The Mepham girls lacrosse team is playing its best at the exact time of the season you want to be. After an inconsistent start, the Pirates entered the playoffs with five wins over their last six games and wanted to carry that success into a postseason matchup against an intra-district rival.

The Pirates achieved just that as fifth-seeded Mepham defeated host No. 4 Calhoun, 12-9, in the girls lacrosse Nassau Class B quarterfinals on Friday. Grace Skulavik led Mepham with four goals as Sierra Barbosa and Leah Smith added three goals each.

“We knew whoever loses the game, that’s the end of their season,” Skulavik said. “And us coming to their territory, we knew we wanted to leave it all on their field.”

“We did not want this to be our last game,” Smith added. “We wanted to make it to Adelphi, like we do almost every year, and we did that today.”

Mepham (8-7) plays top-seeded Garden City (15-2) in the Nassau Class B semifinals at Adelphi on Thursday.

Calhoun (11-6) led 4-3 early in the second quarter before Mepham scored four goals over the final 7:44 of the period to take a 7-4 advantage into halftime. The Pirates then scored the first three goals of the second half for a 7-0 run over 16:48 to take a 10-4 lead.

Coach Kristen Mogavero said the team expressed some nerves entering the game, but she saw the Pirates’ true identity come out during that run.

“When we went on that run, we saw the side glances going and you could see the confidence boosting like, ‘We got this,’” Mogavero said. “It’s always nice when they can boost each other on the field.”

Siena Barbarino added a goal and two assists in the win. Alexandra Aievoli had four goals and one assist for Calhoun.

Mogavero said stronger defensive play aided the team’s midseason turnaround, which in turn catapulted the offense to create winning moments.

“When we play solid defense, it gives our offense the freedom to be creative and feel a little bit less pressure on them,” Mogavero said. “And when they are playing and having fun and working with each other offensively, that’s when we get those really nice finishes and there’s more smiles going around. They always play their best lacrosse when they’re having fun and it gives us that freedom to do that.”

The Pirates understand a daunting task awaits with Garden City. But they are ready for the challenge.

“We know they are a really good team, but we’re going to stay positive,” Skulavik said. “We’re going to work hard every day at practice. We know they are just another team, another group of girls that play lacrosse and we’re just like them. So we know it’s going to be a tough matchup, but we’ll be ready for them.”