FREEPORT — Both Freeport and Yarmouth took something positive out of Wednesday evening’s regular season-ending high school field hockey contest at Joan Benoit Samuelson Track and Field.
The Clippers proved they could hang with one of the region’s elite Western Maine Conference squads for 60 minutes, even though victory wasn’t in the cards.
The Falcons, meanwhile, got a stern test and found a way to pass it.
Freeport, which handled host Yarmouth with ease last month (4-0), took a 1-0 lead with 13:27 to go in the first half when junior Autumn Golding rattled the cage.
The scoring and intensity picked up in the second half. Less than three minutes in, Clippers junior Abby Hill scored a highlight-reel goal to tie it.
The Falcons were able to go back on top with 12:21 left when junior Aynslie Decker tipped home a shot from junior Ally Randall, and just over a minute later, sophomore Kyla Havey scored for a 3-1 lead.
But Hill answered with her second goal with 8:24 to play.
Freeport was able to hold on from there to win, 3-2, and finish the regular season 9-3-2, dropping Yarmouth to 6-7-1 in the process.
“Yarmouth came out strong, fighting hard,” Decker said. “We didn’t expect this would be easy.”
In the teams’ first encounter Sept. 21, Decker and Randall scored first–half goals, and Golding and junior Sydney Silva added second–half tallies to lead Freeport to victory.
The Clippers had won eight of 12 meetings since the teams started playing regularly in 2010, but Freeport had captured the past three.
Wednesday, on a breezy and chilly 54-degree evening (which was dramatically cooler than the teams’ first encounter), the Falcons, on their Senior Night, went out and earned a ninth victory this autumn, making it three years in a row they’ve reached that number, a feat the program last accomplished between 2000-02.
In the first 30 minutes, the Falcons outshot the Clippers, 5-2, and had a 3-1 edge in corners, but four saves from Cassandra Walsh kept Yarmouth within hailing distance.
Things got interesting early in the second half, as the Clippers responded. With 27:06 to play, junior Hannah Swift played a long hit into the box and instead of settling the ball, Hill simply redirected it past Piper Sherbert and just like that, the game was tied, 1-1.
Freeport earned three straight penalty corners. After failing to convert on the first two opportunities, the Falcons broke through with 12:21 to play in regulation, as Randall fired a shot which Decker managed to tip past Walsh for a 2-1 lead.
“Ally took a shot and I just tried to stay on post, so if the ball came to me, I could tip it in,” Decker said. “I scored and that got everyone going.”
It didn’t take long for Freeport to gain some breathing room, as with 11:16 showing, Havey finished for a 3-1 advantage.
“Once we get a goal, it’s often a snowball effect,” Falcons coach Marcia Wood said. “These girls all complement each other really well. Ally and Autumn on (the near) side work beautifully together. Hannah and Aynslie on the far side work together really well. You never know who will be the high scorer in a game.”
“In previous games, we’ve struggled with holding off other teams,” Decker said. “Coach reminds up to stay strong for the entire game. We pushed ourselves so they wouldn’t score.”
Wood was not surprised that the Clippers gave her squad a tough game.
“Yarmouth gave us a battle,” Wood said. “They had a good tie with Lake Region, so we knew from that score that they could hold an aggressive team scoreless and that they’d be different team and they were. Even when we had a cushion, they fought back.
“We learned from (the) York (game). We talk about finishing the game. We’re never safe. We talk about time management. If we’re up, we shouldn’t be trying to score, but trying to prevent goals. We don’t do well when we play frantic.”
The Falcons outshot the Clippers, 8-5. Sherbert stopped three shots and Harmon made a defensive save. Freeport took seven corners to Yarmouth’s one.
The Falcons will be the No. 2 seed and will likely host No. 7 Leavitt (8-6) in the quarterfinals next Wednesday. The teams didn’t play in the regular season. They met just once before in the playoffs, a 4-0 Hornet victory in the 2014 Western B quarterfinals.
“We have to work as a team, push each other and stay strong,” Decker said. “We just want to win our first playoff game.”
“It’s very much there for the taking,” Wood said. “I don’t know anything about Leavitt, so that’s tough, but being on turf was our goal. We’d love another shot at York. Let the fun begin.”
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