YARMOUTH – Falmouth boys’ lacrosse coach Mike LeBel said the Yachtsmen were lucky to go back home with a win Wednesday.

Falmouth broke open a close game by scoring three goals in the last three minutes of the first half and held off North Yarmouth Academy for a 12-9 victory in a Western Maine Conference game at Lewis Field.

“I think (the players) have seen comparative scores, and I think they thought they were going to come in and walk right through it,” LeBel said. “We did enough to win the game, but I’m not pleased with how we played.”

The Yachtsmen, coming off last Friday’s 7-4 loss to unbeaten Yarmouth, improved to 3-1.

“There were just too many mental breakdowns on our end,” LeBel said. “It wasn’t physical. We just weren’t with it for some reason.

“Not to take anything away from NYA. They played a great game and probably deserved to win.”

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It was the third loss in four games for the Panthers, who previously lost to Class B powers Yarmouth and Cape Elizabeth.

“We needed to come out and play a team like (Falmouth) at a high level, and the players proved to me that they can,” NYA Coach Mike Carpentier said. “We left it on the line, and a couple of goals here or there were the difference, I think.”

The score was tied or the lead changed hands six times during the first 20 minutes of the game.

Chris Janelle gave Falmouth the lead for good by turning a feed from Dan Hanley into his second goal to snap a 5-5 tie with 2:36 left in the second quarter. Mike Ryan and Mitch Tapley each scored 21 seconds apart to make it 8-5 with 1:18 left in the half.

The Panthers rallied in the third quarter, moving to within a goal when Dylan Seeley intercepted a clearing pass from behind the goal and scored from point-blank range to make it 9-8 with 1:45 left in the period.

The Yachtsmen scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter to open a 12-8 lead with less than 6 minutes to play.

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Hanley, a senior headed to Bowdoin College next fall, had a game-high four goals. Nick Bachman added two goals and an assist for Falmouth, and Mike Kane added a goal and two assists. Brendan McDonnell scored a goal and Will Sipperly had an assist.

Forrest Millburn scored three goals for NYA. Finn Hadlock scored two goals and had four assists. Matt Kibler scored a goal and had an assist, and Tim Millett and Phil Campoux each added a goal.

Falmouth held a 20-14 edge in shots.

Goalie Cam Bell, who stopped Isaac Lipton twice from point-blank range during the final 21/2 minutes, made five saves for Falmouth.

NYA goalie Taylor Norton stopped eight shots.

 

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

pbetit@pressherald.com

 


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