YARMOUTH—You might hold the Yarmouth field hockey in check for 15, 30, 45, or in the case of Saturday afternoon’s contest, nearly 52 minutes, but eventually, the Clippers are going to find a way to put the ball in the cage.

And thanks to some late heroics against visiting Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth found a way to keep its magical, perfect season intact.

While the Clippers couldn’t generate much of anything in the first half, the Capers struck first, when sophomore Lulu Stoecklein scored late in the second quarter for a 1-0 lead.

Yarmouth then turned up the intensity in the third period, but remained frustrated, as senior standout Sophie Smith hit the post twice and sophomore Celia Zinman was just off the mark.

But then finally, with just 8:07 to go, Smith wouldn’t be denied, scoring on a tough angle shot to tie it.

The Clippers then got the go-ahead goal with 3:40 remaining, as Zinman rebounded a Smith shot into the cage.

Yarmouth held on from there and prevailed, 2-1.

The Clippers improved to 7-0 at the midway point of the regular season and in the process, dropped Cape Elizabeth to 4-3.

“It was stressful, but we never gave up,” said Bre Morrill, Yarmouth’s first-year coach. “We had to rise to the occasion. I’m glad we didn’t have to play catch up for more than one goal.”

Quite a story

Yarmouth went 8-7 a year ago, losing to Leavitt in the regional quarterfinals, and entered the 2023 campaign hopeful of a rise up the standings, but the Clippers’ play in the first half of the season has come as a most pleasant surprise.

Yarmouth made a powerful initial statement with a 4-3 win at reigning Class B South champion Freeport. The Clippers then handled visiting Wells (9-0), edged visiting Spruce Mountain (2-1), blanked visiting Poland (4-0) and Greely (2-0) and won at Poland (4-0).

“My sophomore year and my junior year, we always won about half our games, so it’s so rewarding to have a year like this,” said Smith. “It’s a lot of fun. I’m so happy we get to do this senior year. I feel like (former coach) Molly (Saunders) built us and Bre has really taken us and moved us forward. Both of them deserve so much credit.”

“It’s so nice to be back,” said Morrill, a one-time Clippers standout (Class of 2016). “I’m having so much fun. I didn’t necessarily expect this, but we had a really good summer and we knew we had great possibilities. It was just motivating the girls to do what we knew they could do.”

Cape Elizabeth, meanwhile, which is coming off the best season record-wise in program history, one which ended with a semifinal round loss to Freeport, has been very good as well.

The Capers started with wins over visiting Fryeburg Academy (5-0), host St. Dom’s (5-1) and host Gray-New Gloucester (2-1, in overtime). After a 3-1 home loss to Leavitt, Cape Elizabeth won at York (3-2), its first win over its nemesis since 2000. Monday, the Capers fell at home to Lake Region (1-0).

Last fall, Cape Elizabeth rolled to a 7-1 victory at home over Yarmouth.

Saturday, on an overcast but dry afternoon (60 degrees at the start), the Capers looked to do it again, but instead, the Clippers beat them for the first time since the COVID-abbreviated 2020 campaign.

But nothing came easily for the home team.

Cape Elizabeth took the game’s first shot, just past the midway point of the first quarter, but Yarmouth senior goalie Quincy Schnee stopped freshman Shyla McVeigh’s bid.

With 22.6 seconds left in the opening stanza, off a penalty corner, the Capers appeared to go on top, when senior Piper Rickman rattled the cage, but the shot was ruled to have come from beyond the circle and the goal was waved off.

Cape Elizabeth then got the jump with 3:21 to go in the half, as Frost, who was strong at both ends of the field, sent a shot in and Stoecklein got her stick on the ball and sent it past Schnee for a 1-0 lead, which, after Rickman broke up a late rush from from Smith, held into the break.

The Clippers, who didn’t put a shot on cage in the first half, came to life in the third period, but couldn’t produce the equalizer.

With 11:18 remaining, Smith had a great look, but her backhanded rocket found the near post.

