YARMOUTH—Yarmouth’s boys’ lacrosse team is going to have to do it the hard way this spring and the Clippers are up for the challenge.

Thursday evening, No. 4 Yarmouth hosted No. 5 Marshwood in a memorable Class B state quarterfinal round contest that was nip-and-tuck throughout.

But with the game hanging in the balance, the Clippers did what it took, big and small, to advance.

Yarmouth was bolstered by the return of junior standout Colter Olson, who missed the end of the regular season with a shoulder injury, and shot to a quick 3-0 lead behind three Olson goals in the game’s first four-plus minutes.

But the Hawks, thanks to faceoff dominance from junior Milo Closson, roared back and three goals from senior Thomas Demeroto and two from classmate Chase Turcotte forged a 5-5 tie after a wild first period.

Demeroto scored another goal late in the first half and Marshwood held a 7-6 advantage at the break.

The Clippers came into the second half refocused on doing the little things and thanks to a strong effort from senior Ethan St. Pierre in the faceoff circle, started to get possession again and shot to a 10-8 lead.

The Hawks answered right back to tie it, but in a pivotal 14-second span in the final minute of the third quarter, freshman Colton McCann and Olson scored to put Yarmouth ahead, 12-10, heading for the final stanza.

There, Demetoro cut the deficit to one, Olson stretched it back to two, then Demeroto made it a one-goal game again with 4:13 left.

But Marshwood couldn’t pull even and the Clippers were able to run out the final two-and-a-half minutes and prevail, 13-12.

Olson scored seven times as Yarmouth improved to 11-4, ended Marshwood’s season at 10-6 and in the process, advanced to set up a state semifinal round showdown either at No. 1 York (10-4) or at home versus No. 8 Mt. Ararat (10-5) Tuesday of next week at a time to be announced.

“(Marshwood’s) a great team,” said Clippers coach Jon Miller. “It was fun to play against a quality team like that. We knew they had a couple studs. We knew it was going to be close and it was.”

The little things

Yarmouth’s bid for a third consecutive Class B championship was dashed in stunning fashion by Brunswick last spring with a 14-13 loss in the state game.

The Clippers expect to get back to the pinnacle this season, but have had their ups and downs (see sidebar for links to previous game stories), losing twice to two-time reigning Class A champion Cape Elizabeth, once to Falmouth and once to two-time defending Class C champion Waynflete. Even a palpitating come-from-behind overtime win at crosstown rival North Yarmouth Academy last week wasn’t enough to lift Yarmouth out of the No. 4 spot in Class B.

Marshwood, meanwhile, started 4-1, lost three of four, then rattled off four straight victories.

Tuesday, in the state preliminary round, the Hawks ousted No. 12 Kennebunk, 19-8, to advance.

Marshwood and Yarmouth didn’t meet this season, but they did play in the 2021 Class B Final, a 13-10 Clippers’ victory. Yarmouth also beat the Hawks, 12-8, in the 2000 state quarterfinals.

Thursday, the Clippers didn’t know what to expect and they quickly learned that Marshwood was going to be a thorn in their side for 48 minutes.

Olson quickly made his presence felt, scoring unassisted, just 77 seconds in to put Yarmouth on top.

With 8:11 left in the first quarter, Olson took a pass from standout senior Killian Marsh and beat Hawks junior goalie Luke Dockham for a 2-0 lead.

The Clippers struck again 48 seconds later, in transition, as after senior Aksel Yeo did a nice job clearing the ball, he got it to Marsh, who set up Olson, who finished.

But just when it appeared Yarmouth was poised to run away with it, Marshwood roared back with three goals in just over a minute.

Off the ensuing faceoff, Closson won possession, then set up Demeroto for his first goal with 7:14 to play in the first.

A mere 52 seconds later, Turcotte scored for the first time, taking a pass from senior Kevin Cougler, then beating Clippers freshman goalie Will Redfield, to cut the deficit to one.

