YARMOUTH—Twice this fall, Yarmouth’s boys’ soccer team had to rally late in the second half to avoid defeat at the hands of rival Freeport.

Wednesday evening, in a Class B South quarterfinal, the Clippers tried playing from ahead and liked what resulted much better.

Yarmouth, the No. 3 seed and two-time reigning state champion, hosted the feisty sixth-ranked Falcons in what was expected to be a down-to-the-wire affair, but the Clippers began what they hope is another title run with a decisive victory thanks to a fast start and opportunistic play throughout.

In the game’s ninth minute, junior Justin Dawes buried a beautiful shot to put Yarmouth ahead to stay.

Senior captain Truman Peters then added to the lead in the 19th minute, but two minutes later, Freeport got right back in the game, as junior Garrett Richeson finished.

The score remained 2-1 into the second half and after some near-misses, the Clippers ended all doubt, as junior Zach Kelly finished with 22 minutes remaining, junior Jonny Fulton, who was huge at both ends of the field, scored with 6:37 to go, then senior captain Owen Redfield added one more goal for good measure with 4 minutes left and Yarmouth went on to a 5-1 victory.

The Clippers improved to 11-2-2, ended Freeport’s season at 7-5-4 and advanced to host No. 7 Fryeburg Academy (11-5) in the semifinals Saturday at a time to be announced.

“We have a lot of pride,” Peters said. “We have a lot to live up to, but we go into every game giving up our best effort. We know we have a great supporting staff of coaches and teammates. We have confidence and heart.”

Championship pride

Yarmouth has dominated Freeport this century, but since Bob Strong took over the Falcons program in 2018, the gap between the teams has narrowed to a razor-thin margin and the intensity of the rivalry has skyrocketed as Freeport clearly wants what the Clippers have enjoyed for the better part of the past decade.

Dominance over Class B.

Twice this fall (see sidebar for links to previous game stories), the Falcons were on the verge of beating Yarmouth for the first time in over a quarter-century, but in the teams’ first meeting Sept. 7 in Freeport, the Clippers scored twice in the final 10 minutes (junior Zach Turkel and Dawes did the honors) to prevail, 2-1, then in the second encounter Oct. 8, Yarmouth tied the contest on a Kelly goal with six minutes to go and it wound up 1-1.

The Clippers were slightly more mortal than usual this fall, going 10-2-2, a record most programs would love, and wound up third in Class B South, their lowest ranking since 2011 (they had been first the past four postseasons).

The Falcons also lost twice to Cape Elizabeth and once to three-time reigning Class C champion Waynflete and tied four games total, but hinted at being a dangerous foe from start to finish. In Saturday’s preliminary round, Freeport ousted No. 11 Morse, 3-1.

Yarmouth had won six of seven prior playoff encounters (see sidebar), including last year’s memorable overtime thriller, which saw the Falcons tie the score in the final minute of regulation on a goal from Owen Howarth, then despite being down a man, the Clippers win it in OT when then-junior Stevie Walsh scored to end it.

Wednesday’s game was delayed an hour due to rain early in the day and once the contest began (on a 62-degree evening with light winds and occasional drizzle), Yarmouth went out and took care of business.

Freeport had the first serious threat, in the fifth, minute, as Richeson sent a nice through ball into the box in the direction of senior standout Alex Graver, but Clippers junior goalkeeper Ian O’Connor beat Graver to the ball by a split second.

At the other end, Turkel threatened to put Yarmouth on top, but Falcons junior back Max Maneikis broke up the play in the box.

With 31:35 to go in the first half, the Clippers got the jump, courtesy a terrific strike from Dawes.

Dawes eluded a defender, found a little operating room and from 25-yards out fired a blast to the left of Freeport senior goalkeeper Adam Clough just inside the far post for a 1-0 advantage.

A lead Yarmouth would never relinquish.

“From our scouting, we knew (Freeport’s) backs sometimes drop a little deep and we’ve practiced hitting the ball from a little further away,” said Clippers coach Mike Hagerty, who has still never lost to the Falcons in his career. “Earlier in the season, we worried more about taking extra touches, but today, we knew we could rip some shots and Justin hit a beautiful ball. Teams know we have some speed, but until Justin runs by you at 6-(foot)-2 like a gazelle, it’s hard to see how fast he truly is.”

Freeport wasn’t able to answer and with 21:57 on the first half clock, Yarmouth got a little breathing room, as off a throw from the side from Fulton, the Falcons weren’t able to clear the ball and it came out to Peters, who put it home to make it 2-0.

“We set it up pretty well,” Peters said. “It was a set play where I stay at the top of the box. The ball bounced around and came out to me. It was on my right foot, so it could have gone anywhere, but luckily, it went in the back of the net. Getting a lead was important. We’ve been trying for awhile now to get that first goal and not have to come back at the end. We were able to keep piling on.”

“Credit to Truman, who’s had to play three different positions for us this year,” Hagerty said. “He’s been a little frustrated with his scoring, but he works so hard. To hit that ball with his right foot like that, I’m just so happy for him.”

“That was a great goal by Truman,” Strong said. “He’s dynamite.”

Freeport refused to buckle and roared right back to make things interesting.

With 19:46 left in the half, off a free kick from senior Ben Grimm from the Falcons’ side of midfield, the ball glanced off a defender right on to the waiting foot of Richeson, who fired a shot past O’Connor to cut the deficit to one.

