YARMOUTH—Longtime Yarmouth girls’ lacrosse coach Dorothy Holt is fond of saying that it’s not how her team plays in April that matters, but how the Clippers play in June.

Considering Yarmouth has appeared in 10 consecutive state finals, it’s safe to say the Clippers know what it takes to win in the championship month and Wednesday evening, the program’s 2024 edition served notice that it might just be rounding into title form at the optimal time.

Hosting two-time defending Class B champion Greely, a squad that literally took it to the horn in the teams’ first meeting earlier this month, Yarmouth ensured there would be no late-game drama this time around.

Thanks to a sensational defensive effort.

On Senior Night, the Clippers jumped to a quick lead behind goals from seniors Neena Panozzo and Brooke Boone, but the Rangers answered, as junior Jane Flynn scored on a rebound late in the first quarter and senior Asja Kelman tied the score with a goal with 7:23 to go in the second period.

But Greely wouldn’t score again in the quarter and it wouldn’t find the net in the third period either.

Free position goals from Boone and Lauren Keaney put Yarmouth on top by two at the half, then Panozzo and senior Aine Powers added third quarter goals for a 6-2 lead.

After Panozzo scored midway through the fourth, the Rangers finally snapped a 27-plus minute scoring drought on a goal from senior Eva Williams with 4:02 remaining, but there would be no comeback, as Boone and Powers scored to end all doubt and the Clippers went on to a 9-3 victory.

Boone and Panozzo both scored three times, Powers added two goals and senior goalie Regan Sullivan made six saves while her defensive mates were dominant and Yarmouth closed the regular season on an eight-game win streak, improved to 12-2 and in the process, dropped Greely to 9-4.

“I’m super-proud of these girls,” said Holt, after her 225th victory with the program. “It’s been an incredible year so far. These guys really step up in June, so that’s what I’m counting on.”

Getting defensive

On May 10, host Greely was on the brink of beating Yarmouth a third successive time, but the Clippers rallied, then prevailed, 8-7, when sophomore Celia Zinman scored at the buzzer.

That was one of the many exciting games the teams have been involved in this spring.

Yarmouth began the season with a narrow 8-7 loss at Falmouth, then came to life and defeated host York (13-6), visiting Cheverus (10-8), host Lake Region (17-0) and host Cape Elizabeth (15-10). After a down-to-the-wire 8-7 home loss to three-time reigning Class A champion Kennebunk, Yarmouth edged visiting Windham (14-13), beat visiting Marshwood (20-9) edged Greely, handled visiting Waynflete (17-6), then defeated host Thornton Academy (16-3), visiting Cape Elizabeth (13-7) and host Brunswick (12-2).

After opening with a 15-4 home loss to three-time reigning Class A champion Kennebunk, Greely eked out an 8-7 overtime win at defending Class C champion Freeport, then held off host Marshwood (11-9), visiting York (6-5) and visiting Waynflete (10-8) before losing at Falmouth, 10-3. The Rangers returned to form with wins at Cape Elizabeth (7-2) and at home over Fryeburg Academy (14-0). After the narrow loss to Yarmouth, Greely defeated visiting NYA (13-3), visiting Gray-New Gloucester/Poland (16-1) and last Wednesday, gave coach Becca Koelker her 100th career victory, 8-4, at York.

Yarmouth once owned the rivalry with Greely, winning 17 straight meetings between 2006 and the 2021 Class B state final, but the Rangers had captured three of the past five.

Wednesday, on a beautiful night for lacrosse (69 degrees at the start), after the Clippers’ 11 seniors were honored in a pregame ceremony, Yarmouth ended its regular season with a flourish.

The Clippers were stymied early, as Boone had a free position shot saved by Greely junior goalie Mya Vickerson, then Boone tried again and again, Vickerson made the save.

At the other end, Sullivan kept the game scoreless by denying Kelman.

Finally, with 3:02 left in the opening quarter, Powers set up Panozzo for a goal and the lead.

“We really focused on having possession in the game,” Powers said. “It took us some time to get into a groove, then we started connecting.”

After Boone and Powers were just off target with shots, Boone scored unassisted with 54.9 seconds to go to double the lead.

The Rangers got a little momentum back 10 seconds later, as Williams won the draw and ran in and passed to Flynn, who had an initial shot saved by Sullivan, but Flynn got the ball back and buried the rebound to cut the deficit in half heading to the second period.

There, sophomore Kacie Lord hit the post for Greely and Williams, after a nice dodge, was robbed by Sullivan, but with 7:23 left in the half, Flynn set up Kelman for a goal to tie the score, 2-2.

And then, the Rangers’ offense dried up.

With 4:04 to go in the half, a Boone free position goal put the Clippers in front to stay.

Keaney then beat Vickerson to the upper right corner on a free position with 1:59 on the clock.

After sophomore Audrey Ingersoll hit the crossbar for Greely, Yarmouth took a 4-2 advantage to the half.

The Rangers looked to start the second half strong, when Williams earned a free position two minutes in, but she also fired a shot off the crossbar.

“Sometimes I love that sound,” Sullivan said. “The post is a goalie’s best friend. It’s a good feeling.”

After Kelman had a shot blocked by Clippers junior Maddie Jones, the home team extended its lead, as in transition, Boone set up Panozzo for a goal with 8:30 remaining in the third quarter.

“I think our defense really motivated us,” Panozzo said. “They really amp up the attack to work hard too.”

