CAPE ELIZABETH—Back in August, Yarmouth’s girls’ soccer team heard the rumblings.

That while the Clippers might be the defending Class B state champions, the loss of standout Ava Feeley and several others had relegated them to also-ran status.

Guess again.

Fast forward the clock two months to Tuesday evening’s regular season finale against rival Cape Elizabeth at Hannaford Field, where Yarmouth capped a superb campaign with its biggest victory to date.

While hinting at even more triumph to come.

The Clippers went on top to stay in the 14th minute when senior Aine Powers scored and they clung to a 1-0 lead at the half thanks to an absolutely sensational save from senior goalkeeper extraordinaire Regan Sullivan.

After the Capers had an apparent game-tying goal waved off early in the second half, Powers scored for the second time, finishing a long pass from senior Neena Panozzo with 11:38 remaining and Yarmouth slammed the door on an impressive 2-0 victory.

The Clippers managed the rare feat of a season sweep of their rival, improved to 12-1-1, earned the top seed for the upcoming Class B South playoffs and in the process, dropped Cape Elizabeth to 12-2 and the No. 2 seed.

“We heard a lot about the great group we lost last year and that we’d rebuild and be down a little bit,” said Yarmouth coach Andy Higgins. “I think people outside of our group underestimated the heart of this senior class and the way they drive and push and lead and the way the younger kids respond. It’s an amazing group. They don’t know what rebuild means. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Another rivalry showdown

Back on Sept. 14, senior Sonja Bell scored early and Yarmouth made it hold up as it held off visiting Cape Elizabeth, 1-0. That was win number four in what would be an eight-game streak for the Clippers, who lost at Greely in overtime in the opener (1-0), then followed that up with victories over host Gray-New Gloucester (6-0), at reigning Class A North champion Brunswick (2-0), at home over York (3-0), Cape Elizabeth, Waynflete (3-2) and Greely (3-0), at Freeport (1-0) and at home over Mt. Ararat (3-1). The run ended with a 1-1 draw at North Yarmouth Academy, the four-time Class D champion, now playing in Class C, but Yarmouth returned to form with wins over visiting Freeport (1-0), Wells (3-1) and York (2-0).

Cape Elizabeth, meanwhile, under new coach Branden Noltkamper, started with wins at York  (4-1), at home over Lake Region (4-0), at Greely (4-1) and at home over Freeport (2-1) before falling at Yarmouth (1-0). The Capers then bounced back to defeat host Fryeburg Academy (8-0), visiting York (4-1), host Gray-New Gloucester (4-1), host Wells (6-0), visiting Brunswick, the reigning Class A North champion (3-1), visiting Greely (2-1), visiting Poland (8-0) and host Freeport (2-1).

Tuesday, on a dry and comfortable 55-degree evening, after a terrific national anthem rendition from Capers senior Zoe Dinnerstein, Yarmouth sought its first regular season sweep of Cape Elizabeth since 2017, proceeded to get it and set itself up for another title run in the process.

The Clippers came out strong, carrying play and after Powers missed high on a free kick, senior Kadin Davoren sent a Bell cross high and Powers twice missed wide, including a bid where she had a lot of open net to shoot at as Capers senior goalkeeper Ellie Piper was out of the goal, Yarmouth got the jump with 26:26 to go in the first half.

Bell lobbed a ball in from the right of the box, Powers got to it before a defender, then ripped a blast from about 25-yards out which Piper got a hand on, but couldn’t stop, and the ball rolled across the line for a 1-0 Clippers’ lead.

“I just had an opening and I shot it and luckily, it went in,” Powers said. “Being up early gave us some great momentum for the remainder of the game.”

“That was a great strike by Aine that trickled in,” Higgins said. “That settled us in a little bit. Aine puts herself in opportunities to put shots on net and good things happen when you do that. She’s an unbelievable athlete with a tremendous competitive drive. She’s stepped into a big role and so has Sonja, (junior) Taylor (Oranellas) and (senior) Brooke (Boone). A lot of girls have stepped up and we’ve tried to replace (Ava’s 34 goals from last year) as a community and it’s working so far.”

Two minutes later, Piper came out to break up a Boone rush and was injured in the process, the first of four key injuries in the half for the host team, which also lost junior forwards Heather Campbell and CC Duryee and sophomore back Kate Hetrick (who did return in the second half).

