WELLESLEY -- For the first 16 minutes of yesterday's Division 2 East boys lacrosse final at Wellesley's Hunnewell Field, Concord-Carlisle looked like the superior team.

The Patriots outshot the host Raiders 10-3 to that point, outscored the hosts 3-1 and that margin could have been at least two goals larger if the goalpost were just an inch narrower.

Wellesley knew it was lucky to be in the position, down just two goals. And then, the Raiders took advantage.

Scoring four unanswered goals in a span of 4:17 -- with All-America midfielder Mike Stone having a hand in three -- Wellesley took control midway through the second quarter and didn't trail again, cruising to an 8-6 vanquishing of the Patriots and its first-ever EMass title.

And it only got better for Chris Gelinas, the coach who accepted the trophy from his mentor Tony Manzelli, the Weymouth coach he served under for five years.

"There was something special about that moment for me," said Gelinas. "To be here and have him as tournament director, and get the trophy from him was great. He's my mentor, he got me started."

The Raiders (22-0) advance to the Division 2 state final, hosting Western Mass. kingpin South Hadley -- an 15-11 winner over Algonquin yesterday -- on Saturday (1 p.m.). The win also comes against the same C-C team that came closest to dealing Wellesley a loss this season, in a 6-5 overtime Raider win in April.

"When we played (C-C) the first time, both teams knew that we'd see each other again in the tournament," said goalie Pete Smith, who came up with 19 saves and kept the score from getting out of hand with eight first-quarter stops. "They're the most complete team we've faced, the team that scared us the most."

And the Patriots threw another scare into Wellesley early with an aggressive attack that drew a where-did-that-come-from reaction from the hosts.

After Matt Caple gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead 3:38 in, C-C went on the offensive, peppering Smith with shots from every angle. Rob Zellner, Scott McNeff and Rob Clark scored consecutive goals for the Patriots, and McNeff and Zellner clanged shots off the post.

"Honestly, that's the way our season's been -- we'll fall behind a little bit but keep coming," said Gelinas. "We just had to be patient and bear down. Once we get going, we can get pretty hot."

They got going after the Clark goal and it was Jake Murphy's unassisted tally that rose the temperature of the Wellesley offense. That came with 5:50 left in the half and was followed by Stone assisting on one-timer scores by Chris Teves and Jamal Williams, and following with an unassisted goal of his own to put Wellesley up 5-3, and up for good.

"I never felt like it was on me to step up," said Stone, who finished with three goals, all unassisted, and the two aforementioned helpers. "Even being down, our team offense was going to score. Everybody played a part."

Stone's other two scores sandwiched an unassisted goal from Murphy in a 3-0 third quarter that put the Raiders up 8-4 going into the fourth quarter.

The Patriots had one comeback left. McNeff and Jed Reisner scored 1:03 apart and put C-C very much back in the game with 7:14 to play.

Then, Wellesley played its trump card -- Smith. In the last two minutes, a desperate Patriot squad scramble for a miracle, and the Raider senior goaltender, who Gelinas touts as the state's most underrated player, made three point-blank saves to ice the win.

"With each game, people emerge and step up," said Gelinas. "But (Smith) does it every game in unbelievable fashion. There aren't enough words to describe what he means to us."

To C-C, he may have meant the difference between winning and losing.

"We battled back and their goalie made some great saves," said Patriot coach Tom Delicandro, whose DCL co-champs finish at 16-5. "Last time we played them I thought our defense played as well as they possibly could. We didn't play quite as well today. The better team won."