OAKLAND -- Messalonskee High School defender Mike Labrie ambled through the midfield area late in the fourth period, looking for an outlet pass to ignite the Eagles attack. The further Labrie carried the ball, the deeper he got into Cony High School territory.

A wide channel was open and Labrie took full advantage, blistering what would prove to be the game-winning goal into the back of the Rams net to help the Eagles to a 10-8 Class A boys lacrosse win Thursday afternoon.

"I was trying to get the ball out for the fastbreak," said Labrie, who scored his first goal of the season. "There was an opening and I kept on going, nobody picked me up."

Labrie's goal came with 5:31 remaining in the fourth period, giving Messalonskee a 9-8 lead. Mitch Bickford added an insurance goal with 2:58 left.

Messalonskee (4-2) opened the game scoring three goals in the first 48 seconds to take a 3-0 lead. Although Cony (3-4) never took the lead, it did manage to tie the game with 8:12 remaining when Justin Genest capped a four-goal rally by the Rams.

"Cony kept fighting back," Messalonskee coach Tom Sheridan said. "They deserve a lot of credit for coming back. We had a great opening to the game and played well throughout, moving the ball well and playing solid."

Four times during the game the Eagles opened up a respectable lead and each time the Rams battled back. Messalonskee took its biggest lead of the game, 8-4, late in the third period on a Justin Berkner one bouncer from the left side.

"The opening minute of the game was disappointing," Cony coach Andy Haskell said. "Our kids responded by coming back. They started to possess the ball and were working together as a unit."

Tyler Wrigley scored the first two goals of the game for Messalonskee and Chris Pelletier added the first of his three goals at 11:12 of the first period.

The Rams clawed back into the game by the end of the first period, cutting the margin to 5-3.

After a defensive second period, the Eagles held a 6-3 lead at halftime. They pushed it to 8-4 before Cony scored four straight goals to tie it early in the final period. Genest and Joe Gagnon figured prominently in the Rams comeback, and both finished with three goals.

"Cony made a good push at the end," said Labrie. "We battled as a team in the fourth period."

Cony goalkeeper Cam O'Brien finished with 12 saves on 39 Messalonskee shots, while Messalonskee keeper Chris DelGiudice made six saves on 27 Cony shots.