YARMOUTH—The seniors on Freeport’s girls’ soccer team had never been able to walk off the turf at Yarmouth High School feeling good about a result after facing their longtime nemesis, the Yarmouth Clippers.

Until Tuesday.

And while the Falcons weren’t able to celebrate a victory on the bus ride home, they did manage to play the Clippers to a draw.

And that’s something to build on.

On a night where defenses dominated, Freeport had the lone shot of the first half, but couldn’t convert.

Then, with 27:30 to go in regulation, Yarmouth appeared to go in front, as senior Taylor Oranellas scored off a free kick from classmate and fellow captain Eleanor Ting, but the goal was waved off.

Neither team could break through the rest of the second half and 10 minutes of “sudden victory” overtime didn’t produce a winner either as the Falcons and Clippers settled for a 0-0 draw.

Yarmouth is now 4-2-3 on the season, while Freeport’s record is 3-3-1.

“It was a great game,” said Falcons coach Dave Intraversato. “Two good teams playing. It’s a good result, a confidence boost for the girls. We have 10 seniors and it’s the first time they didn’t lose here, so they’re pretty happy about that. They saw me smiling too.”

Try, try again

Entering play, Yarmouth had won 30 of 34 meetings this century with Freeport prevailing three times and the teams settling for one draw.

Last year, the Clippers beat the Falcons in Freeport (1-0) and Yarmouth (2-0) during the regular season, then they prevailed again in the Class B South semifinals (3-1) en route to a repeat state title.

The road has gotten tougher for the two-time champs this fall.

The Clippers opened with a 2-2 tie at Greely, then downed visiting Gray-New Gloucester (5-1), played visiting Class A North power Brunswick to a scoreless draw, then won at home over York (3-0) before suffering its first loss in over a calendar year, 2-0, at Cape Elizabeth. After a 1-0 victory at Wells, Yarmouth fell at home to Greely (2-0) before bouncing back to blank host Waynflete, the reigning Class C champion, 2-0, last Thursday.

As for Freeport, it lost three of its four before showing signs of life.

After a 3-2 loss at North Yarmouth Academy and a 1-0 home win over Morse, the Falcons dropped a 2-1 home decision to Cape Elizabeth and fell at Greely (2-0) before bouncing back to blank both visiting Traip Academy and York by a 2-0 score.

Tuesday, on a chilly evening, with the temperature plummeting into the low 50s, the Falcons hoped to down the Clippers for the first time since Sept. 17, 2019, while Yarmouth looked to make it 13 in a row in the series.

Instead, neither squad quite got what they hoped.

Freeport senior Celia Cobb boots the ball away during the Falcons’ 0-0 tie at Yarmouth Tuesday. Hoffer photos.

In the second minute, Oranellas served a cross into the box, but it landed untouched.

Freeport’s first chance came at the other end, where a long free kick from senior Julia Whalen landed in the box, but was cleared by the Clippers’ defense.

With 32:17 to go in the first half, the Falcons had their best scoring chance, as off a corner kick, the ball came up top to senior Kenzie Cochran, but her shot was snared by leaping Yarmouth sophomore goalkeeper Marian Pitney.

With 16 minutes on the clock, a long Ting free kick deflected out to junior Keira Cowans, but Cowans missed high.

A moment later, sophomore Rory Tompkins tried to set up sophomore Lilah Pernal, but Costello got to the ball first.

With 5:05 left before the break, a long free kick from junior Tess LaBrecque was bobbled by Costello, but she fell on the ball to deny a rebound.

There wouldn’t be many chances in the second half either, but the Clippers did appear to break through at one point.

Freeport senior Silvi Strong heads the ball away from Yarmouth sophomores Rory Tompkins, left, and Lilah Pernal.

Four minutes in, Oranellas tried to feed sophomore Miah Jacobs in the box, but Costello fell on the ball with senior back Mia Levesque providing assistance.

With 31 minutes to play, Whelan served in a long free kick, but Pitney got to the ball first.

The Clippers then appeared to get the jump with 27:30 remaining.

Ting served the ball in and Oranellas ran on to it, heading it past Costello and setting off a celebration, but much to Yarmouth’s chagrin, the goal was waved off, as the Clippers were ruled to be offsides.

“It’s tough, but we can’t rely on one play,” Yarmouth coach Andy Higgins said.

Later in regulation, Costello saved a shot from Pernal, Pernal and Oranellas each missed wide and Oranellas shot high, while at the other end, senior Silvi Strong bodied a free kick serve from Whelan just wide.

That sent the game to overtime, where no goals resulted.

In the first five-minute session, Tompkins set up sophomore Fiona John for a chance on the right side, but John missed wide.

Each team then had one chance in the second overtime.

With 3:29 left, Strong launched a long shot which Pitney easily handled.

Then, with 1:37 on the clock, sophomore Gisella Jabar shot for Yarmouth, forcing Costello to go sprawling. The rebound squirted free, but Costello fell on it and that would be it for chances as the game ended 0-0.

“We knew had to shut down Oranellas,” said Intraversato. “We have one of the better defenders to do that in (senior) Lana DiRusso. We wanted to play between the 30s and 40s and keep the ball in the midfield as much as we could.”

“This was a good test for us,” Higgins said. “An opportunity to play a solid team and see where we stack up. Games with Freeport are always fun and competitive. Dave does a great job and his kids are great. It was a playoff atmosphere. Both teams defended well. We put in some changes last night and the kids did really well training just one day. We limited the number of dangerous chances they had and were able to get a little bit more going forward. They’re hard to break down and score on. It was just a good, solid Western Maine Conference game.”

Shots on frame and corner kicks both wound up 3-3.

Costello and Pitney each made three saves.

Rematch?

Considering the neighbors and rivals have met three straight years in the playoffs, it’s possible they’ll see each other twice more this fall.

The second meeting is guaranteed and will occur in two weeks in Freeport.

Both squads will be tested in the interim.

The Falcons are at Lincoln Academy Thursday and home versus Gray-New Gloucester Saturday. After going to Waynflete Tuesday of next week, Freeport goes to York Thursday of next week.

“It’s still Yarmouth, even though they’re rebuilding,” Intraversato said. “They got stronger as the game went on. I’m sure they’ll get stronger by the end of the season. We look forward to playing them again. We’re putting it together. We’ve got eight games in 19 days. I think we can play with anybody. We’ll finish strong and be there in the end.”

Yarmouth is idle until next Tuesday when NYA pays a visit. The Clippers then go to Mt. Ararat next Thursday.

“This game will help us both prepare for the rest of the season,” said Higgins. “We just have to continue to work together and play together and move the ball and find good combinations to get decent strikes on frame. Our last two weeks, we’ve had a game every other day, so it’s going to be nice to get some practice days in now to work on things. Our emphasis will be finding the back of the net. We didn’t get a break with our schedule. Hopefully it pays off in the long run.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.