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FALMOUTH — Josh Britten scored late in the first half and Luke Pierce early in the second Tuesday night as Yarmouth held off Falmouth 2-1 in a Western Maine Conference schoolboy soccer showdown.

Britten scored on a strong individual effort. Kyle Groves, inside the midfield line, sent the ball in, and Pierce pushed it into the box as keeper Will D’Agostino came out to challenge.

Britten leaped over a teammate to head it past D’Agostino at 32:32.

“We were both going for the ball,” Britten said, “but I was in better position so I went for it.”

Pierce put the Clippers (11-0-1) up 2-0 at 5:17 of the second half when he collected a loose ball on the left side of the box and whipped a turnaround shot just inside the near post.

D’Agostino was in the middle left of the goal line until Pierce committed, but lost his footing as he started to dive.

“It was an unfortunate goal,” said Yarmouth Coach Mike Hagerty. “He was in the right place but he slipped.”

Three minutes later, Clipper goalie Chris Knaub came up with back-to-back outstanding saves, first coming out to block a point-blank blast from Sam White off a give-and-go with Michael Bloom.

The rebound went to Bloom close in, but Knaub made a diving save to keep the Yachtsmen (7-4-1) scoreless.

“On the first save, I saw he was leaning forward,” said Knaub, “so I jumped out and took it off my chest. The second save was just pure reaction.”

The saves proved the difference. A Yarmouth foul on the left edge of the penalty area led to a late Falmouth penalty kick.

White took it and ripped the ball just under the crossbar to make it 2-1 with 5:21 remaining.

The Yachtsmen pressed to tie the game, but the Clippers withstood the pressure and nearly scored when Campbell Belisle Haley shot wide with 20 seconds left.

“I knew we’d have a hard time scoring,” said Hagerty, “because their defense is so strong. I thought Nick Bachman and Joe Barns did a terrific job for them.

“But we actually had more chances than in our first game with them. We could have sulked a little after their goal, but I liked the way we bounced back. Campbell did a real good job for us, and freshman Chandler Smith found out he was starting at outside back just before the game, and he was terrific.”

Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan said, “We had our chances, and we played hard to the final whistle. I was pleased with our effort. We’re not as strong as last year but we’re making progress. If we keep working like this, we’ll be fine come playoff time.”

Falmouth is the defending Class B state champion.