After Schnee kept the deficit at one by robbing junior Clio Cook-Sharp, Smith eluded the defense, but sent the ball off the outside of the post again.

After Schnee denied senior Jenna Tuttle, Zinman missed just wide, then Smith did the same, keeping the score 1-0 heading for the fourth quarter.

Where Yarmouth’s offense finally came to life, just in the nick of time.

After Rickman preserved the lead by breaking up a Smith rush, Smith finally finished with 8:07 remaining, getting past a defender, then firing a backhanded blast just inside the far post, beating Cape Elizabeth senior goalie Zoe Burgard, tying the score, 1-1.

“I was definitely frustrated because I know how much potential we have and I don’t think we were living up to our potential,” said Smith, who fired up her teammates on the sidelines prior to the start of the fourth. “I feel like every game I get good chances. When it’s a close game, it’s so much fun. It’s more rewarding when you can score. I was just trying to shoot at all times. Any shot I could get I was looking for.”

“I definitely felt a goal coming,” said Zinman. “As much as I don’t like saying it, we’re a second half team. The first half, we just weren’t having fun. The second half, the bench got loud and we got loud and I think that’s what did it.”

“Sophie will find a way to get the ball in the net,” added Morrill. “It’s just her determination. I think she has one of the strongest passions on the team. Our forward line is looking really good with her, Celia, (sophomore) Madison Wiles and (freshman) Erica O’Connor. They’re clicking. We had great passing today. We got everyone to connect in the second half. We just had to get the goals.”

Not content to be tied, the Clippers kept the pressure on and went ahead with 3:40 on the clock.

Off a penalty corner, Smith got another great backhanded look and while Burgard made a nice initial stop with her pad, Zinman managed to get to the rebound in a scrum and poked the ball into the cage for a 2-1 lead, unleashing a wild celebration.

“It was kind of just a blur,” Zinman said. “I just saw the ball coming and got my stick on it. It was a great celebration.”

“Having Celia as a partner is so rewarding,” Smith said. “We work so well together.”

“I think it was just a scramble,” Morrill added. “Emotions were high. The ball made it into the cage and that’s all we needed.”

Cape Elizabeth managed to get the ball in the offensive zone as it looked to answer and force overtime, but twice, Smith stole the ball from senior Sophia Chung and O’Connor managed to run out the clock, allowing Yarmouth to celebrate its dramatic 2-1 victory.

“A lot of credit goes to the sidelines,” said Morrill. “They just kept the starters going. They were cheering loud and were amazing. We did a good job staying on post and finding Cape’s weaknesses and going full force on those. I definitely think between this game and Freeport, that’s been our toughest competition.”

The Clippers got three saves from Schnee and had a 3-2 edge in penalty corners.

Cape Elizabeth got a pair of saves from Burgard, but couldn’t hold on and prevail.

“It was a good game,” said Capers coach Maura Bisogni. “Piper getting hit with the ball and being off at the end hurt us. She’s one of our solid defenders. Finn (Gilbert) had the game of her life as a freshman. We had a great game in goal. I don’t have a lot of complaints.

“This is a good confidence boost for us. We lost some big players from last year, but Zoe has been back there for four years and our defense knows what these games are like and we have some freshmen stepping up big.”

More challenges

Cape Elizabeth has two home games next week, versus Poland Wednesday and Greely Thursday.

“We just need to play more games at this speed,” said Bisogni. “We hadn’t played 60 minutes like that, so I think we got a little tired at the end. We need to go for the full 60. It’s exciting. We hope to be right there in B South.”

Yarmouth is back in action Tuesday at Gray-New Gloucester. Next Saturday, the Clippers welcome Brunswick. Then, they travel to York Oct. 4.

“We just have to keep going,” Zinman said. “We can’t get too confident. We’re 7-0, but it could go either way.”

“We’re just improving on our passes daily and really focusing on mental health and connecting from defense to mids and mids to fowards and playing a whole game,” Morrill said. “We need to play a full, four quarter game.”

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

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