There were nothing but shouts and smiles all around for the Bishop Guertin girls lacrosse team, which routed Pinkerton 20-3 in the Division I championship game on Tuesday night in Exeter. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

EXETER – With about 14:10 left in Tuesday night’s Division I title bout with Pinkerton Academy, Bishop Guertin’s Maddy Keating scored her fourth goal, and then struck the pose.

The pose of a champion.

The Cardinals girls lacrosse team, which had been severely tested in Saturday night’s semifinal win over Bedford, had basically a walk in the park at Bill Ball Stadium in a stunning 20-3 championship win over the Astros.

“Winning this championship for a third time, being a senior, and getting up by so much so fast, and having those big time goals is such an awesome feeling,” said Keating. “We knew Pinkerton was going to be competition, so we came out swinging either way.”

There’s no way the 19-0 Cardinals could have expected their program’s fifth championship to be so one-sided, after three of the other four were won by one goal, and after what they had to fight through in the semis to get here.

“I think we realized we can come out flat, can’t take anything for granted,” said senior Lindsay Hult, who was on two title teams prior to this one. “We need to work for everything that comes our way. We really shifted our mindset for this game, and it paid off.”

“They pushed the fast break tonight,” Cards coach Leslie Why said. “They moved the ball. We’ve done a lot with passing patterns. … The fast break, and slow break.”

Gave Pinkerton no break.

“Just outgunned,” Pinkerton coach Rob Daziel said, his team ending an otherwise fine season at 17-5. “Simple as that.”

Wow, were they ever. Pinkerton took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Allison Lamphere 54 seconds in after winning the opening draw. That was followed by seven straight BG goals, the streak started by Rylee Bouvier and ending with Natalie Coutu, and it was 7-1 with 11:47 left in the first half. The Cards led 11-3 at halftime, and with the help of goalie Makenna Reekie (five saves), collectively pitched a shutout in the second half.

Yikes.

“We had watched a lot of film,” Why said. “And they had repeated some of the things in the film tonight. So we were able to crack that piece and were very specific in our game plan.”

And one of the specifics was to have Why, not the players, call the offensive plays and sets on the field in this game, after it was the athletes doing it all season long. “I’ve always believed it’s their game,” Why said. “I never thought about doing it before, because I never thought we needed to. But apparently it works.”

The Astros’ two other goals were by Abby Jowett, and they were without one of their leading scorers, Caroline Daziel, who tore her ACL a couple of weeks earlier. Still, the disparity was a surprise, given the Astros had closed to within two of the Cards in the last 10 minutes of their previous meeting, which ended in an 11-5 defeat.

“I was hoping today was going to be a little closer, that we could keep it close,” Daziel said. “But it is what it is. Tough to compete against 16 college commits.”

Many of whom figured in the BG scoring. After Keating, four Cardinals had hat tricks, including the team’s top scorer, Bouvier, and its mainstay of the last few years, Hult. Add Mimi Piercy to that list – all three also had an assist – while Nat Coutu is the fourth with two assists.

Steph Reap added two goals, while Katie Campel and Tess Prunier each had a goal and an assist. Anna Campbell and Kate Simpson each had assists.

“We did not take Pinkerton lightly, we know they’re a strong team with a lot of talent,” Bouvier said. “We wanted to leave it all on the field for our seniors, for our freshmen, sophomores, juniors. These are my 23 best friends. … We came out strong and played our best game when it mattered.”

A lot is always made of the Guertin offensive depth, but defensively they did a number on the Astros, swarming to whoever had the ball. Players like Frida Turriza, Delaney Ramalho, Emma Hayhurst and Kyla Pascucci, just to name a few, were tenacious.

“We worked on that, too,” Why said. “They (the Astros) have three or four key scoring players. And we realized pretty quickly, watching the film, if we just focus on them, we just sent the second double really quickly, and tried not to foul.”

For Hult, she and a few others close out their high school sports career with two titles in their senior season, as some, like Kate Simpson, were also on the BG girls hockey team that won the title in March.

“I think it’s like the best way to end,” Hult said. “I couldn’t imagine any other way. I’m so happy to be part of great teams all four years.”

This one may have been the greatest.

“We expected a big season,” Bouvier said. ” But nothing like this. Going 19-0 is a dream. We didn’t want to let up. It’s a perfect ending.”