YARMOUTH — Ella Antolini said losing to York on Saturday was “a slap in the face” for the previously undefeated Yarmouth girls’ soccer team.

“We definitely needed that going into the playoffs – there’s no doubt about it,” said the Yarmouth senior. “All we needed to do today was keep our composure and play Yarmouth soccer, and I think that’s what we did.”

The Clippers ended their regular season well Monday, beating Greely 1-0 to remain on top of the Class B South Heal point standings.

The second-seeded Rangers (10-4) enter the postseason trying to defend their state title while Yarmouth (12-1-1) hopes to earn its first Gold Ball since 2003.

“They’ve got the skill and camaraderie,” Yarmouth Coach Josh Thornton said. “It’s just up to them now.”

Callie Decker scored on an Olivia Feeley corner kick early in the second half.

“It was a beautiful cross by Olivia – I was just in the right place at the right time,” Decker said.

“I kind of just put my foot on it, and it happened to go in.”

Yarmouth goalkeeper Meredith Lane recorded five saves and Molly Matthews kept the Rangers in the game with 10 saves.

“Molly stepped up very, very big for us today,” Greely Coach Josh Muscadin said. “She did everything that she was supposed to do.”

But the Rangers gave up 15 corner kicks – something Muscadin spoke to his team about using a seasonally appropriate metaphor.

“In soccer, when you give so many corner kicks, somebody is knocking on your door,” Muscadin said. “You need to turn off the lights. This is not ‘trick or treat.’ This is not Halloween.”

In the first five minutes of the game, the Clippers had taken four of their seven first-half corner kicks.

Yarmouth also outshot Greely 13-3 in the scoreless first half, with eight of the Clippers’ attempts sailing wide or over the crossbar.

“We should have scored more – we had every opportunity to do it,” Thornton said. “That’s a mark of a good team – to be able to work even when the score is 0-0 and not panic.”

Decker finally capitalized on Feeley’s corner with 37:32 left in the game, swinging for the ball while it was still in the air. Matthews didn’t have a chance to react.

“In the first half, we had a ton of great crosses, and we just couldn’t get a foot on it,” Decker said. “Getting one in the back of the net felt really good.”

Greely never let up, nearly matching Yarmouth’s second-half shots, 8-7. The Rangers almost scored 30 seconds into the second half when Skylar Cooney nearly headed in a Katie Steinberg free kick. Lane, however, made the save.

“This is a good mark to come back against Greely, who probably wanted to prove a point after last game,” Thornton said, referring to Yarmouth’s 4-1 victory over the Rangers on Oct. 1. “They have dangerous players up front. If you give them too much space, they’re going to punish you.”

But Antolini and the Yarmouth defense did their jobs for the Clippers, who were also looking to prove a point coming off their first loss.

“We came out a little slow, but we never faltered in our confidence or in our stepping,” Antolini said. “This is our year, and one game isn’t going to change that.”

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