YARMOUTH – Third-seeded Yarmouth grabbed the momentum with some solid defensive play late in the first half and cruised to a 22-9 win against No. 5 Morse to capture its second Eastern Class B girls’ lacrosse championship in three seasons Wednesday afternoon.

The Clippers will play for the state title at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland against the winner of Thursday’s Western Maine final between Cape Elizabeth and Waynflete.

The turning point in the regional final came in the closing minutes of the first half when a rash of yellow cards left the Shipbuilders with at least a one-player advantage for nearly five minutes. Yarmouth, which led 9-7, allowed just one goal during that segment.

“We almost play better a man-down than when we’re even,” said Grace O’Donnell, who had eight goals and four assists to lead the Clippers. “We knew that it takes everyone to get to a state final, and everyone just stepped up today and executed.”

Yarmouth increased its lead to 11-8 with two goals late in the first half, then put the game away by holding the Shipbuilders (9-6) to a goal during the final 25 minutes.

“It was a heckuva game through the first half, but those last couple of goals (in the first half) sort of killed us and they took us out of our game,” Morse Coach Linda Levesque said. “We knew when they got ahead they were going to take the air out of the ball, which they did.”

It was the first trip to a regional final for Morse, which pulled out a 9-8 win in triple overtime over top-seeded Gardiner in the semifinals.

“Our senior leadership was wonderful and set us up with a legacy for the future,” Levesque said. “We’re on the right track. We’re in the neighborhood now.”

Alex Lucas scored four goals and had an assist for the Clippers. Olivia Conrad contributed three goals and an assist, and Emma Torres and Ali Merrill each had two goals and an assist. Julia Kamiesha finished with a goal and three assists, Molly Maguire had a goal and an assist, Lane Simarian also scored a goal, and Sara Costello had two assists.

Sadia Crosby, one of three seniors on the Morse roster, led the Shipbuilders with four goals. Sophie Sreden scored twice, Ruth Nadeau had a goal and an assist, and freshmen Isabelle Paulus and Maddy Olsen each scored a goal.

Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH