MANCHESTER — One goal separated the two teams, and Kearsarge of North Sutton appeared to have all the momentum. That's when Windham's Melissa Cino made her presence felt.

Cino, a sophomore, scored two timely goals late in the second half to propel Windham to a 15-10 triumph in the Division III girls lacrosse championship game Thursday night at Southern New Hampshire University.

Kearsarge had scored three consecutive goals to make it an 11-10 game when Cino scored twice in a 61-second span to give the Jaguars some breathing room. They were the only goals Cino scored in the contest.

“I tend to feed more than score,” Cino said. “They were definitely the biggest (goals) I've ever had. We just got the momentum on our side and went with it.”

Kayla Breton and Courtney Sweeney capped the scoring for the Jaguars, who outscored the Cougars, 9-4, in the second half.

“Those goals came at the right time,” Windham coach Jill Bartlett said. “They were really game-changing. She's a smart player and she's got a great lacrosse IQ. She's always looking to feed, but she recognizes when it's a good time to go. She is a pressure player.”

Cino also contributed a game-high five assists.

Top-seeded Windham, which beat second-seeded Kearsarge 12-11 during the regular season, finished 17-0. The Jaguars are a second-year program and posted a 7-8 record last year.

Kearsarge completed its season with a 14-2 record.

“I think that Windham was a better team, and the better team won,” Kearsarge coach Scott Slogic said. “We tried to crawl our way back in it. We got close, but when we started losing the draws we just couldn't keep up.”

Kearsarge senior Holly Pons, one of the team's leading scorers, suffered an injury in the first half that limited her playing time.

“We think she may have a broken finger,” Slogic said. “That really hurt us on draws.”

Windham freshman Ali Connors led all scorers with six goals. Breton, a senior, collected five.

The Jaguars received eight saves from goalkeeper Vittoria Cipollone.

Nine different players scored for Kearsarge. Meghan Everson is the only Kearsarge players who scored more than one goal.

Kearsarge goalie Morgan Galluzzo made six saves.

Kearsarge was the Division III runner-up in 2009 and 2010. The Cougars lost to Hollis-Brookline in the championship game each year.

It was a 6-6 game at halftime. Kearsarge scored the game's first two goals, but Windham led 4-1 and 5-3. Connors scored four of her six goals in the first 25 minutes.

“I always believed these girls were capable,” Bartlett said. “We worked hard to get here. I knew they had it in them.”

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Roger Brown may be reached at rbrown@unionleader.com.