Greely holds on for dear life to edge Freeport

BOX SCORE

Greely 6 Freeport 5

F- 2 3- 5
G- 2 4- 6

First half
16:21 G Dennen (unassisted)
14:46 F K. Tracy (Knight)
2:19 G Ferentz (free position)
19.7 F K. Tracy (unassisted)

Second half
22:14 G Dennen (unassisted)
15:10 G Ferentz (unassisted)
13:14 F Driscoll (Havey)
12:35 G Ferentz (Taylor)
11:46 F K. Tracy (unassisted)
7:42 G Dennen (free position)
3:32 F S. Tracy (Driscoll)

Goals:
F- K. Tracy 3, Driscoll, S. Tracy 1
G- Dennen, Ferentz 3

Assists:
F- Driscoll, Havey, Knight 1
G- Taylor 1

Draws (Greely, 8-5)
F- S. Tracy 5 of 10, K. Tracy 0 of 3
G- Taylor 5 of 8, Williams 3 of 5

Ground balls:
F- 24
G- 34

Turnovers:
F- 14
G- 15

Shots:
F- 14
G- 22

Shots on cage:
F- 13
G- 17

Saves:
F (Williams) 11
G (Babcock) 8

CUMBERLAND—If you like games that come down to the last shot, Hutchins Field was the place to be Saturday afternoon, when Greely’s girls’ lacrosse team hosted Freeport in a battle of teams which got to their respective state finals a year ago.

Both goalies stood tall in the first half, as Rangers junior Addyson Babcock and Falcons junior Piper Williams combined to make a dozen saves.

Greely did get unassisted goals from junior Lauren Dennen and senior Carley Ferentz, while Freeport countered with two goals from junior Kate Tracy to make it 2-2 at the half.

Early in the second half, the Rangers got a little breathing room, as Dennen and Ferentz both scored, but senior Meg Driscoll answered for the Falcons to make it 4-3.

After Ferentz scored off a free position, Tracy again made it a one-goal game, but with 7:42 to play, Dennen’s free position gave Greely a seemingly safe 6-4 advantage.

But Freeport wasn’t done and after senior Savannah Tracy scored with 3:32 on the clock to make it a one-goal contest, the Falcons had a great look to tie it and force overtime as time wound down, but Babcock robbed Driscoll on the doorstep and the Rangers held on for a 6-5 victory.

Dennen and Ferentz both scored twice and Babcock stopped eight shots as Greely won its third game in a row, improved to 3-1 and dropped Freeport to 2-1 in the process.

“You could not ask for a better game,” said Rangers coach Becca Koelker. “I just told our team that’s the kind of opponent you want. They’ll teach you a lot. Freeport played their hearts out the whole game, so credit to them.”

Early season thriller

Freeport is still stinging over last year’s one-goal loss to Waynflete in the Class C state final and is off to a hot start this spring.

The Falcons opened with a 12-6 victory at North Yarmouth Academy, then blanked visiting Fryeburg Academy Wednesday, 12-0.

Greely, which lost to Yarmouth in the Class B Final a year ago, opened with a 16-12 loss at York, then downed visiting Gray-New Gloucester (20-1) and host NYA (10-5) in previous action.

Last year, the host Rangers doubled up the Falcons, 12-6.

Entering play Saturday, since the start of the 2002 season, Greely had beaten Freeport in 17 of 20 meetings.

Under mostly sunny skies (53 degrees with a tolerable wind), the Falcons hoped to beat the Rangers for the first time since a 14-13, triple-overtime triumph May 26, 2015, but Greely made it six straight in the series.

Greely junior Charlotte Taylor and Freeport senior Savannah Tracy fight for possession in the draw circle early in the Rangers’ 6-5 victory Saturday. Hoffer photos.

Both goalies took center stage early, as Babcock made a save on a Kate Tracy shot just over a minute in and Williams stopped a shot from freshman Kylie Lord at the other end.

After Babcock denied freshman Lana DiRusso, sophomore Eva Williams, Ferentz and junior Allie Read all tried Piper Williams, but were denied.

Finally, with 16:21 to play in the first half, Dennen managed to finish unassisted after a nice spin move to break the ice.

With 14:46 to go, the Falcons got on the board, as junior Madeline Knight set up Kate Tracy.

Piper Williams then denied Eva Williams and at the other end, Babcock saved bids from Kate Tracy and Savannah Tracy to preserve the tie.

After Piper Williams stopped a shot from Read, Ferentz converted a free position with 2:19 remaining to put the Rangers back in the lead.

But they wouldn’t stay there, as after Williams stopped another Ferentz shot, Kate Tracy was able to weave her way through the defense and finish unassisted with 19.7 seconds left to even the score again.

Greely had a chance to go back on top in the final second, but Eva Williams’ free position shot was denied by Piper Williams to keep the score 2-2.

