Almost as soon as Walter Conrad broke his ankle in preseason, Yarmouth High boys’ soccer coach Mike Hagerty tried to put a positive spin on his captain’s injury.

Conrad might be ready for the playoffs, Hagerty said.

Walter Conrad slips the ball past Erskine Academy keeper Denver Cullivan for the first goal of the game Saturday, starting Yarmouth on its way to a 3-0 win in the Class B boys’ soccer state championship game at Fitzpatrick Stadium. Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

Conrad did more than play in the Class B championship game Saturday. He made his first start of the season and scored the first goal to lead Yarmouth to its second straight title with a 3-0 victory against Erskine Academy.

“I had the philosophy that I was going to make it back,” Conrad said. “I knew I had to have that attitude or it probably wasn’t going to happen. I got on the exercise bike, did the laps around the track and it was slow. But I’m so happy to be here today and I’m so proud of these boys.”

Conrad scored with 11:02 left in the first half, reading a cross from a teammate and then pouncing on a loose ball, using the outside of his right foot to push it past Erskine starting keeper Denver Cullivan (8 saves).

“When he scored the first goal it was storybook, and the irony was he scored it with his broken foot,” Hagerty said.

Erskine (14-5), playing in a state final for the first time, was trying to become the first team from the North (formerly East) to win in Class B since Ellsworth in 1993. Erskine entered the tournament as the 10th seed in the North, then knocked off the top three teams, including Ellsworth, the defending regional champ.

Erskine did have one near miss when the game was scoreless. A direct kick by Trevor Hubbard was boxed around by Yarmouth’s defense and goalie Cal Owen, making it necessary for Andrew Beatty to use a swinging knee to divert the bouncing ball away from the goal line.

“Things could have changed very quickly on a goal like that,” Erskine Coach Phil Hubbard said. “We almost had a good opportunity there and we just didn’t get it through.”

Yarmouth (16-1-1), which won its 10th state championship (seventh under Hagerty), proved tougher to shut down, especially after Conrad’s inspirational goal.

“When he scored, that was a huge confidence boost and really allowed us to play calm and play relaxed and get more goals,” Beatty said.

Freshman Eric LaBrie made it 2-0 with 4:33 left in the first half when he worked between two defenders in tight space off the dribble and unleashed a strong left-footed blast to the top left corner.

LaBrie, the younger brother of 2014 Maine Sunday Telegram Player of the Year Adam LaBrie, scored the winning goal in overtime in the 3-2 regional final victory at Maranacook.

In the second half, Yarmouth increased the pressure. The third goal came from Nicholas Kamra off a Christopher Pidden assist in the 52nd minute.

The Clippers’ pressure originated in the midfield, where Henry Coolidge and Luke Groothoff dominated control and had the poise to play both forward and back, left and right, to ready and able teammates across the field.

That created a total of 28 shots for the game – 13 on target – compared to five shots, three on frame, for Erskine.

Yarmouth’s victory also put the capper on a season that featured its share of adversity.

In addition to Conrad’s injury, senior Noah Pellerin suffered a fractured skull in a preseason accident and did not play at all. Senior Jon Groothoff had a severe knee injury against Falmouth, a game that saw two other players injured. Plus, news came early in the camp that assistant coach Dale Wing’s wife had been diagnosed with a return of her cancer.

“We’ve had to deal with a lot,” Hagerty said. “All the championships are special but this one has to be up with the best of them simply because of how it ended, with Walter scoring the game-winner.”

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