The Falcons responded with a 3-2 victory over the rival Clippers in Western Maine Conference action. Yarmouth had won the five previous meetings heading into Tuesday’s game.
“We get fired up for them. It’s been awhile since we’ve beaten them, so it’s a great feeling,” said Falcons coach Marcia Wood.
Freeport got goals from freshmen Ally Randall and Hannah Groves, but it was Natalie Anderson’s goal with 3:26 remaining in the contest that proved to be the game-winner as Freeport improved to 6-2-1.
“We knew this was going to be a tough game and I knew it was going to be the biggest challenge we’ve seen in a while,” said Yarmouth coach Andrea Musante. “Freeport came out fired up today and they wanted it more early on.”
Freeport came out of the opening whistle anxious to attack. Pressure from Alexa Koenig and Randall forced Yarmouth back on its heels early. On Freeport’s second corner of the game, Grace Schnyder took the pass but was unable to put it on net when her shot went wide.
Just over a minute later, Freeport found the back of the cage when Randall picked up the ball, putting it on net in hopes of someone getting a stick on it to score. Nobody did, but the ball slipped past Yarmouth goalie Cayte Tilloston for the first goal of the afternoon.
“I wasn’t really expecting to score. My intention was to knock it in for someone else to get it in the net,” said the freshman.
On the defensive end, Freeport was able to minimize the Clippers’ offensive chances, limiting them to only one shot on goal in the first half. Brooke and Callie Toothaker, along with Maya Bradbury, kept the Yarmouth midfielders out of the circle by breaking up plays in the middle of the zone.
With less than a minute remaining in the half, a scrum for a loose ball broke out in front of Freeport goalie Katelyn Rouleau, but Yarmouth was unable to punch it in. Reilly Lefebvre made sure of that, by spinning around a Yarmouth midfielder, dribbling the ball outside the 18- yard line and securing the 1-0 lead going into halftime.
Yarmouth responded to the start of the second half by pushing the ball deep into Freeport territory two minutes into the half. Looking to make things happen, Clipper Sophia McGrath drove inside the 18- yard line towards the net, but a Freeport defender knocked it away for a corner.
Over the next three minutes, Yarmouth had five corners. All five came up empty for the visitors. Yarmouth primarily plays on turf, and while Musante admitted it wasn’t an excuse, playing on grass at Hunter Road Fields on Tuesday did pose some problems for her Clippers.
“It makes somewhat of a difference because we practice and play on turf most of the time. There are tendencies you get used to. I think some things got exposed today so we need to learn to adjust,” said the Yarmouth coach. “We both played on the same surface, so it’s no excuse.”
Falcons double lead
Ten minutes into the half, Freeport’s Randall knocked a ball on net before Groves was able to get a stick on it, knocking it in for the score, giving the Falcons a 2-0 lead.
“The ball went in front of the goalie and I went after it. I wasn’t thinking about scoring so much, I just wanted to hit it and it went in,” said Groves.
Yarmouth’s Lydia Guay took a shot at Rouleau with less than 14 minutes remaining. The junior netminder made one of her four saves to preserve the two-goal lead, a save that prompted Wood to yell, “that’s my goalie.”
While the Clippers continued to unsuccessfully convert a corner into a goal, they finally scored off Rouleau when Emilie Martin fired a long shot on net from the top of the circle that Maggie Gunville knocked in with 12: 25 remaining.
“When they got that first goal, I was a little nervous,” said Wood. “We’ve had some trouble putting teams away and with both the last minute of the first half and again at the end of the game, our defense really stepped it up for us, keeping the one goal lead.”
Koenig, Bradbury and Schnyder continued giving the Falcons a strong defense against the pesky Clippers. Strong defensive plays turned into offensive runs for Freeport.
With under four minutes remaining, Anderson grabbed the ball at the 30- yard line and raced down the left side. After losing her footing, the junior regained her balance, continuing to dribble towards the net. The junior’s determination resulted in the all important insurance goal, putting the home team up 3-1.
“Any good team would claw back. We’ve been notorious for losing last-second games and I didn’t want that to happen today,” said the forward. “After I slipped, I carried the ball into the circle and was able to get a shot off.”
Yarmouth called a timeout following the goal, and with a little over two minutes left, Yarmouth took its 10th corner of the half. McGrath fired a backhand on net and Kyaira Grondin knocked it for the score, cutting the lead back to one.
Once again, the Freeport defense clamped down, controlling the field in the remaining minutes to earn the 3-2 victory.
“I am so excited how we are coming together. I feel we have such a deep bench that I can rely on,” added Wood. “I am so excited to have contributing underclassmen this year.”
Freeport 3, Yarmouth 2
At Hunter Road Fields at Freeport
| Yarmouth | — 0 | 2 | — | 2 | ||
| Freeport | — | 1 | 2 | — | 3 |
Goals — (Y) Maggie Gunville, Kyaira Grondin; (F) Ally Randall, Hannah Groves, Natalie Anderson. Assists — (Y) Emilie Martin, Sophie McGrath; (F) Ally Randall. Shots on goal — Freeport 7, Yarmouth 6. Saves — (Y) Cayte Tillotson 4; (F) Katelyn Rouleau 4. Corners — Yarmouth 11, Freeport 5. Records — Freeport 6-2-1, Yarmouth 7-2. Up next for the Falcons — Thursday at Poland at 4 p.m.
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