YARMOUTH – Falmouth couldn’t beat Yarmouth during the regular season, but the defending Class B state champions did beat the Clippers when it mattered most Wednesday night.
Ian McBrady and Cooper Lycan scored goals four minutes apart less than 15 minutes into the game to lead the No. 2 Yachtsmen to a 2-0 win against top-seeded Yarmouth for their 10th Western Class B boys’ soccer championship in 13 seasons.
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The victory put Falmouth into the state final at 3 p.m. Saturday at Scarborough High against the winner of Thursday’s Eastern B final between No. 2 Camden Hills and top-seeded Ellsworth.
“It really doesn’t matter who does better during the regular season,” Yarmouth Coach Mike Hagerty said. “It’s who wins that last game.”
On Sept. 22, the teams played to a 2-2 tie at Yarmouth. A week later, the Clippers rallied for a 2-1 overtime win at Falmouth.
“Overall, we’re 1-1-1 against them,” Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan said. “They’re an excellent team, but we got some early breaks and got some momentum.”
The turning point came during the 10th minute when JP White drove a direct kick from beyond the midfield stripe perfectly for McBrady to head the ball in from just outside the goalie box.
“Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games, and that’s sort of what happened tonight,” Halligan said.
“People don’t realize as good as the finish was, the pass was even better,” Hagerty said. “The ball was placed beautifully.”
White’s direct kick traveled more than 50 yards in the air.
“I was trying to put it a little bit away from the keeper,” he explained, “and hopefully one of my teammates could get a foot on it and put it home.”
The score came on the game’s first shot on goal.
“He’s played a lot of balls this year that I’ve hit, and that was a really good one,” McBrady said. “The goalie was cheating to the far post, so I hit toward the opposite post.”
Less than 15 minutes into the game, Lycan got past a lone defender on the left side and sent a shot inside the far post to give the Yachtsmen an insurmountable lead.
“We knew once we settled in, we’d be fine,” Halligan said. “Not only did we settle in but the goals gave us some confidence, too, and when you have some confidence you play a lot better.”
Falmouth (12-3-2) held a 13-6 edge in shots over Yarmouth (12-2-3).
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:
pbetit@pressherald.com
Twitter: PaulBetitPPH
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