CUMBERLAND—A sure victory turned into a nailbiter Thursday afternoon, but Yarmouth’s field hockey team did just enough to keep the good times rolling at Greely.
After a sluggish first quarter which didn’t see the potent Clippers register a shot, they went ahead with 11:21 to play in the second period, as junior Celia Zinman scored off a penalty corner.
Three minutes later, sophomore Erica O’Connor scored on a rebound and Yarmouth held a 2-0 lead at the half.
The Rangers hung tough behind senior goalie Mya Vickerson and when freshman Sophia Hall-Riddle scored in transition late in the third quarter, the Clippers were only up by one.
Greely couldn’t muster another shot, however, and Yarmouth was able to close out its 2-1 victory, its fourth in succession.
The Clippers improved to 4-1 on the season and in the process, evened the Rangers’ mark at 2-2.
“We found a way to win it, which is awesome,” said Yarmouth’s second-year coach Bre Morrill.
High aspirations
Yarmouth came within a whisper of a state final appearance in 2023, dropping a 2-1 double-overtime heartbreaker to rival Freeport in the Class B South Final to finish 14-2-1.
The Clippers hope to take the final step this time around and even after losing at home to Freeport in the opener (2-1), have staked their claim by handling host Wells (7-0), Spruce Mountain (2-0) and Poland (5-1).
“First game of the season, we were really just finding our balance,” said Zinman. “Freeport’s a great team. They have some strong players and so do we. I’m excited to play them again.”
Greely went 7-8 last season, also losing to Freeport, 7-1, in the quarterfinals.
The Rangers began the 2024 campaign with a 4-0 loss at St. Dom’s, then bounced back to edge host Lake Region in double-overtime (2-1) before blanking visiting Wells (5-0).
A year ago, host Yarmouth beat Greely, 2-0.
Thursday, the Rangers looked to beat the Clippers for the first time in nearly five years (a 2-0 road triumph Oct. 7, 2019), but instead, Yarmouth made it five straight in the series.
But it didn’t come easily.
Greely held the Clippers at bay in the first quarter as the defense, led by senior Anna Mancini, turned away forays into the circle and Rangers sophomore Maya Tracey broke up a late Zinman rush.
Yarmouth then got the ball in optimal spots in the second period, began to earn penalty corners and eventually, it broke through.
Three minutes in, a first Clippers’ corner didn’t result in a shot, but the second saw O’Connor send the ball on target, only to have Nickerson make the save.
Yarmouth then got another chance and with 11:21 to go in the half, senior Madeline Nieter inserted the ball to junior Sally McGrath, who passed to Zinman on the right side and Zinman ripped a shot past Vickerson just inside the far post for a 1-0 lead.
“We’re an athletic team,” Zinman said. “We’ve got our chemistry going. We got the ball moving quickly. It was a great insert. Sally up top is great moving the ball. I picked my head up and saw the corner and aimed for it.”
“Corners are a focus this year,” Morrill said. “We want to get it in the back of the next when we have those opportunities. (Celia) can crush that shot.”
With 8:24 on the clock, the Clippers doubled their lead, as McGrath sent a long drive in from midfield. Had Vickerson let it go by, it wouldn’t have counted since the shot came from well beyond the circle, but Vickerson stopped it with her pads and O’Connor pounced on the loose ball. While Vickerson saved O’Connor’s first bid, O’Connor got the rebound and sent it into the cage for a 2-0 advantage.
“Sally’s a great hustler,” Zinman said. “She’s gritty. We’ve talked about spreading out, using the field to our advantage.”
“Erica and Celia have taken over the Sophie Smith role,” said Morrill, referring to last year’s All-State standout. “Sally hit that from the 50 and we got lucky. Erica knew to keep playing and she didn’t expect the goalie to stop it, but she showed her instincts.”
Yarmouth had a 6-0 edge in shots and a 5-0 advantage in corners in the first half and appeared to have the game in hand, but that would change in the third quarter.
The Rangers made an early push, as sophomore Helen Zimmerman rushed toward the goal, but it was broken up by Clippers’ senior Chloe Wright.
Yarmouth then looked to add to its lead, but a Zinman shot off a corner was saved by Vickerson, and Zinman set up freshman Maya Nasveschuk on a rush only to have Nasveschuk miss just wide.
Then, after Vickerson denied O’Connor, Greely transitioned in the blink of an eye and got right back in the game.
Zimmerman sent the ball ahead and when it got past a defender, Hall-Riddle got to it and while Clippers’ junior goalie Emma Shannon came out and slid, Hall-Riddle got the ball past her and sent it into the cage with 2:57 to go.
“We’ve been struggling with fastbreaks this year and they got us there,” Morrill said. “After that, we focused on locking it down and having our mids get back to support the defense.”
Early in the fourth quarter, Yarmouth did its best to restore a two-goal lead, but Vickerson denied junior Madison Wiles.
Greely coach Burgess LePage called timeout with 7:55 remaining in regulation, hoping to inspire some offense, but the Rangers never managed to get the ball into the offensive zone.
After one final Vickerson save, on O’Connor, the Clippers managed to run out the clock and prevail, 2-1.
“It’s a game that goes back and forth,” said Zinman. “We kept our intensity, which I’m really happy about, and we held our own.”
“Our goal was just to keep the ball on our side of the field at the end,” said Morrill.
Yarmouth finished with a 12-1 shots advantage and took nine corners to none for Greely.
The Rangers got 10 saves from Vickerson.
“This game was so important for our confidence,” LePage said. “We’ve been working on some confidence issues that stem from last season. We needed to see our strengths. We’re lucky to play Yarmouth on grass because they’re so fast. We did a better job in the second half marking their most pivotal players and taking away some of their goal-scoring prowess. After we scored, our number one goal was to not let them score again. Of course, we wanted to come out with a ‘W’ against Yarmouth, but practicing that composure was paramount.”
Busy week
Greely is back in action Monday at Freeport. After hosting York Wednesday, the Rangers visit Fryeburg Academy next Friday.
“We have a busy week next week,” said LePage. “This momentum will make us feel good going into our next game.”
Yarmouth finally returns home Saturday to face Fryeburg Academy. The Clippers then welcome Poland Wednesday of next week.
“We lost a lot from last year, but we’ve gained just as much,” Zinman said. “Everyone has a mindset of winning which is great. We all want to get better. We came into the season ready to go.”
“We just need to keep being intense and build from there,” Morrill said. “We want to try to get the gold and not the silver this year.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
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