Sullivan then stepped up, saving shots by junior Kylie Lord and Kelman, on a free position.

With 22.9 seconds showing, after a turnover, Powers finished unassisted and Yarmouth took a 6-2 lead to the final stanza.

Where it put the finishing touches on an impressive win.

Seconds in, Sullivan denied sophomore Kelsey Crocker.

Panozzo then added to the lead, rolling the crease and finishing unassisted with 7:10 to play, forcing Koelker to call timeout.

That finally inspired some offense, as Williams scored on a free position shot with 4:02 to go, snapping a 27 minute, 21 second scoring drought and the Clippers’ 5-0 run.

The Rangers weren’t able to draw any closer and instead of being content running out the clock, Yarmouth got a free position goal from Boone, which went off the post and in, with 1:39 left, and an unassisted goal from Powers with 46.7 seconds remaining.

The Clippers ran out the clock from there and celebrated their 9-3 triumph.

“Winning on Senior Night means a lot,” said Panozzo. “We have 11 seniors and we wanted to prove we could beat Greely.”

“Tonight was Senior Night, which I think brought our energy up a lot,” Powers said. “It was nice to be supported by the underclassmen. It was great to have all the seniors on the field at the beginning of the game. We feel like last time we played Greely, it wasn’t our strongest game. We wanted to come out strong and end strong.”

“The girls handled the pressure well today,” Holt added. “They felt it on Senior Night. Tonight shows the versatility of this group. You play how you practice and we’ve been practicing really hard.”

Yarmouth got three goals from Boone, three more from Panozzo, two from Powers and one from Keaney.

Boone and Powers each had an assist.

Sullivan made six saves and got plenty of help from her defense and midfielders alike.

“The defense had a lockdown game today,” Sullivan said. “We’ve really focused on defense. We practiced different formations. We had a really aggressive ride in the midfield. We were all over them in transition and that led to turnovers that we were able to finish off.”

“Our defense played amazing today,” Powers said. “I’m amazed by them every game. Regan has incredible stops always. She’s the backbone of our defense. She’s always talking, helping us out. When we do get scored on, we support each other and move on to the next play. We’ve come a long way during the season and we’ve meshed together.”

“Our defense stood on their heads,” added Holt. “I’m super-impressed with them. They’ve been working really hard. We’ve been moving people around, switching things up, trying to find the right recipe and we’re getting to where we should be. We try to make it a collective thing. We don’t focus on one player. It’s more of a team thing and it showed tonight.”

Keaney won 9 of 16 draw opportunities and the Clippers had a 25-19 advantage in ground balls (Powers matched her uniform number with a game-high 11).

“These four years have been the best four years,” said Powers, who will play next year at American University in Washington, D.C. “I’m so excited to play in college, but I still want to soak in the moments I still have with Y G Lax. I’ve learned so much from Dorothy and my teammates all four years.”

Yarmouth also had a 16-15 edge in shots (10-8 on frame) and overcame 21 turnovers.

“A lot of turnovers made it hard on ourselves,” Holt said.

Greely’s offense was limited to one goal apiece from Flynn, Kelman and Williams.

Flynn also had an assist.

Vickerson made three saves.

Kelman and senior Kylie Crocker each collected five ground balls.

The Rangers turned the ball over 20 times and were held well below their season average of nine goals per game.

“(Yarmouth’s) defense was really strong and it was also about possession for us,” Koelker lamented. “That was our Achilles’ (heel) tonight. They played a different defense and we struggled to move the ball and we couldn’t finish shots. We had a few shots hit the post and if we finished those, it would have been a more even game, then we lost the momentum.  I’m really proud of our defense. Now, our focus going forward is getting the attack to click and I think we’re getting closer.”

Here we go

Greely (currently ranked fourth in the Class B state Heal Points standings) has one final regular season game to play, Friday at Messalonskee, then the Rangers figure to get a stern test from the likes of Freeport, Mt. Ararat, Brunswick and possibly even York as they seek a third consecutive championship.

“Friday will be a good game for us,” Koelker said. “We’re refining the little things. We’ll have some things to work on going into playoffs and we’ll have some time to work on it. Things are clicking, but we have to do it the whole game. There’s a lot of parity. We’re excited for playoffs.”

Yarmouth (which will likely finish third in Class A) will be idle until hosting a state preliminary round playoff game next week.

“I’m really confident,” said Panozzo. “I have confidence in every single one of our players, from D to attack. We’re just focused on the next game ahead of us and working on what we can improve on.”

“We’re eager to take on the challenge,” Sullivan said. “Class A is wide open. We’ve proved we can give the top teams a run for their money. We’re ready to compete in playoffs.”

“We’ve got such a strong group,” Powers said. “It did take us awhile to get in the groove, but it only matters what happens in June. Having some ups-and-downs helps build a stronger team by the end. It helps going through that so we can perform at our best in June. We know there’s a lot of pressure is on us to get to the state final like we usually do. We feel the pressure and we want to perform to that pressure. We just need to believe in ourselves and work as a team. We have so many strong players from Regan up to the attack. We have a lot of experience and we know what it takes and I think we’re ready.”

“We still have a lot of work to do,” added Holt. “We have to keep turnovers low and when we have the ball, put it in the back of the net. We moved to Class A to play with the best teams in the state and it’s super-fun. Everyone is getting better. Now the fun begins.”

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

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