YARMOUTH — Yarmouth’s boys’ lacrosse team survived a big test Thursday night in its bid to reclaim the Class B boys’ lacrosse state championship, but not without a scare.

The fourth-seeded Clippers hosted a quarterfinal against No. 5 Marshwood and got pushed to the brink. But thanks in large part to seven goals from junior standout Colter Olson, Yarmouth advanced with a 13-12 victory.

“We knew this was (likely) our last game at home, and I can speak for the seniors and say they weren’t ready to leave this field with a loss,” said Olson, who missed the last two games of the regular season because of a shoulder injury.

Yarmouth (11-4), which lost to Brunswick in last year’s Class B final after winning the championship in 2021 and 2019, will either visit top-seeded York or host No. 8 Mt. Ararat in the semifinals on Tuesday. Those two teams clash Saturday afternoon.

Olson opened Thursday’s game with three quick goals, but the Hawks roared back, as Milo Closson dominated in the faceoff circle and senior Thomas Demeroto started scoring goals.

Demeroto connected late in the first quarter to tie the score at 5-5, then struck again with 1:20 left in the second quarter for a 7-6 halftime advantage.

The Clippers retook the lead with three straight goals in the third quarter, but Chase Turcotte and Demeroto answered to make it 10-10.

Then, in the final 21 seconds of the third, Colton McCann put Yarmouth ahead for good, and after Ethan St. Pierre won the ensuing faceoff, he fed Olson for another goal that made it 12-10.

“We just found our groove and we kept going,” said St. Pierre. “Our wingers got open more and we got the ball downfield.”

Demeroto scored twice in the final quarter, each time pulling Marshwood within a goal. But a late save from Yarmouth freshman goalie Will Redfield (five saves) on a point-blank shot from Ty Cougler allowed the Clippers to transition to offense and run out the clock.

“Coach (Jon Miller) put in a great game plan and we train a lot for (end-of-game situations),” said Olson. “If you’re doubled, you just get through. It was just all-out effort from the boys.”

“It was a good second half,” added Miller. “We started getting ground balls, took care of the ball. It was a battle. Marshwood has a couple studs and we knew it would be a close game.”

McCann finished with two goals, and Killian Marsh had five assists.

The Hawks (10-6) were paced by Demeroto with eight goals. Turcotte added three, and Luke Dockham made four saves.

“What we’re trying to accomplish is to come out and hang with teams like this,” said Marshwood Coach Mathew Moreland. “Their three goals were a wakeup call, then we responded and got right back into it. The guys threw everything they had into this game. We saw it all come together today.”