Yarmouth seniors Anna Thornton (6) and Bella Solari defend Greely senior Elsa Dean-Muncie during the Clippers’ 13-6 victory Wednesday night. Hoffer photo

BOX SCORE

Yarmouth 13 Greely 6

G- 3 3- 6
Y- 9 4- 13

First half
18:46 Y Powers (free position)
17:40 G Goldburg (unassisted)
16:54 Y D’Appolonia (Lowenstein)
15:48 Y Lowenstein (unassisted)
11:58 Y Powers (free position)
11:39 Y Lowenstein (D’Appolonia)
4:38 Y D’Appolonia (Thornton)
4:25 Y Lowenstein (Teare)
3:30 G Taylor (free position)
3:06 Y Thornton (Bergeron)
21.4 G Dean-Muncie (free position)
0.3 Y Walsh (free position)

Second half
21:25 Y Thornton (free position)
19:22 Y Powers (free position)
16:10 Y D’Appolonia (unassisted)
13:40 G Dean-Muncie (free position)
12:25 Y D’Appolonia (free position)
6:42 G Read (free position)
0.0 G Kelman (free position)

Goals:
G- Dean-Muncie 2, Goldburg, Kelman, Read, Taylor 1
Y- D’Appolonia 4, Lowenstein, Powers 3, Thornton 2, Walsh 1

Assists:
Y- Bergeron, D’Appolonia, Lownstein, Teare, Thornton 1

Draws (Yarmouth, 15-4)
G- Goldburg 3 of 14, Williams 1 of 5
Y- Thornton 13 of 14, D’Appolonia 2 of 4, Powers 0 of 1

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Ground balls:
G- 30
Y- 39

Turnovers:
G- 12
Y- 18

Shots:
G- 20
Y- 21

Shots on cage:
G- 15
Y- 18

Saves:
G (Bond) 5
Y (Meas) 9

YARMOUTH—An awful lot has changed since the last time Yarmouth’s girls’ lacrosse team played a game on its turf field.

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But even after a pandemic, the departure of countless star players and damage to the turf itself, one thing has remained constant.

When the Clippers play at home, especially when weather conditions are far from ideal, they win.

Wednesday evening, Yarmouth hosted Greely in the rain and led almost the whole way, winning draw controls with consistency and getting offense from multiple sources, which allowed the Clippers to open up a big halftime lead and go on to a decisive victory.

Senior Anna Thornton won 11 of 12 draws in the first half and went ahead to stay on an unassisted goal from junior Katelyn D’Appolonia eight minutes in.

Senior Annie Lowenstein scored three first half goals, D’Appolonia and freshman Aine Powers added a pair and Yarmouth held a 9-3 halftime advantage.

D’Appolonia added two more goals in the second half and the Clippers went on to a 13-6 win.

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D’Appolonia scored four goals, while Lowenstein and Powers added three apiece as Yarmouth improved to 3-1 on the season, dropping the Rangers to 2-2 in the process.

“I told the girls to savor the moment being at home,” said longtime Clippers coach Dorothy Holt, who now has 177 wins in her 16 seasons. “It felt so good to finally be here. We love the rain. When you have turf, you’re going to play in this (weather) no matter what. It’s a blessing in disguise. We struggled at Waynflete on the grass and we worked really hard in practice, so today was a really good feeling.”

New turf

Yarmouth had to play its first three games away from home due to a tear in its artificial turf. The Clippers didn’t miss a beat however, rolling to a 9-3 victory at Cape Elizabeth in a rematch of the past two Class B state finals, then nearly upsetting undefeated Class A powerhouse Kennebunk (losing, 10-8), before erasing a halftime deficit to win at Waynflete Monday, 8-5.

Greely started with decisive wins at North Yarmouth Academy (15-6) and at home over Gray-New Gloucester (21-2), then lost at two-time reigning Class A state champion Falmouth Monday, 14-4.

In the teams’ last meeting, two years ago, Yarmouth won in Cumberland, 14-6.

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Wednesday, with the rain falling throughout, the Rangers looked to end a 15-game skid at the Clippers’ expense and beat Yarmouth for the first time since May 23, 2005 (8-7 at home) and for the first time in Yarmouth in at least 20 years, but the Clippers took care of business yet again.

Yarmouth, which lost 18 of 20 draws in its near-victory at Kennebunk, turned to Thornton to get the Clippers’ offense the ball and she rose to the occasion.

It took Yarmouth over six minutes to tickle the twine, however, as senior Emma Moll hit the crossbar and D’Appolonia was robbed by Greely freshman goalie Whitney Bond.

Finally, with 18:46 to go in the first half, Powers broke the ice with a free position goal.

After Clippers junior goalie Juliet Meas denied Rangers sophomore Allison Read, senior Sam Goldburg pulled Greely even with 17:40 on the clock, beating Meas with a bounce shot.

The deadlock only lasted 46 seconds, however, as Lownstein found D’Appolonia for a goal and a 2-1 lead.

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With 15:48 to go before halftime, Lowenstein scored her first goal, unassisted, as she rolled the crease and capitalized when a defender slipped.

After Meas denied senior Elsa Dean-Muncie and Goldburg missed wide on a free position, Yarmouth went up 4-1, on a Powers free position with 11:58 remaining.

Rangers coach Becca Koelker called timeout, but it didn’t help, as off the ensuing draw, Thornton won the ball to D’Appolonia and raced in, drew the defense, then hit Lowenstein with a perfect pass and Lowenstein scored for the second time.

