(Ed. Note: For the full Yarmouth-Greely boys’ soccer story, please visit theforecaster.net)

Leaves are beginning to change and there is definitely a chill in the air as the calendar confirms that autumn is here.

What that means for local athletes and teams is that it’s time to get serious about a season that is roughly halfway over. Here’s a look at where things stand as we say farewell to a wonderful summer:

Boys’ soccer

The Yarmouth boys’ soccer team remained unbeaten Monday night, but it wasn’t easy.

The Clippers took a 4-0 mark to Cumberland to face the 3-1 Greely Rangers. Yarmouth, still riding high after its first-ever home turf win over Falmouth Sept. 11, was coming off a 9-0 triumph at Wells (junior Sam Torres scored four times and senior Luke Pierce added a pair of goals). The Rangers won their first three outings, but fell, 1-0, at home to Cape Elizabeth last Thursday night.

Monday, the Clippers took a quick 1-0 lead on a Torres goal, but Greely pulled even on a tally by senior Jon Coyne. Yarmouth appeared to be in control at half behind goals from junior Ryan Maguire and another from Torres with 22 seconds to go, but the Rangers rallied.

Early in the second half, Coyne was tripped in the box and converted his ensuing penalty kick. Then, with 21:14 to play, senior Sean Ross scored to make it 3-3. The deadlock only lasted 65 seconds, however, as Torres completed his hat trick, taking a pass from senior Campbell Belisle-Haley and converting, and Yarmouth held on for the 4-3 triumph.

“Give Greely credit,” Yarmouth coach Mike Hagerty said. “I thought they played a lot better than they did earlier in the season.”

“This was an old fashioned shootout,” Greely coach Mike Andreasen said. “We had chances at the end. One thing I’ve questioned about this group is how deep are we willing to dig? We were seemingly out of it tonight and came back and hopefully we’ll build on that. Yarmouth is, if not the best team we play, they’re one of the best. Generally, when we get together, it’s going to be a war.

The Clippers (5-0 and second to Maranacook in the Western B Heal Points standings, as of Tuesday morning) have another stern test at undefeated Cape Elizabeth Thursday. Friday, they visit Fryeburg. Tuesday of next week, Yarmouth hosts crosstown rival North Yarmouth Academy.

The Rangers (3-2 and ninth in Western A) host Falmouth Thursday, go to Lake Region Saturday and welcome Freeport Tuesday of next week.

Falmouth, the defending Class B champion, has lost two in a row for the first time since the end of the 2007 regular season and only the second time this century. The Yachtsmen followed up their 1-0 setback at Yarmouth with a 2-0 loss at Cape Elizabeth Saturday night, surrendering a pair of second half goals.

Falmouth (3-2 and ninth in Western B) is at Greely Thursday, visits improved Gray-New Gloucester Saturday and hosts York Tuesday of next week.

Freeport fell to 0-4-1 last Tuesday after a painful 3-2 overtime loss at Lake Region. Jack Dawe scored late to force OT. Monday, the Falcons got in the win column for the first time with a 5-0 victory at Wells. Freeport (12th in the Western B Heals) hosted Poland Wednesday and welcomes York Saturday. The Falcons go to Greely Tuesday of next week.

In Western C, NYA got its first victory last Tuesday, 4-1, at home over Traip. Junior Matt Michaud had two goals. Thursday, the Panthers visited rival Waynflete, fell behind early 2-0 and couldn’t rally despite steady second half pressure as they lost by that score to fall to 1-2 on the year.

“The first 10 minutes we looked fine, then we gave them too much space down the middle,” said NYA coach Martyn Keen. “Once they scored, our heads went down. We dug a deep hole. We did a lot better in the second half. We have games sometimes where we just can’t put one in. The games against Waynflete are huge. We see them again at Homecoming (Oct. 2).”

The Panthers (11th in the Western C Heals) go to Sacopee Saturday and visit Yarmouth Tuesday.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, Yarmouth is off to its best start this century. The Clippers blanked visiting Wells, 7-0, last Tuesday (senior Danielle Torres had three goals, classmate Devin Simsarian added a pair, while sophomores Olivia Conrad and Tess Merrill each had one goal), then edged visiting Greely in an overtime thriller (2-1) Monday night. Merrill gave Yarmouth the lead early in the second half, but senior Kelly Burrell answered for the Rangers. In OT, senior Natalie Salmon scored on a long shot and the Clippers are now 5-0 (good for first in the Western B Heals, as of Tuesday).

Yarmouth was at dangerous Cape Elizabeth Thursday, hosts Fryeburg Friday and visits NYA Tuesday.

The loss was the second straight for Greely, which dropped a 2-1 decision at Cape Elizabeth last Thursday (Burrell had the Rangers’ goal).

