Waterford — There’s been a Stonington here and a Waterford there over the years, sure. Generally, though, the annual rhythms of boys’ lacrosse in this corner of the world are an East Lyme production.

Doesn’t mean it’s always easy, though. If it were easy, the old sports maxim goes, everybody would do it. But maybe that’s the best part of 2024 for the Vikings. It’s getting more difficult. And they won anyway.

Perhaps that’s why Gary Wight, East Lyme’s longtime coach, and Thursday night’s six-goal kid, Drew Sager, shared a long, meaningful embrace following the Vikings’ 10-7 win over Bacon Academy and the 2024 Eastern Connecticut Conference Tournament title.

“We had to work for it,” Wight said. “A lot of young players stepped up.”

Consider what Wight said in the middle of the season — not the typical dominant regular season the Vikings have enjoyed over the years.

“I've been coaching for a few years,” he said. “And I think the guys understand it's the legacy we have here. We've been pretty good for a few years. And it's just exciting that the other teams around us are getting better and competing.

“I think the league overall is getting stronger. Competition is getting better. You have teams like Fitch now. They're very good. Bacon's always a strong team. St. Bernard this year, too. It's exciting that the competition is getting stronger and deeper.”

Which is what made this sweeter. Sager, the Notre Dame-bound senior, scored five times in the first half, giving East Lyme a 6-5 lead at halftime. And then he put a bow on the title, scoring an insurance goal in the closing minutes.

“These were battles,” Sager said. “Fitch the other night (in the semifinals) was an absolute battle. So was this. Bacon and Fitch are phenomenal teams. We had to play our best.”

Sager’s goal with 2:11 left in the first half pulled East Lyme (12-6) even at 5-5. To that point, Jameson Pirro and Troy Johnson had combined to give Bacon (14-4) a 5-4 lead.

Jason Stahl and Juan Morales Jr. combined to push East Lyme’s lead to 8-5 in the third period, but Johnson and Ethan LoVetere scored in the final minute to pull Bacon within a goal.

Jack Campbell made it 9-7 with 8:21 left before Sager iced it.

“There were definitely some tough times during the year,” Sager said. “But we believed in each other from the beginning.”

m.dimauro@theday.com