CUMBERLAND—The guard has been changed.

The champion has been dethroned.

By the team that just might take its place in a week’s time.

Saturday evening at the Glenn A. Hutchins Field, the host Greely girls’ soccer team, ranked first in Class B South, finally was able to do something the last nine playoff foes of the fifth-seeded Yarmouth Clippers failed to do.

Send them home with a loss.

But it certainly wasn’t easy.

Yarmouth carried play most of the first half and nearly got the all important first goal with less than a minute to go before the break, but sophomore Kiki Tompkins’ shot hit the crossbar.

The Rangers, who didn’t even produce a shot in the first half, then hit their stride in the second and with 28:52 to play, captain Molly Partridge set up Lily Pierce for what proved to be the game’s lone goal.

Greely’s defense and goalkeeper Lily Warzicki Stein did the rest and the Rangers went on to a 1-0 victory.

Greely improved to 12-0-4, won a semifinal for the first time in eight seasons, ended Yarmouth’s two-year title reign, nine-game unbeaten postseason streak and its season at 7-5-4 and in the process, set up a compelling Class B South Final showdown Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., at Fryeburg Academy versus No. 2 Cape Elizabeth (12-1-3).

“It was our goal to get to the next level,” said Rangers coach Rachel Williams. “It’s been my goal since I started coaching to get the program back to what I remembered it was like. The girls have supported me in doing that and the more support I can give them, the stronger we’ll continue to be and we’ll keep growing.”

Slim margin for error

Greely has enjoyed a magical campaign and even though the Rangers settled for two ties against Cape Elizabeth and once apiece against Hall-Dale and Yarmouth, they won every other contest to post their first undefeated mark since 2000.

In Tuesday’s quarterfinal round, Greely had no trouble with No. 8 Wells, advancing, 5-0.

Graduation losses caught up with Yarmouth this fall, but the Clippers have remained competitive throughout, even though they lost twice to Cape Elizabeth, once apiece to Freeport and Greely and tied Freeport, Greely, North Yarmouth Academy and York.

Yarmouth returned to form in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, blanking No. 4 Morse, 2-0.

In the teams’ first meeting Sept. 5, the Rangers twice took leads on goals from Jackie Franklin and Partridge, but seniors Eleanor Ting and Taylor Oranellas countered to forge a 2-2 tie.

Greely then went to Yarmouth Sept. 24 and Lola Seitz and Pierce each scored a goal as the Rangers prevailed on the Clippers’ turf for the first time in six years, 2-0.

Entering play, the teams had split two prior playoff encounters, with Greely prevailing in the 2015 Class B South semifinals (2-1) and Yarmouth returning the favor in the 2016 Class B South Final (3-1).

Saturday, on a chilly second night of November (40 degrees and dropping at kickoff), it quickly became clear that opportunities would be few and ultimately, just one was cashed in.

And it led the Rangers to their biggest victory in nearly a decade.

Greely’s Kacie Lord plays the ball as Yarmouth sophomore Giselle Jabar defends early in the Rangers’ 1-0 victory in Saturday’s Class B South semifinals. Hoffer photos.

The Clippers had possession for much of the first half, but couldn’t break through.

In the seventh minute, off a corner kick, Oranellas got her head on the ball but sent it wide.

With 22:15 to go before halftime, Warzicki Stein saved a shot from Oranellas.

Four minutes later, Yarmouth was given an indirect kick inside the box, but after a teammate tapped the ball, Oranellas’ blast was blocked.

Greely’s first chance resulted in a long free kick from Seitz in the 24th minute, but she sent the ball high.

After Warzicki Stein saved an Oranellas shot from up top, the Clippers earned a corner kick with a minute remaining and with 48 seconds left, the ball came to Tompkins, who lofted a high shot that appeared ticketed for the net, but it sailed a little too high and clanked off the crossbar, keeping the game 0-0 at the break.

“We’ve come back, but we don’t really like to, so I’m glad we stayed safe and competitive,” Williams said.

The Rangers didn’t make any major changes at halftime, but Williams got through to them during intermission.

“Halftime chat was just clean it up, play your game,” Williams said. “We were doing well, but we had to work too hard because we weren’t playing smart. I said, ‘Just play smarter, not harder.’ I told them they had all the skills they needed.”

Sure enough, Greely took the pep talk to heart and turned it into offense in the second half.