“We just called plays and communicated,” D’Appolonia said. “Our team dynamics have been very good.”

After Meas denied sophomore Charlotte Taylor, freshman Eva Williams and junior Carley Ferentz, Thornton set up D’Appolonia for a goal with 4:38 to go and 13 seconds later, off another Thornton draw win, senior Natalie Teare found Lowenstein for a 7-1 lead.

“Draws have been a big focus for us and we came out on strong on the draw tonight and that set the tone for the game,” said Thornton. “I’m trying to get the ball to my teammates. Ground balls are so important and it helped us being on our turf.”

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“It was definitely a change from Kennebunk,” said D’Appolonia. “We won draws and we were able to make plays and do what we do. That was a game-changer.”

Taylor, on a free position, scored to end Yarmouth’s 6-0 run with 3:30 remaining, but 24 seconds later, Thornton got in the scoring column, finishing a feed from sophomore Annie Bergeron.

Greely appeared primed to take some momentum to the half when Dean-Muncie scored on a free position with 21.4 seconds showing, but with three-tenths of a second on the clock, junior Clancy Walsh earned a free position and finished to put the Clippers on top, 9-3, at the break.

Thornton’s brilliance in the draw circle, prevailing on 11 of 12 opportunities, set the tone and Yarmouth didn’t just have an edge in shots (15-12), it got five timely saves from Meas as well.

The Rangers fought hard throughout the second half and the Clippers were never able to induce a 10-goal, mercy rule running clock.

After Bond saved an early shot by Powers, Thornton scored on a free position with 21:25 left.

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Then, with 19:22 to play, Powers scored for the final time, on a free position, as she continues to cement her status as one of the finest freshman to suit up in a Yarmouth uniform.

“Aine is unreal,” said D’Appolonia. “She’s strong and confident. She’s a great addition to the team. We’re fairly new, so it’s a big transition for the newer players, but they’ve been playing great.”

“Aine’s got the poise of an upperclassman,” Holt said. “She’s filling her role nicely. All of the underclassmen are being trusted by the upperclassmen. We’re communicating to her our style of play and she’s a quick learner. She has great teachers.”

With 16:10 remaining, D’Appolonia’s unassisted goal made it 12-3, but with 13:40 on the clock, Dean-Muncie answered with a free position.

With 12:25 to go, D’Appolonia scored for the final time, on a free position, and that proved to be the end of the Clippers’ offense.

With 6:42 to play, Read finished on a free position and as time expired, freshman Asja Kelman scored for the Rangers to end the game 13-6 in Yarmouth’s favor.

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“It was exciting to be home again,” Thornton said. “We’ve worked super-hard. We’ve come out strong and it’s exciting.”

“YG Lax loves the rain,” D’Appolonia said. “That’s our motto. It’s just fun. It’s scrappy and we get to play like we play. This team’s awesome.”

“We’re picking it up,” Holt added. “It’s only our fourth game. I feel like we’re a little bit behind, but the girls are workhorses. This team is very unselfish. We’re working on being patient and seeing the seams and today it showed what we’ve been practicing.”

The Clippers got four goals, one assist, six ground balls and a pair of draw wins from D’Appolonia, the three-sport standout (soccer and basketball are her other specialties).

“Katelyn’s slippery and smart,” Holt said. “She sees the field and sees things I don’t even see. It’s almost like having an assistant coach on the field. She’s blessed with great vision and I think it comes from basketball. She’s just a very talented player and she has a talented supporting cast.”

Lowenstein and Powers each scored three times.

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Thornton had two goals, one assist, tied D’Appolonia for game-high honors with six ground balls and she also won 13 of her 14 draw opportunities.

“We’ve been working on the draw over the weekend,” Holt said. “We tried everybody. I think it’s timing and it’s poise and trusting if you don’t get the ball, your teammate on the circle can get it.”

Walsh had the other goal and Bergeron, Lowenstein and Teare also had assists.

“Balance is important,” said Thornton. “Scoring is exciting, but everyone can drive to the net, make great passes and score and that shows the depth of our team and how strong we are when we work together.”

Meas made nine saves.

Yarmouth won 15 of 19 draws, had a 39-30 advantage in ground balls, a 21-20 edge in shots (18-15 on cage) and overcame 18 turnovers.

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Greely was paced by Dean-Muncie, who had two goals. Goldburg, Kelman, Read and Taylor each scored once.

Bond made five saves.

The Rangers committed 12 turnovers, but just couldn’t possess the ball enough to make a serious run.

“We just have to put it together for 50 minutes,” Koelker said. “We couldn’t get possession on the draws, or keep possession down the field. We couldn’t win draws and we were playing from behind. Yarmouth’s so good. We gave them a lot of second chances when they were on attack. Getting ground balls and getting the ball out is huge.”

On the road again

Greely has another big road test Saturday when it plays at Brunswick. The Rangers play host to Scarborough next Wednesday.

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“Our attack is starting to come together,” Koelker said. “We just have to put pieces together and find our rhythm. (Playing the best teams) is how we like it. We like having really challenging games.”

Yarmouth is back on the road Monday at Massabesic, then has consecutive home games against Brunswick and Falmouth.

“We have to keep practicing hard and playing the way we practice,” D’Appolonia said.

“We badly want to make it to the state final,” Thornton said. “We have our eye on the prize. We have to keep playing like we did today, as hard as we can.”

“I’m so pleased and I’m grateful we can play,” Holt added. “We’ll keep our bubble small and stay safe. We just have a couple things we need to work on. Our shot selection can be improved and we can shorten up our passes a little bit. ”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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