FALMOUTH — Yarmouth High field hockey coach Amy Ashley continually stressed to her players not to let Falmouth’s best players beat them Wednesday night.

But in the end …

With 1:18 remaining in overtime, Sydney Bell found Devon Sarazin running to the left of the goal with a long pass and Sarazin buried it for a 3-2 victory in a season opener with a playoff feel.

Sarazin said she and Bell – one of the top players in the Western Maine Conference last season – always know what the other is doing on the field.

“We don’t even have to communicate,” said Sarazin, who also scored in the first half to give Falmouth a 2-1 lead.

“We’ve been playing sports together since the first grade. We have that connection that we don’t have to say it in order to know what the other is going to do.”

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Falmouth Coach Robin Haley said it’s nice to have two players so familiar with each other. The pair had combined for two other overtime shots before the winner.

“They know each other and work well together,” Haley said. “They have a nice little two-person game going.”

The goal came soon after Yarmouth had a corner in overtime.

“There were missed opportunities (by both teams) but I think we had a few more,” Ashley said. “We got caught on our heels (on the winning goal). It was a beautiful run and (a great) finish.

“We really believed we would get the ball and get a corner (in overtime) … and score. We did that but didn’t convert.”

It was a tough loss for the Clippers who dominated for a 12-minute stretch in the middle of the second half.

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They allowed the Yachtsmen to pass midfield only three times while peppering goalie Caitlyn Bull with most of their 11 second-half shots.

The pressure paid off with 19:10 remaining in the half when Ally MacLeod made it 2-2.

The goal was off the third consecutive corner hit in a little more than a minute. MacLeod received a pass from Maggie Gunville and was able to find the back of the net.

Despite the loss, Clippers co-captain Nicole McDowell thinks this type of game will benefit her and her teammates in the long run.

“I think this is the hardest we’ve worked. I am real proud (of our team),” said McDowell, who with Sophie McGrath and Gracie Griffin continually thwarted long outlet passes by Falmouth in the second half.

“We try to get better every day and I think we are.”

The rivals traded first-half goals within six minutes of each other.

Falmouth opened the scoring when Bell’s shot off a corner hit was deflected at the side of the net by Kate Kelley.

With a little less than 10 minutes left in the half, Abby McDowell scored on a counter. A pass by Eliza Lunt was blocked by a defender but Abby McDowell collected it and made it 1-1.


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