Greely’s Amelia Savoy takes a free kick as Yarmouth coach Andy Higgins looks on.

Just two minutes in, after a Yarmouth defender slipped, Pierce had a chance to break the ice, but at the last moment, Clippers sophomore Brooklyn Hayes broke up the play.

After Ting broke up a rush from Franklin, Abby Lennox attempted a shot in traffic, but sophomore goalkeeper Marian Pitney made the save.

Pitney then denied an attempt from Avery Bush and a Franklin rush was broken up in the box by sophomore Rory Tompkins.

But with 28:52 to play, Greely’s tenacity was awarded, as Partridge got the ball to Pierce on the right side of the box and Pierce had just enough room to unleash a blast that found the net for a 1-0 lead.

“It was kind of blur,” Pierce said. “It was such an amazing pass from Molly. I got the ball and kind of blacked out. It was satisfying and my team was really happy about it. It was an amazing celebration.”

“Lily’s awesome,” Williams said. “She works hard. She’s a great target for us. Sometimes, moving her around helps us a lot and she’s creative too.”

The Clippers had time to answer and nearly did so with 24:01 remaining, as sophomore Fiona John served in a nice ball off a corner kick, forcing Warzicki Stein to make the save.

The Rangers then tried to get some breathing room, but sophomore Lauren Jabar cleared away a cross from Lennox with Pitney down, Pitney dove and made a save on a shot from Bush and Pierce missed just wide.

As time wound down, Yarmouth wasn’t able to sustain possession, but did get some looks.

With 5:45 to play, Kiki Tompkins missed just high

After Bush cleared the ball from the box, John attempted a long shot with under a minute to go, but Warzicki Stein hauled it in and that brought the curtain down on Greely’s 1-0 victory, setting off a big celebration.

Greely players mob goalkeeper Lily Warzicki Stein at the final horn.

“Yarmouth’s always tough and it’s exciting to beat them in the playoffs,” Pierce said. “We hadn’t beaten them until this year. I feel like we realized what we had to get done to win this game. It’s a tribute to our hard work.”

“We knew it would be tough,” Williams said. “We know each other pretty well. Overall, it was a great game. We stuck with it and kept the momentum and did a great job.”

Each team took six shots.

Warzicki Stein made six saves for the Rangers, who had a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.

Valiant effort, unforgettable run.

The Clippers got five saves from Pitney and for the first time in a long time, walked off the field on the wrong end of the scoreboard after a postseason game.

“The kids competed and did all we asked of them,” said Yarmouth coach Andy Higgins. “(Greely) adjusted and got us back on our heels a little bit. We had a plan. They’re a really good, veteran team. Our kids responded well. They continued to battle and compete. I’m so proud of them, but unfortunately, we’re walking out of here with the feeling no one really likes.

“I hope the seniors can focus on their four-year run because it was pretty special. We lost a lot of kids and we were new, we were young, we had a really tough schedule, but we battled and competed. They took us on a fun journey. I couldn’t be more proud of their growth this year. One game doesn’t make or break anything. When the coldness of tonight wears off, hopefully the seniors can enjoy their whole careers. For the younger kids, let this be a motivator. Let it sink in a little bit and drive them for next year.”

Something has to give

Greely and Cape Elizabeth played to two memorable ties this fall, as the Rangers rallied from two goals down in a 2-2 draw Sept. 12 on the road before Greely got a goal from Pierce with 2:46 remaining in regulation for a 1-1 tie Oct. 9 at home.

The longtime rivals have met a staggering 22 previous times in the tournament, with the Capers holding a 12-10 advantage. Last year, Cape Elizabeth beat visiting Greely, 3-0, in the semifinals.

“That should be a really good game next week,” Higgins said. “It’s great for our conference. We wish both of them the best.”

Now that they’ve come this far, the Rangers aren’t content to stop now.

Greely hasn’t reached, or won a state final since 2015.

This squad has everything is takes to end that drought.

“It means a lot getting this far in playoffs,” Pierce said. “We have a really good team this year and we really want to do it for the seniors. We just have to stay focused. We know we have it in us. We just have to accomplish our goals and I think we can do it.”

“We’re excited to play Cape again,” said Williams. “I hope we can play from ahead this time. We need to be clean and sharp and consistent and capitalize on mistakes.

“We’re ready.”

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