BEDFORD — Shauna Rankin-Byrne's first goal was the game winner, but her second may have been just as important.

Rankin-Byrne scored early in the second half to give her team some much-needed insurance as the top-seeded Lebanon High field hockey team won the Division II title with a 3-1 victory over No. 3 Windham at Bedford High on Sunday.

After struggling offensively most of the first half, the Jaguars started to generate more offense in the second half, making the two-goal cushion even more crucial.

“It was (important) to pull away and make a statement we weren't going to give in,” Lebanon coach Debra Beach said.

It was the first championship for the Raiders since 2006 and they finished the season with a record of 15-1-1. The Jaguars, in their third season as a varsity program, finished with a mark of 13-3-1.

“We certainly played very hard,” Windham coach Amanda Ward said. “They put together their best experiences of the season and played together the best they could.”

All the scoring in the first half took place over the span of a little more than two minutes.

The Raiders got on the board first when Emily Perryman scored on a drive from the top of the circle during the team's 12th penalty corner of the half to make it 1-0 with 9:34 remaining before the break.

They doubled the lead just more than a minute later. Rankin-Byrne maneuvered her way through the Jaguar defense, stickhandled around Windham goalie Kelsey Federico (18 saves) and put the ball in the cage to make it 2-0 with 8:08 left in the half.

“I kept my head up to see where the people were,” said Rankin-Byrne, who will play at UMass-Amherst next year. “I saw the goalie coming, went wide around her and put it in on my reverse stick.”

The goals were part of a dominant performance by Lebanon up to that point, which prompted Windham to call a timeout.

The Jaguars did a great job of composing themselves during the break and less than a minute later they managed to get on the board and cut the lead in half.

The goal came on a penalty corner and Windham's first shot of the game when Justine Levesque swept a shot by Raider goalie Emily Foster (two saves) to make it 2-1 with 7:13 remaining in the first.

That was the closest Windham would get, and it could have been worse if not for the play of Federico in net. She made several spectacular saves on both long shots and ones from close range, keeping her team in striking distance the entire way.

“It could have been worse had she not been so aggressive in net,” Ward said. “She did a really great job.”

In the end, it was too much Lebanon for the Jaguars to handle. The Raiders had 21 shots on net as opposed to just three for Windham and also held a 17-7 edge in penalty corners.

“It's awesome,” Rankin-Byrne said about being a state champion. “It's unbelievable, I'm so happy and excited.”