Freeport suddenly had momentum, but Yarmouth didn’t panic.

“I think we just had a miscommunication in the box,” said junior back Sam Lowenstein, who has emerged as a defensive anchor with senior captain Liam Hickey sidelined with a hip injury. “That’s definitely something we’ll clean up so it doesn’t happen again. We were still up after that goal and we had the mentality that it was a tie game, so we kept working.”

The Falcons looked to tie it up, but a shot from junior Owen Rusiecki with 10:48 to go sailed high and after Fulton sent a header off a corner kick just wide, the game went to halftime with the Clippers clinging to a 2-1 advantage.

Yarmouth then came out on fire to start the second half and while it couldn’t capitalize on some early chances, it was only a matter of time before it salted away the victory.

Just 45 seconds in, Turkel set up Dawes in front for a great chance, but Dawes wasn’t able to finish and the ball was cleared for a corner kick, on which Fulton again got his head on the ball, but sent it over the crossbar.

Fulton then got another look off a corner kick serve and this time, he sent the ball wide.

The Clippers had four corner kicks in the first five minutes of the half, but had nothing to show for them and the game remained taut.

Freeport’s lone shot to pull even came with just over 27 minutes to play, but a long free kick from Grimm rolled just wide of the mark.

After O’Connor broke up a through ball from Grimm to Graver, Yarmouth got some breathing room.

With 22:28 to play, again off a Fulton throw and again after the ball wasn’t cleared out of harm’s way, Kelly pounced and finished to make it 3-1.

“Zach Kelly is our little Wayne Rooney,” Hagerty said, alluding to the one-time English standout. “He is so tough and focused inside the 6. We joke about scoring the Gibson Harnett (Class of 2017) goals of old. Zach gets a bunch of those goals. Inside the 6, you have to be tough and gritty.”

The Falcons again tried to quickly counter, but a Richeson shot was blocked, then, off a corner kick, freshman Israel Ditanduka had a shot blocked in the box.

With 6:37 remaining, Yarmouth put it away, as off a free kick from Walsh, Fulton finally managed to put the ball on target and it found the net to make it 4-1.

“I wanted a goal so badly,” said Fulton. “We have a great rivalry with Freeport, so it felt good to get some goals on them.”

After Graver just missed high on a free kick, the Clippers added one final goal for good measure, as off a corner kick, Redfield got to a loose ball and sent it home and Yarmouth was able to go on and celebrate its 5-1 victory.

“At halftime, Coach just told us to play with a sense of urgency and keep playing like we were down or tied,” said junior back Matt Gautreau. “We did a good job switching the field, playing wide, using our wings.”

“I’m thrilled to get through tonight,” Hagerty said. “Overall, I’m so pleased how the kids performed. We talked about the importance of the first five minutes of the second half and we came out and had three good chances. Sometimes missing those opportunities comes back to bite you, but our kids just work and do things right.”

The Clippers finished with a 7-2 advantage in shots on frame and took six corner kicks to the Falcons’ two.

While Yarmouth’s offensive production will get the majority of the attention, the Clippers’ defense was stellar, as Gautreau (who previously was tasked with defending Waynflete standout Myles Culley) shadowed Graver throughout Wednesday’s contest and got plenty of help from Fulton, Lowenstein and company.

“(Graver’s) a great player,” Gautreau said. “Shutting down Myles for a good amount of that last game boosted my confidence a lot coming into this game.”

“How about our defenders tonight?” Hagerty said. “Matt was great on one of the best players in the conference. He just kept his composure. Sammy and Jonny were solid in the middle, closing things down. As much as we love scoring goals, I thought tonight our defense won the game. They scored a goal on a mistake. We know they’re dangerous on set pieces, but we cleaned up the communication and in the second half, I thought we were very much in control. We knew they were strong down the spine and I’m proud of how we responded to their direct play.”

Freeport got three saves from Clough, but once again, couldn’t solve its nemesis.

“We just couldn’t clear balls today and they took advantage,” Strong lamented. “We’ve struggled to score goals at times this season and tonight that was visible. We struggled to get opportunities, but we played really hard. A few bounces go a different way and this game is completely different. (Yarmouth’s) just a good team, but I feel like we’ve given them more trouble than any other team in the conference. At some point, the pendulum will swing.”

The Falcons have to part with a dozen seniors, including Graver, one of the state’s premier players, but they’ll be nipping at the Clippers’ heels again in 2023.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a player have such an impact on a program like Alex has,” Strong said. “Not just in his high school years, but when he moved here.

“Our junior class is really strong. I think they’ll remember this game and hopefully it will motivate them for next year.”

Sights on Saturday

Yarmouth blanked visiting Fryeburg Academy, 4-0, back on Sept. 22. Peters, Luis Cardoso and Lucas Minnihan scored and the Clippers also benefited from an “own goal.” Dawes had two assists and Kelly one in that victory.

Yarmouth has won six of seven prior playoff meetings over the Raiders, with a 7-0 victory in the 2014 Western B quarterfinals the most recent.

“We’re going to play hard whoever we’re playing,” Lowenstein said.

“We have a lot to live up to as defending champs,” Fulton said. “It’s a tough road, but I think we have the heart to get there.”

“I said earlier in the season. Fryeburg’s dangerous,’ Hagerty added. “I’m just glad we’re still playing.”

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

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