FREEPORT—Yarmouth’s girls’ soccer team suffered a close loss to Cape Elizabeth earlier this week, but the Clippers didn’t dwell on the setback.

Instead, they turned it into a positive and Friday afternoon at the Joan Benoit Samuelson Track and Field, began what they hope is a championship run with an impressive showing at Freeport.

Yarmouth’s defense and junior goalkeeper Regan Sullivan held the dangerous Falcons at bay all day and junior Aine Powers scored the only goal her team would need in the 34th minute.

Freeport did a good job limiting the damage of Clippers’ senior standout Ava Feeley, who scored three goals in the teams’ first meeting this fall, but with just under 30 minutes to go, Feeley did manage to put home a rebound.

Yarmouth took care of business from there and went on to a 2-0 victory.

The Clippers improved to 8-3, dropped the Falcons to 5-5-1 and in the process, snapped their five-game unbeaten streak.

“We had to face a little adversity and it’s good to come back today and get tested,” said Yarmouth coach Andy Higgins. “Freeport has some good players and is well-coached and they had a good plan today. They had us on our heels.”

Strong team effort

Yarmouth started with a 2-1 loss at Cape Elizabeth, then blanked visiting Freeport (3-0), downed host York (2-0), edged visiting Greely (3-2) and handled visiting Poland (8-2). After a 4-1 setback at North Yarmouth Academy, the Clippers bounced back to defeat host Fryeburg Academy (4-0), host Lake Region (4-0) and visiting Gray-New Gloucester (7-0) before dropping a tough 1-0 home decision to Cape Elizabeth Monday.

The Capers weren’t discouraged by that result.

“To get scored on in the last five minutes didn’t feel good, but to hold them off for 75 minutes was great,” Sullivan said.

“I think we played a really good game against them and we can do so much better next time,” Powers said.

“It was a fun battle,” Higgins added. “It was a great crowd and a great back-and-forth game and they snuck one in late. If we see them again, we’ll have some things we have to improve on.”

Freeport started slowly with losses at York (1-0) and Yarmouth (3-0) and at home to Greely (2-1). After a 2-1 victory at Lake Region, the Falcons fell at Cape Elizabeth (4-0). Wins over visiting Fryeburg Academy (3-0), visiting Gray-New Gloucester (2-1), host Fryeburg Academy (1-0) and host Wells (1-0) followed. Tuesday, Freeport settled for a 1-1 home tie against York.

Entering play Friday, Yarmouth had won 25 of 29 meetings this century with Freeport winning three times and the teams settling for one draw (see below for recent results).

On a very pleasant 65-degree afternoon, the Falcons hoped to down the Clippers for the first time since Sept. 17, 2019, but Yarmouth did enough to prevail again.

The Clippers had the first good look, in the game’s second minute, as Feeley crossed the ball into the box to senior Grace Lestage, but her shot was denied by Freeport senior goalkeeper Lauren Roussel.

In the 15th minute, Feeley passed to Powers, who got past Roussel, but senior back Ava Webster was there to break up the chance.

After senior Macy Gilroy had a shot saved by Roussel, Powers had a shot blocked.

Freeport junior Rosie Panenka then sent a free kick high and with 11:56 left in the first half, Panenka first a low shot from 30 yards out that Sullivan saved.

After Roussel denied Powers, Yarmouth finally broke through with 6:46 to go before halftime.

After the Falcons failed to clear the ball, junior Sonja Bell set up Powers, who blasted a low shot from 25 yards out that a diving Roussel couldn’t reach and the ball sailed inside the right post and into the net for a 1-0 victory.

“We connected really well,” Powers said. “It was a ball from Sonja and I just had to shoot it. I just reacted. Ava’s always getting double- or triple-teamed, so it does open up lanes for everyone else.”

“Aine is a goal-scorer in lacrosse and if she misses shots, she’ll keep taking them,” Higgins said. “That’s what goal-scorers do. Her technique is getting better. She’s hitting low-driven balls and it’s paying off. She’s so athletic and fast. She was in the right place at the right time. That sparked us.”

Late in the half, Freeport senior Emily Olsen took a free kick that was headed on frame, but Sullivan snared the ball to send Yarmouth to the half up by a goal.

It didn’t take long for the Clippers to double their lead in the second half.

With 32:20 to play, Feeley had a great look, as she won the ball and got around a defender, but her shot to the right post was just a wee bit wide and bounced off the outer edge of the frame and out.

Feeley wouldn’t miss again, however, as after Roussel saved a free kick from senior Kate Sahagian, the rebound came to Feeley who drilled it home to make it 2-0.

“Ava gave us breathing room,” Higgins said. “They had a good plan for her. We tried to move her to create more space for others. Even when she is marked like that, she’s dangerous. She doesn’t need a lot of room. That’s another big goal for her in a career of big goals.”

“We just didn’t clear the ball and she got the ball in stride and ripped it,’ lamented Falcons coach David Intraversato. “It was a great shot.”

The Falcons looked to answer, but Olsen was just wide in transition and Olsen’s free kick from the side of the box was saved by Sullivan.

After Yarmouth sophomore Taylor Oranellas headed Gilroy’s corner kick off the crossbar, Freeport had one last chance, but sophomore Lucy Riggs missed wide and the Clippers closed out their 2-0 victory.

Yarmouth had a 6-3 edge in shots on frame, had four corner kicks to Freeport’s none and got three saves from Sullivan, who spearheaded a strong defensive effort.

“Our defense is really close on and off the field,” said Sullivan. “Freeport has a strong offense, but our chemistry made the difference.”

“The defense is getting better every day,” Higgins said. “They’re peaking at the right time. Regan has really emerged. She’s gone from being a great shot-stopper to a great goalie to a great leader. You can hear her in the back organizing and encouraging her teammates. She’s a huge piece. I couldn’t be more proud of how she’s competing and leading these girls.”

The Falcons got four saves from Roussel, but couldn’t generate any offense.

“I thought in the first half, we probably had the ball on their half of the field most of the time, but we couldn’t get any quality shots,” said Intraversato. “It’s always a tight game with these guys. I told the girls before the game that we’d see them again. We’ll see where we made mistakes and we’ll move on. The girls are finally focusing on defending at all times versus trying to make runs and score goals. That’s been helpful for us.”

Three to go

Freeport (currently ranked 10th in the Class B South Heal Points standings) has three pivotal contests to go, at Greely Tuesday, then home versus Poland and Cape Elizabeth and it still has opportunities to move up the standings.

“We have Greely and we need to those points,” said Intraversato. “We’ll see what happens.”

Yarmouth, meanwhile, is back in action Tuesday at home versus York. After traveling to Greely, the Clippers (who are second to Cape Elizabeth in the region) close at home versus Wells.

“I think come playoff time, our team will really connect,” Sullivan said.

“There’s always something to work on, simple stuff,” said Powers. “We have to keep working hard everywhere on the field. We’ve grown so much from the beginning of the season. I feel really confident that we can do well in the playoffs.”

“We want to play well going into playoffs,” Higgins added. “We have to dial in and every day get a little better.”

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

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