With 6:05 on the clock, after Closson won the faceoff, Redfield robbed senior Ty Cougler, but Demeroto pounced on the rebound and sent it into the net to tie the score.

After Kevin Cougler hit the post and Redfield denied sophomore Jackson Hamilton, the Clippers went man-up and retook the lead with 3:20 remaining in the opening stanza, as Olson set up sophomore Owen Walsh.

It took just 19 seconds for the Hawks to answer again, as Closson got the ball to Kevin Cougler, who set up Turcotte for the goal.

Again, Yarmouth retook the lead, as McCann got the ball to Yeo for a goal with 55.4 seconds showing, but again, Marshwood countered, as Demeroto scored unassisted, on a low shot through traffic with just 3.7 seconds to go, making it 5-5 after one quarter.

The scoring pace slowed in the second period, but the intensity did not.

After Redfield robbed Demeroto early in the frame, Marsh set up McCann for the go-ahead goal with 9:18 left in the first half, but 45 seconds later, Kevin Cougler fought through traffic and found the net to tie it, 6-6.

Demeroto then missed just high, while Kevin Cougler missed wide.

At the other end, Marsh was denied by Dockham.

With 1:20 on the clock, Demeroto scored unassisted and the Hawks had a surprising 7-6 halftime lead.

Marshwood’s success came largely from statistical edges in faceoffs, ground balls and shots.

The Clippers knew they had to gain possession in the second half to restore order and they would do just that.

With 8:51 to go in the third quarter, Olson set up McCann for a man-up goal to tie it, ending a 12 minute, 27 second scoring drought, but 55 seconds later, Demeroto spun and shot and found the net for what proved to be the Hawks’ final lead of the game, 8-7.

Yarmouth drew even on another man-up goal, this one Olson from Yeo with 6:28 to play in the frame, then with 5:16 on the clock, after Yeo hit the crossbar, Olson got the rebound, passed to Marsh and Marsh set up sophomore Matt Cain for the go-ahead goal.

With 2:42 to go, after a terrific move in the open field by McCann on a clear, which made two defenders collide, McCann got the ball to Marsh, who set up Olson for a 10-8 lead.

But again, Marshwood would answer, as off the faceoff, Ty Cougler won the ball and set up Turcotte with 2:26 on the clock, then with 1:17 left, Demeroto scored unassisted to pull the Hawks even.

The Clippers refused to go into the final period even, however, and after Marsh missed just wide, McCann scored unassisted with just 21 seconds remaining to put Yarmouth ahead to stay.

St. Pierre then won the ensuing faceoff and lobbed a pass downfield to Olson, who leaped to catch it, eluded the defense, then buried a shot with just 7.5 seconds to go and the Clippers had a 12-10 advantage.

“It was battle in the dot the entire game and whoever controlled that would control the game,” said St. Pierre. “Our wingers got open more. I was able to escape, get the ball to them and get it downfield.”

“We changed our wings on the faceoff to have one guy playing defense and one guy going straight into battle,” said Miller. “Ethan did that well and got the ball. Our biggest change was his effort.”

Marshwood answered early in the fourth, as Demeroto scored unassisted with 9:42 left and on the play, Yarmouth was called for a slashing penalty. Making matters even worse for the home team, a pushing penalty was called soon thereafter, giving the Hawks a 6-on-4 opportunity to pull even.

The Clippers didn’t let it happen, however, as they blocked a Demeroto shot, then forced a turnover.

With 5:54 to play, Olson’s final goal, unassisted, while falling, provided a little breathing room, but with 4:13 to go, playing 6-on-4 again, Marshwood cut the deficit to 13-12 when Demeroto scored for the final time, unassisted.

Closson then won possession and the Hawks had a chance to tie the game, but they turned the ball over.

Olson tried to produce an insurance goal with 2:55 remaining, but missed wide and Marshwood raced down for one final, golden opportunity to draw even.

With 2:39 to play, Ty Cougler found himself alone in front, but Redfield stopped his bid cold.

