“This one game doesn’t define the season we had or diminish our accomplishments,” Schneider said. “We had a great season. We didn’t play well enough to win today.”

The day belonged to third-seeded Guilford, which captured its third straight state title with a convincing 11-4 victory.

“It’s always hard to come and just fall short on the last game of our season,” said senior captain Abbie Belleville. “But I’m so proud of our team. We made it so far this season. We worked hard all season.”

The Vikings won the regular season meeting, 10-9, on April 19.

The Grizzlies were the better team on Sunday, controlling the game with a patient attack and finishing many of their prime chances. They scored the first five goals and never looked back.

“Our postseason play has been really fabulous,” Guilford coach Wendy Epke said. “It feels awesome. I know we’ve had a lot of winning, but to win three times in a row – I think we’re the first M class school to ever do that – it feels really good.”

The first 15 minutes set the tone.

The Vikings struggled to maintain possession and failed to take advantage when the Grizzlies picked up a two-minute penalty about a minute and a half into the game.

Junior Payton Root put Guilford on the board, firing in a shot from the free position. Root repeated the feat at the 16:19 mark to make it 2-0.

Guilford never lost control of the game, building a 6-1 lead by halftime. Belleville had East Lyme’s only goal, firing one in off the free position.

“We knew that they were going to be good,” Schneider said. “We just didn’t get a lot of opportunities in the first half. It’s been kind of building the last couple of games. We haven’t valued possession of the ball as much as we needed to. When you do that against a team like this, it comes back to you.

“When they’re converting on free positions and scoring, and we’re throwing the ball away or getting the ball knocked down, it makes a difference in the game. I told them at half that they weren’t five goals better than us, they were five goals better on the scoreboard.”

East Lyme attempted to mount a comeback early in the second half. Senior captain Meg Nagle and senior Izzy Pazzaglia scored two minutes apart to cut the deficit to 6-3. It was Pazzaglia’s second goal of the game.

But the Grizzlies answered and finished off the Vikings. Root and Santa Barbara scored five goals apiece for the winners.

Guilford’s state championship game experience was a factor, according to Schneider. East Lyme last appeared in a final in 2019 and raised the winner’s trophy.

“Our players were eighth graders when we won in 2019, so this is their first opportunity,” Schneider said. “(Guilford) has been here the last three years. Experience does have a factor. We’ve had big games this year that we stepped up and played, but nothing like this. This is the championship game.”

Schneider’s message to the team: honor the departing senior class by working hard during the offseason and showing up ready to go next season.

“We want this program to continue to move forward and be in this position again,” Schneider said.

g.keefe@theday.com