YARMOUTH – Steve Petrovek and Evan Henry scored in the final two minutes to help Yarmouth withstand its toughest challenge of the boys’ lacrosse season Friday night.

The Clippers pulled out an 8-6 victory against Falmouth in a matchup between the state’s top two Class B teams.

Yarmouth, the two-time defending state champion, snapped the Yachtsmen’s five-game winning streak by beating them for the second time this season. On April 30, the Clippers dominated the second half in a 7-4 win at Falmouth.

Friday night, Yarmouth built a three-goal lead before Falmouth rallied in the fourth quarter to forge a 6-6 tie.

“Falmouth is an awesome team and we knew they were going to have an awesome push against us,” said Petrovek, who has accepted a scholarship to play lacrosse at the University of Denver. “It came in the fourth quarter, but we were able to score a couple of goals and pull out the win.”

It was Yarmouth’s 70th consecutive win on its turf field since 2002.

The Yachtsmen, the top-rated team in Western Class B, built a 3-0 lead in the first five minutes when Dan Hanley sandwiched two goals around one by Chris Janelle.

After Petrovek scored twice within a 41-second span, Henry scored to make it 3-3 with 4:40 left in the first quarter.

The Clippers took a 5-3 lead during the second quarter on goals by Mike Johnson and Matt Murphy.

Falmouth (7-2) managed to put only three shots on goal during the two middle periods, but its defense, anchored by goalie Cam Bell, prevented Yarmouth from pulling away.

“What saved us today was our defense,” Falmouth Coach Mike LeBel said. “We weren’t able to do much with our possessions, and as much as Yarmouth possessed the ball, we were able to keep them from scoring.”

Bell made eight of his 12 saves during the second and third quarters.

The Clippers, the top-ranked team in Eastern Class B, looked like they had wrapped up their 29th consecutive win when Henry scored his second goal less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.

But Falmouth’s offense finally got back on track. Danny Good-rich, Jack Cooleen and Will Sipperly scored during a span of a little more than two minutes to make it 6-6 with 7:20 left.

With 1:31 remaining, Petrovek converted a feed from Colby Shields with a bouncing shot from 15 yards.

Henry added his third goal with less than a minute left.

Yarmouth held a 19-10 edge in shots, and each team won seven faceoffs. Falmouth committed 10 turnovers to Yarmouth’s nine.

 

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at: pbetit@pressherald.com