AUGUSTA — The third time was the charm for the Belfast field hockey team.

Thanks to two second-half goals by Breanna Shorey, the No. 1 Lions beat No. 3 Leavitt 2-0 for the Class B North championship on Wednesday night at Fuller Field. Belfast (16-1-0) will meet Yarmouth, a 1-0 winner over Freeport in the B South title game, on Saturday at Edward Little High School in Auburn. It’s the first trip to the Class B final since 2016 for Belfast, which fell in the regional final the last two seasons.

“All along, we’ve been saying this is our year,” said Shorey, a senior who will be playing at Division II Saint Anselm in New Hampshire next season. “I’m really hoping that it (truly) is.”

Leavitt, led by senior goalie Isabella Westman, who had three saves, finished 13-4-1.

The Hornets, who lost 4-0 to Belfast in their lone regular-season matchup on Oct. 10, played excellent defense in the first half, keeping the Lions away from the cage without a single shot.

“We had to come out strong,” said Leavitt assistant coach Tara Giroux who, along with fellow assistant Taylor Eells, filled in for head coach Cathy Marston, who was in Auckland, New Zealand, playing for the USA Field Hockey over-50 team at the WMH World Cup. “We played them earlier this season, so we made some adjustments and it definitely showed. I think they worked really hard and just came up short.”

Leavitt, which outshot the Lions 2-0 in the first half, nearly had a goal with 9:06 remaining in the second quarter when senior forward Katie Sirois found room in front of the cage. Belfast goalie Nikki Shorey made an aggressive move, booting the ball away before Sirois could make a clean shot.

“We knew we were wearing (Leavitt) down,” Belfast head coach Jan Jackson said. “I was just like, ‘We need to go out and just put one in on them. Just keep pressuring. (Leavitt) was protecting their goalie very well.”

“We needed to keep the momentum going (in the second half),” Breanna Shorey said. “If we kept going, they would get tired. We knew we were capable of scoring, we just had to keep knocking on the door.”

Belfast managed to put the offensive pressure on in the third quarter, collecting four penalty corners. The Lions went up 1-0 with 3:12 left in the period on a breakaway as Breanna Shorey faked out Westman with a move to her left before nailing a backhand shot into the cage for the goal.

“Once I had the ball in my hand, I had the eye on the goal and I was like, ‘This is it, I’ve got to get it in the cage’,” Breanna Shorey said.

Leavitt appeared to tie the game with 4:18 left in the fourth quarter, but it was waved off as the shot was outside of the circle. Belfast took advantage of the opportunity on the ensuing possession as Breanna Shorey took a quick pass down the turf field, made a move to her right and nailed her shot past Westman for the final 2-0 score.

“I feel like we were probably looking for a call (on the play),” Giroux said. “When we got caught back on our heels, (Belfast) had a nice passing sequence. (Shorey) is their leading scorer, and when she gets one step ahead, she’s fast.”

With the win, Belfast has outscored opponents by a 100-11 margin, averaging 5.9 goals per game and enters the state final on a 14-game win streak.

Saturday will mark Belfast’s 15th trip to the Class B final in the program’s 51-year history. The Lions have won seven Class B championships, all under legendary coach Allen Holmes, who retired in 2012 with 432 wins and 13 regional titles. Belfast last won the state title in 2011, a 2-1 victory over York. Holmes, the father of Jan Jackson, was on hand Wednesday night, celebrating with players while wearing a classic dark blue Belfast letterman jacket.

“We’ve worked so hard for this moment, (we felt) this is our year,” Jackson said.

“We’ve made it here the past three years, we knew we just wanted it this time,” Breanna Shorey said. “No more second place.”