Greely (14th in the Western A Heals) hosted Falmouth Wednesday (see theforecaster.net for the game story), welcomes Lake Region Friday, plays at Gray-New Gloucester Saturday and visits Freeport Tuesday.

The Falcons are enjoying a banner season to date. They dropped a one-goal home decision to Yarmouth in the opener, then won four in a row, capped by a 3-1 home victory over Lake Region last Tuesday. Junior Jess Hench scored just before the first half horn and senior Katee Poulin and junior Alex Mitch added second half goals. Junior Abby Roney made five saves. Thursday, Freeport rallied to tie host Gray-New Gloucester, 3-3, on Mitch’s late goal. Sophomore Audrey Pennell and freshman Brooke Heathco also scored.

The Falcons (10th in the Western B Heals) were at Poland Wednesday, visit defending Class B champion York Friday and host Greely Tuesday.

Falmouth has undergone its share of turmoil this fall (please see story), but the Yachtsmen are still in the thick of the race. Last Thursday, Falmouth romped, 7-0, at Wells, thanks to two goals from senior Jamie Sabo. Saturday, the Yachtsmen improved to 5-1 with a hard-fought 2-0 win at Cape Elizabeth. Junior Sarah Hogan put Falmouth ahead in the 60th minute with a pretty blast to the upper left corner. With just over a minute to go, senior Rachel Bauer (from senior Jess DiPhillippo) added an insurance tally.

The victory was marred by a frightening injury to sophomore Sarah Weigel, who was knocked unconscious and removed from the premises by ambulance in the second half. She went home from the hospital that evening.

“It was nice to get out of here with a victory,” said Yachtsmen interim coach John Meek. “We didn’t let (Cape Elizabeth) create a lot. We stayed patient. Sarah Hogan hit a beautiful shot. I haven’t seen a better shot than that in as long as I can remember. Rachel’s goal wrapped things up.”

The Yachtsmen (fifth in Western B) were at Greely Wednesday (please see theforecaster.net for game story) and go to York for a regional final rematch Tuesday of next week.

In Western C, NYA has struggled early. The Panthers fell to 1-3 last Thursday after a 4-1 loss at recent nemesis Waynflete, the team that eliminated them from the past two postseasons. Junior Moira Lachance had the NYA goal.

“Waynflete played very well,” said Panthers coach Charles Fischman. “They scored some very good goals. They deserved the outcome. We played much better in the second half and I was very pleased with my group. It showed more of our potential. We’ll use that to inspire us, hopefully, as we go ahead.”

NYA (14th in the Western C Heals) hosted Old Orchard Beach Wednesday, welcomes Sacopee Saturday and plays host to Yarmouth Tuesday.

Field hockey

NYA’s field hockey team hadn’t lost a regular season game since 2008 prior to Friday’s home tilt against York. The Panthers had captured their first five games by a composite 40-3 score (including a 6-0 victory at Old Orchard Beach last Wednesday, behind two goals from sophomore Hannah Hearn). The defending Western B champion Wildcats proved to be too much for the defending Western C winners Friday as York went up 2-0 at halftime. NYA tried to rally late, pulling within one on junior Kylie Dalbec’s goal with 6:11 to go, but that’s as close as the Panthers would get and they dropped to 5-1 with the 2-1 setback, their first in 29 regular season contests.

“It’s good for us to play a team like York,” said NYA coach Julia Sterling. “This is proof to us that we’re good enough to play with anybody. I would have loved to compete with them a little better, but it was great to see us keep up the energy and effort right until the end. We still have things to learn.”

The Panthers (third behind Livermore Falls and Telstar in the Western C Heals, as of Tuesday) hosted Waynflete Tuesday, welcome Sacopee Thursday and Old Orchard Beach Saturday before going to Freeport Monday of next week.

The Falcons entered the week 4-3 and fifth in the Western C Heals after splitting a pair of games last week. Freeport was a 6-0 winner at Poland last Wednesday (Katie Turner led the way with two goals), but lost, 6-2, at home to Greely (Falcons coach Sara Dimick’s alma mater) Friday. In that one, Turner and Mia Thomas had Freeport’s goals.

The Falcons go to Traip Thursday and are home with Poland Saturday and NYA Monday.

In Western B, Greely continues to impress. The Rangers beat visiting Gray-New Gloucester (3-0) and host Freeport (6-2) last week to improve to 5-1. Against the Patriots, all three goals came off penalty corners as Rachel Hanson, Ceci Hodgkins and Sarah Howard did the honors. In the win over the Falcons, Hanson had three goals, while Hodgkins, Eliza Porter and Freyja Victory, a swinger from the junior varsity team, also rattled the cage.

