YARMOUTH
The Freeport boys high school soccer team had not played a game since last Saturday’s preliminary match against Oak Hill. The Yarmouth boys high school soccer team hadn’t played since Oct. 17.
Waiting a day to avoid Wednesday’s torrential rain did not deter either team. Both teams played an aggressive style throughout, but it was Yarmouth which came out on top with a 3-0 victory over Freeport in a Class B South quarterfinal contest.
The top-seeded Clippers will host No. 4 Lincoln Academy on Saturday at 6 p.m.
“They didn’t beat us with skill tonight, they beat us with their game plan, by executing it,” said Freeport coach Joe Heathco.
The unbeaten Clippers (15-0) started things early, just 47 seconds into the game. Jack Jones deflected a Luke Groothoff shot in front of the net, and the change of direction steered the ball past Freeport goalie Atticus Patrick for the score.
Freeport hosted the Clippers on Sept. 29, and fell 6-1. Thursday, the Falcons knew what to expect.
“We knew what they were going to do. After our last game with them, we had a better idea of what they were going to do,” said Heathco. “They just give it to their best players and attack you the old fashioned way.”
“We definitely played them tighter today than the last time. You always get hyped up for the playoffs,” said senior co-captain Eden Badege. “We had a lot of fans here today and that pumped us up,”
Throughout the half, the Clippers continued setting up Groothoff for more offense. A pair of Max Coury crosses to Groothoff came up empty and resulted in goal kicks for Freeport. Yarmouth fired off 11 first half shots, eight on goal.
Freeport got its only shot on goal in the first half 19 minutes into the frame. Junior Caleb Arsenault legged a shot towards the net, but was stopped by Yarmouth’s Cal Owen.
Following the save, Yarmouth raced down the field, making one-touch passes through the Falcons defense. Groothoff blasted a shot at Patrick. The ball squirmed through the hands of the junior goalie, and Tahj Garvey was there for the rebound and booted the ball to the back of the net for a 2-0 Clippers lead.
Freeport managed its first corner with under 11 minutes remaining. The corner shot nearly slipped past Owen, but the senior netminder caught the ball.
Yarmouth’s Eric LaBrie tried to score late in the half, but after weaving in and out of Freeport defenders, LaBrie was met by Patrick, who came out of the net to break up the play. On the ensuing corner, Yarmouth’s Jason Lainey drove the ball in front of the net, where both Arsenault and Wes Goodwin each headed the ball away from the net.
With 6:26 left in the half, Yarmouth pushed across its third goal when Jones’ corner rifled into the box in front of the net. After hitting Groothoff, LaBrie booted the ball into the cage.
“We couldn’t score on our corners and free kicks, and they did,” said Heathco.
The home team outshot Freeport, 11-3, and held a 6-1 advantage in corners in the opening frame.
Staked with a 3-0 lead, the Clippers slowed the game down, avoiding any type of Falcon run in the second half.
After a lot of volleying back and forth at midfield, Freeport’s Jesse Bennell took a direct kick just outside the box and to the right of Owen. Bennell’s shot beelined for the net, but out of the crowd appeared Owen’s hands and the goalie knocked it away. Freeport took its third corner but once again came up empty.
Neither team mounted any type of offense for the rest of the game. Patrick made both saves on the two shots he faced, including a 50-yard direct kick from Yarmouth’s Ben Norton. Patrick finished with seven saves as Freeport concluded its season at 9-7.
Owen had five saves. The shutout was the 10th for the Clippers.
“The four years we’ve been here, this was the best record we’ve had,” said Badege. “I think we had a lot of team chemistry this season.”
“We’ve built something here. We played well this past summer and that helped our chemistry,” added senior co-captain Joe Ashby.
The Falcons will lose five seniors off the roster next season, so Heathco expects to compete again next season.
“We have a good core coming back. We’ll lose some senior leadership, but we’ll compete,” added Heathco.
Class B South Boys Soccer Quarterfinal At Yarmouth
| Freeport | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| Yarmouth | — 3 | 0 | — | 0 |
Goals — (Y) Jack Jones, Tahj Garvey, Eric LaBrie. Assists — (Y) Luke Groothoff (3). Shots — Yarmouth 18, Freeport 8. Saves — (F) Atticus Patrick 7, (Y) Cal Owen 5. Corner kicks — Yarmouth 9, Freeport 3. Records — Yarmouth 15-0, Freeport 9-7. Note — The Falcons’ season has concluded.
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