“Will, as a freshman, to make that save in a playoff game, that’s huge,” Miller said.

Yarmouth then transitioned to offense and ran the clock down to 1:18 before Miller called timeout.

The Clippers then set about milking the final 78 seconds, a daunting task, but Marsh, McCann, Olson and company managed to run it out and as the final horn sounded, Olson flung the ball in the air in celebration as Yarmouth held on for an exhilarating 13-12 triumph.

“Coach put in a great game plan,” Olson said. “We train for running out the clock a lot. If you’re doubled, you get through. It was an all-out effort from everyone. David Goggins is a Navy SEAL. He’s inspirational. He has a quote that says, ‘When you think you have zero percent in the tank, you’ve only touched 40 percent of your potential.’ I thought I was done in the last timeout, but (senior) Jaxson (Dauphinee) came up to me and said, ‘You have 40 percent left.’ That’s all I needed to hear. We knew it was our last game at home. I can speak for the seniors and I knew they weren’t going to leave this field with a loss.”

“We found our groove and we just kept going,” said St. Pierre. “That’s grit right there. We had a rough first half and we showed them what we’re worth in the second half. You’re not done when you’re tired, you’re done when you’re finished.”

“It’s fun when you win,” Miller added. “It was a good second half. We started winning some faceoffs, started getting ground balls, started taking care of the ball. We didn’t do that well in the first half. I think the biggest thing for us was being able to keep it in the box the last two minutes and kill the clock. It’s hard to do. We practice five-on-five, keeping it in the box a lot for this very moment and the boys executed.”

Olson paced the offense with seven goals and two assists.

“It feels really good to be back,” said Olson. “Our offense struggled a little bit last week. It was nice to help take the pressure off. I was confident I’d be back. It’s playoffs and I’ll sell out. It’s a long time until next season. My love for the seniors was the difference. I was on the bus last year after we lost (states) and it was not fun. I personally am not ready to let my brothers down.”

“Having Colter back is huge,” said Miller. “We missed him last week. He’s a huge part of our offense, whether he has the ball or not. He does small stuff like transition and riding. He’s a great player all over the field.”

McCann had three goals and one assist, while Cain, Walsh and Yeo all scored once.

Marsh had five assists, while St. Pierre and Yeo finished with one apiece.

Redfield made five key saves.

The Clippers had a 34-30 edge in ground balls (Olson and St. Pierre led the way with five apiece) and overcame 20 turnovers.

Marshwood got a phenomenal effort from Demeroto, who bowed out with eight goals.

“Thomas was my player to watch for the season and I knew it was his year,” said Marshwood coach Mathew Moreland. “No one can stop him. He drove through and carried it.”

Turcotte scored three times and Kevin Cougler had the other goal.

Cougler also had two assists, while Closson and Ty Cougler added one apeice.

Dockham made four saves.

Closson and Ty Cougler shared game-high honors with seven ground balls apiece.

The Hawks won 15 of 28 faceoffs and had a 30-26 edge in shots, but turned the ball over 23 times and fell just short.

“That’s what we’re trying to accomplish, come out and hang with a team like this,” Moreland said. “We just had to settle in. They came out and got three quick goals, then we got a wakeup call and responded. We gave everything we had today. The last minute was tough to watch, but we fought until the last second on the clock. We put it together this season and saw it all come together today.”

Waiting game

Yarmouth won’t know until Saturday who it faces in the next round.

Yarmouth beat visiting York, 20-12, back on May 2. The Clippers are 2-0 all-time versus the Wildcats in the tournament, beating them 17-10 in the 2018 Class B state quarterfinals and again, 11-9, in last year’s semifinals.

Yarmouth and Mt. Ararat didn’t play this season and have no playoff history.

“We have to have a good few practices and keep rolling,” said St. Pierre.

“I’m going to get my body right, then I’ll be ready to hit them hard next week,” Olson said.

“We just have to get it done,” Miller added. “We never change our game plan, it’s just a matter of execution. It’s simple. The guys just have to make plays.”

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