The Rangers had a 13-6 edge in shots in the first half, but Piper Williams made eight saves to keep her team in it.

Freeport senior Meg Driscoll races into the offensive zone as Greely sophomore Kylie Crocker defends.

Savannah Tracy had a chance to put the Falcons ahead at the start of the second half, but she was denied 51 seconds in by Babcock.

At the other end, junior Charlotte Taylor looked to put Greely ahead on a free position shot, but she hit the post.

Greely then went on top to stay with 22:14 to play, as Dennen finished unassisted.

Savannah Tracy tried to pull Freeport even, but Babcock saved that shot too.

With 15:10 on the clock, Ferentz scored for the second time, unassisted, for a 4-2 advantage.

The Falcons answered with 13:14 remaining, as senior Kyla Havey set up Driscoll for a goal, but 39 seconds later, off a free position, Taylor set up Ferentz for a 5-3 lead.

“I would say it was definitely a frustrating first half,” Ferentz said. “We’re not used to having to move the goalie with fakes, but our halftime talk got us going. We were facing a zone, which we’ve run recently as our own defense, so we practiced driving, pulling out and feeding. I think we’ve become a cohesive attack unit with everyone having important roles.”

Out of a timeout, Freeport again drew within one with 11:46 to play, as Kate Tracy made a long run into the offensive zone, eluded the defense, then bounced a shot past Babcock to again cut the deficit to one.

Again, Greely answered back, as after junior Jenny Medrano had a free position shot saved by Williams, Dennen converted a free position with 7:42 left for a 6-4 lead.

The Falcons refused to quit and after having one shot saved by Babcock, Savannah Tracy finished a feed from Driscoll with 3:32 to go to again make a one-goal contest.

Freeport won the ensuing draw, but turned the ball over.

The Rangers tried to milk the clock and Ferentz found some room to shoot, but hit the post and Kate Tracy scooped up the loose ball.

The Falcons then set up in the offensive zone and called timeout with 30 seconds left.

Freeport would patiently wait for a shot and would get a great look, as Havey set up Driscoll in front, but with 15 seconds to go, Babcock made the biggest save of her young life so far.

“In that moment, my only focus is the ball and getting there in time,” Babcock said. “I just wanted to run out the clock from there.”

“I felt tears because I was so happy,” Ferentz said. “Our new defense has worked really well as a unit and no one wanted to let a goal in at the end.”

Babcock then held the ball and Greely was able to run out the clock on its 6-5 victory.

Greely junior goalie Addyson Babcock is mobbed by her teammates after her late save preserved victory.

Dennen and Ferentz both scored twice. Taylor had an assist.

Babcock made eight saves, none bigger than the one with the game on the line.

“(Addyson) came up big for us,” Koelker said. “We usually switch up goalies, but we felt like she had momentum and she did her job.”

The Rangers won eight of 13 draws, had a 34-24 advantage in ground balls (Eva Williams had eight and Read five), a 22-14 edge in shots (17-13 on cage) and overcame 15 turnovers.

Freeport got three goals from Kate Tracy and one apiece from Driscoll and Savannah Tracy.

Driscoll, Havey and Knight all had one assist.

Williams sparkled with 11 saves.

“I thought my defense was phenomenal today and Piper made a lot of great saves,” Falcons coach Marcia Wood said. “We’ve worked on defense all year and we did a good job keeping Greely to such a low score.”

“Piper showed up big for them,” Koelker said. “She had such a great game. She’s quick and reads the ball well.”

Kate Tracy had eight ground balls and Savannah Tracy collected six.

The Falcons turned the ball over 14 times.

“I wanted to keep it close and we did, so I’m super-proud,” Wood said. “We just made too many mistakes. Too many dropped balls and not enough ground balls picked up. You can’t win a close game like that. It’s good for us to learn that. These are the games we learn a lot from. I prefer competitive games like this. I’m proud we kept it close. I think it could have been a different result if we cleaned up a few things. Greely’s a good team with great players.”

Back to class

Freeport seeks to bounce back Wednesday at Gray-New Gloucester.

“We have bigger games down the road,” Wood said. “York, Waynflete, NYA and Cape Elizabeth will be great games. We need to fight to the end, then come out on top.”

Greely hopes to make it four straight wins and earn a little revenge in the process when it goes to Yarmouth Tuesday. The Rangers travel to Messalonskee Saturday.

“I think we’re doing great,” Ferentz said. “We have really good chemistry. We lost a key player from every position, but we’re recovering really well and everyone is stepping into their roles really well.”

“We’re a young team with a lot to learn, but we get better every game and that’s our goal for the season,” Koelker said. “We need to work on finishing in tight. Yarmouth will be another good opponent to show us where we are. This is a great group that’s working so hard.”