Greely (second to York in the Heals) was at Gray-New Gloucester Tuesday, hosts Falmouth Thursday, welcomes Yarmouth Saturday and goes to Cape Elizabeth Monday of next week.

Falmouth continues to play its share of close games, but the wins are starting to come. The Yachtsmen, who lost four of their first five contests, including a 2-0 setback at York last Wednesday, improved to 2-4 Saturday with a 1-0 overtime win over visiting Lake Region on senior Stephanie Gramse’s goal.

“We worked hard,” said Falmouth coach Robin Haley. “It hasn’t been easy. We’ve struggled to score this year. This is a huge confidence-builder. We’re learning how to be aggressive. We’re in every single game. I’m really pleased with our progress. We’re getting better. That’s our goal.”

Falmouth (10th in the standings) hosted Fryeburg Tuesday, goes to Greely Thursday and Gray-New Gloucester Saturday and plays host to York Monday.

Yarmouth is seeking its first win since 2008, but snapped a 24-game winless streak Friday when it tied host Waynflete, 0-0. The Clippers (0-6-1 and 12th in Western B) are home with Cape Elizabeth Thursday, visit Greely Saturday and play host to Fryeburg Monday.

Cross-country

While local cross-country rivals Falmouth, Greely and Yarmouth competed against each other last weekend (please see story), Freeport and NYA joined York at Poland.

In the boys’ meet, won by York with the Falcons second and the Panthers third, NYA’s Cam Regan came in second (18 minutes, 54 seconds) and Freeport’s Griffin Day placed fourth (19:04). The girls’ meet was also won by the Wildcats, with the Panthers finishing runner-up and the Falcons third. Individually, NYA’s Hillary Detert was third (23:38) and Freeport’s Lauren Easler came in seventh (24:44).

Merriconeag hosted Fryeburg, Sacopee and Waynflete last weekend. The hosts won the boys’ meet by three points over Fryeburg and Waynflete. Jack Pierce was first in 17:15. On the girls’ side, Merriconeag was first as well. Zoe Chace-Donahue had the second-fastest time (22:19).

This weekend, local teams will take part in the Southwest Classic (a joint Western Maine Conference-Southern Maine Activities Association meet held at Twin Brook in Cumberland) on Saturday.

Golf

Golf teams are gearing up for the upcoming state qualifying tournament. Falmouth took a 4-1 record into the week after enjoying wins over rivals Cape Elizabeth (6-1) and Greely (7-0) last week. The Rangers are 2-4 on the season, heading into a meet at Yarmouth Thursday. The Clippers are 3-2 after a 6-1 loss to York Monday. Freeport dropped to 2-6 after a 7-0 loss to Wells Monday. The Falcons visit Waynflete Thursday. NYA beat Old Orchard Beach, 7-0, Monday and is now 5-2 on the season. The Panthers were at Wells Wednesday.

Volleyball

Falmouth’s volleyball team remains undefeated and atop the Class A standings. The Yachtsmen enjoyed recent 3-0 wins at Kennebunk (25-9, 25-13, 25-16) and at home over Yarmouth (25-17, 25-15-25-7). Falmouth hosts Scarborough Thursday and goes to Gorham next Tuesday.

Greely has recovered from its Opening Night loss to Biddeford and has captured five straight matches, the latest 3-0 victories over Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth. The Rangers (second in Class A) are at Scarborough next Tuesday.

Yarmouth continues to hang tough. The Clippers gave host Biddeford a mighty scare last Tuesday before falling in five games (25-23, 14-25, 26-24, 18-25, 14-16).

“It was the most exciting match I’ve been involved in,” said Yarmouth coach Jim Senecal. “Our three seniors led the way. Mary Sansone was unbelievable in the back row. She denied the spike time after time. Emily Clark collected several blocks. Abbie Hutchinson led our offense again with 16 kills and proved again that her overall floor game is second to none. The match really pulled the team and our program together in a manner that we were missing earlier in the season. It gave us confidence that we can play with anyone. We’re a fun team to watch, that’s for sure.”

Yarmouth is 2-4 after Monday’s 3-0 loss to Falmouth (17-25, 15-25, 7-25). The Clippers (fifth in Class A) go to Cape Elizabeth Friday and host Biddeford next Tuesday.

NYA is 0-4 and eighth in Class B after a 3-0 loss to Scarborough Friday (10-25, 6-25, 12-25). The Panthers are at Sumner Friday and visit Jonesport-Beals and Machias Saturday.

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

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Greely senior Paul Witte and Cape Elizabeth junior Blake Barritt battle for possession during last Thursday’s 1-0 Capers’ victory in Cumberland.

Greely junior Libby Thomas gets the worse of this collision with Yarmouth senior Natalie Salmon Monday night. Salmon’s overtime goal gave the undefeated Clippers a 2-1 victory.

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