YARMOUTH – Natalie Salmon and Danielle Torres combined with a tough defense as Yarmouth, the top-ranked team in Eastern Class B girls’ lacrosse, knocked off Waynflete, the top-ranked team in the West, 13-8 in a regular-season finale Wednesday.

Salmon had five assists and a pair of goals, and Torres added four goals for the Clippers, who took a 6-2 lead, weathered a mid-game Flyers comeback, then scored four straight late goals.

Although both teams came in at 10-1, this was an especially important game for Yarmouth, which lost 10-9 to the Flyers earlier this season.

“The senior class has never beaten Waynflete,” Salmon said. “This was unbelievable. We played their way last time and our way this time.”

“It was a huge win,” said Torres. “We knew what we wanted to do. After losing to them the last time, we came out on fire. When we get our momentum going, we’re more successful.”

The key juncture came seven minutes into the second half, after Martha Veroneau scored late in the first half and Scout Haffenreffer early in the second as Waynflete pulled within 6-4.

The Flyers had been plagued by turnovers against the Clippers’ man-to-man defense, but momentum was turning, and a free possession call gave Haffenreffer the chance to cut the margin to one.

But Stephanie Moulton came up with the biggest save of the game, and Yarmouth responded with two quick goals.

“(Moulton) sets the standard for us,” said Salmon, who fed Becca Bell for a pretty spin move and score, then found Claudia Lockwood in front just 28 seconds later to make it 8-4.

“Natalie’s feeds are perfect,” said Torres, “and Becca and Devin (Simsarian) were incredible in the midfield.”

Salmon followed with a turnaround shot, and Torres converted a Bell feed less than a minute later for a 10-4 lead with 15:53 remaining.

When the Flyers broke a six-minute scoring drought to make it 10-5, Yarmouth Coach Dorothy Holt called a timeout.

“She just said I’m going to be nicky-picky with you because you’re playing so well,” said Salmon. “She just told us to keep playing our game.”

Simsarian converted a free possession and Anne Ryan scored on a nifty double-spin move for a 12-5 lead, and after Sadie Cole answered with a pair of goals for Waynflete, Salmon and Mica Thompson traded goals for the final margin.

“We worked really hard all week for this win,” said Holt. “It takes a village to beat that team and everybody did their part. The offense scored key goals, and the defense was terrific.”

“We learned what we didn’t do right,” said Waynflete Coach Cathie Connors. “I saw a lot of little things we need to work on. It just wasn’t our day and they played a beautiful game. But I told the kids now’s the time to lose, not in the playoffs.”