SCARBOROUGH – The odds normally aren’t great for winning back-to-back state championships.
Unless, apparently, you play for Falmouth High’s boys’ soccer team.
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The Yachtsmen continued their Class B dynasty Saturday evening, beating gritty Camden Hills 2-1 to win their second consecutive Class B state championship, third in four years and ninth since 2000.
Senior midfielder J.P. White scored on a penalty kick with 8:29 remaining after a Windjammers defender stopped a sure goal with his hands.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Cooper Lycan, a senior for the Yachtsmen. “You’re lucky you get to the state championship one year and you think you’re never going to get back. Then you come the next year and we did it again. We pulled it out.”
It was Falmouth’s 11th championship overall, two coming in Class C.
These teams also played in the 2011 championship game, which Falmouth won, 2-1. This latest victory was hard-earned, no doubt about it.
“Camden Hills is a great team,” said Lycan. “They came out and punched us in the mouth.”
But the Yachtsmen didn’t flinch.
The Windjammers (14-2-2) scored first, just 1:27 into the second half on a goal by Colin Morse. It took Falmouth (13-3-2) only one minute to tie it.
During a scramble to the right of the Camden Hills net, Thomas Wilberg pushed the ball over to Luke Velas, who sent a high shot just under the crossbar for the tying goal.
“They woke us up a bit,” said Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan. “It was like a hit upside the head. But we’ve been doing that all year. We’ve had some games when we’ve got behind.
“This is veteran team. And I know I didn’t see any sense of panic when we fell behind.”
Instead, the Yachtsmen put the pressure on Camden Hills keeper Marshall Spear. He made a couple nice stops on White, but then the Yachtsmen got their break.
White sent a corner kick in from the left, a high arcing ball that was headed toward the Windjammers’ net by Wilberg. Camden Hills freshman defender Jack Gallagher, who scored the overtime winner in the Eastern Maine final, was behind Spear. The ball deflected off him, and he was given a red card for stopping a sure goal with his hands.
That set up the penalty kick by White.
“We take PKs every day after practice,” said White. “Just for moments like this.”
He didn’t think about the circumstance, just that he “wanted to keep it low and on the frame.”
He did. As Spear moved to his left, White sent the ball back to Spear’s right and into the corner of the goal.
“He’s special,” said Halligan. “He’s been here for four years and he’s been a huge part of our success over that time. He’s the horse that you ride.”
Camden Hills, which was missing three starters because of injuries, came back with a nice scoring bid by Alex Blohm, which went over the cross bar.
“We played hard,” said Camden Hills Coach Ryan Hurley. “I couldn’t be more proud of my boys. That was a heck of an effort.”
But it was the Yachtsmen who held on for the title.
“This means everything,” said White. “To end my career with back-to-back championships it just means a lot.”
Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:
mlowe@pressherald.com
Twitter: MikeLowePPH
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