YARMOUTH — Yarmouth’s girls’ soccer team hadn’t played a game in a week and faced the daunting task of having to beat a rival for the third time this season when the top-seeded Clippers hosted No. 4 Freeport in a Class B South semifinal Wednesday night.
But the Clippers have overcome obstacles all season, and now find themselves just two victories from a repeat state championship.
Aine Powers scored twice in the first half and Taylor Oranellas added a second-half strike to lead Yarmouth to a 3-1 victory and a spot in the regional final.
“It took us a little while to get going and that’s to be expected with the layoff we’ve had, but the girls, when they start to click, they’re fun to watch,” said Clippers Coach Andy Higgins, whose team reached its fourth straight regional final.
Yarmouth (14-1-1) will take on either second-seeded Cape Elizabeth or third-seeded Greely next Wednesday at Deering High in Portland.
Powers put the Clippers ahead to stay in the 15th minute, thanks to a fortuitous bounce. Oranellas eluded a defender, then ripped a shot off the near post. Powers was waiting to knock the rebound past Freeport freshman goalkeeper Karleigh Costello, who was making her first varsity start.
Powers struck again with 3:50 left in the half. She collected a loose ball, then launched a shot from 35 yards that sailed off the outstretched hand of Costello and into the goal for a 2-0 advantage.
‘”Our energy came up so much after the first goal,” said Powers. “When we score, we get the motivation to get another one. I barely had open lanes in the game today, so when I did, I wanted to hit it. It definitely felt good.”
Yarmouth extended its lead a little over three minutes into the second half when Powers took a free kick from the side of the box and Oranellas headed it off the underside of the crossbar.
“I knew Aine was going to have a perfect cross and I just waited for it,” said Oranellas. “I just ran on to it and hoped for the best.”
Freeport (8-5-3) got one back with 11 minutes remaining. Rosie Panenka took a free kick from just inside midfield that bounced in the box, and with Clippers goalkeeper Regan Sullivan (two saves) caught in traffic, the ball rolled in to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The Falcons had a chance to get even closer with 4:36 to play, but a Silvi Strong free kick from the top of the box sailed high.
“Yarmouth’s good,” said Freeport Coach Dave Intraversato. “They started pulling it together. We got some pressure going at the end, and our young girls showed they could play. We had five freshmen on our roster this year. They’ll be older and stronger next year. It’s going to be an exciting next few years for us.”
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