Cape Elizabeth hoped to pull even, but Sullivan rose to the occasion time and again.

In the 19th minute, off a corner kick sent in by senior Evelyn Agrodnia, sophomore Maisie Rayback fired a one-timer, but Sullivan reacted and made the save.

In the 22nd minute, Sullivan lunged to save a shot from Campbell.

After making the stop on a long free kick from junior Libby Hooper, Sullivan enjoyed her finest moment of the season and perhaps of her career with 12:30 remaining in the half, when she dove to rob Rayback again off a corner, this time sticking out her right hand at the last possible instant to knock the ball away and preserve the lead.

“It’s so chaotic in the box,” Sullivan said. “You just have to read and react. I saw the ball coming and knew to drop. I knew if they got a foot on the ball, it would be a good strike. I just had to prepare and I got lucky and Neena was there to save me on the rebound. That was a huge sigh of relief.”

“I was just amazed,” said Powers. “Every time (Regan) makes a big save, it fires me up. We don’t want to give up corners, but she comes up big and with our other defenders, gets the ball out.”

“She’s had a career of big saves and that might have been the best one,” Higgins added. “Her reaction was great. She pushed it away and the kids helped clear it. Regan sparked us today. (Senior) Cate (King) and (junior) Eleanor (Ting) sparked us. We had sparks all over the field.”

Late in the half, sophomore Hailey Gorman just missed wide for the Capers and off a free kick from Agrodnia, Sullivan punched the ball away to send the game to the break with Yarmouth up, 1-0.

Cape Elizabeth continued to try and rally when the second half commenced, but Sullivan saved a long free kick from Agrodnia, junior Elena Rosenberg missed just wide and Sullivan punched away a corner kick from Agrodnia.

“They were all over us and put a lot of pressure on us,” Higgins said. “One of our points of emphasis was eliminating corners and I’m wondering if I messed up and said we should give them corners. They’re very dangerous.”

Then, with 29:44 remaining, Agrodnia, while falling, passed the ball to sophomore standout Noelle Mallory, who fought through a defender, then fired a high shot that Sullivan couldn’t stop for the apparent tying tally, but instead, a foul was called and the goal was waved off.

Sullivan then saved shots from Rosenberg and Mallory before she went sprawling to deny Mallory again.

Then, with 11:38 on the clock, the Clippers got some breathing room.

Panozzo, who plays an underappreciated role on defense and on throws, played a long pass ahead to Powers, who got past a defender and with freshman keeper Kelsey Law, who had replaced the injured Piper, coming out, Powers got to the ball with her left foot and sent it home to make it a 2-0 contest.

“Neena played an amazing ball and it was just the right timing,” Powers said. “I just looked where the goal was and where the goalie was and just placed it.”

“That gave us some breathing room,” said Higgins. “Neena and Aine connect really well. They trust each other and know where each other is going to be.”

The Capers didn’t quit and had a couple more chances, but Rayback sent a header just wide off a Agrodnia corner kick serve and Sullivan saved a long Agrodnia free kick to shut the door on Yarmouth’s 2-0 victory.

“This says a lot about our team,” said Powers. “A lot of people on the outside didn’t really expect much from us this year just because we lost so many great players, but we’ve stepped up and everyone’s capitalized on the abilities they have and we’ve worked really well together. It’s shown on the field.”

“I knew everyone would count us out after losing such a strong class,” Sullivan said. “I knew people thought we wouldn’t be as good, but we’ve had so many people step up this year. We love coming out and playing against a talented team like Cape. They make us better and it’s entertaining for everyone. I love these high-energy games. It’s great to have a game like this going into playoffs.”

“(Cape’s) such a good team, one of the best around,” Higgins added. “They present a lot of challenges. They’re a great program. Branden does a great job with them. It’s a fun rivalry. I’m proud of how the kids stepped up. They competed. Once we got our feet under us, we played well. They had us on our heels for awhile and we bent and didn’t break. It was a total team effort. Regan had a great game, our defensive group had a tough challenge and rose to it, our midfielders played hard and our front runners put pressure on. It was fun to see.”

Sullivan continued to dazzle with 10 saves, including some unforgettable stops.

“Regan’s done a great job for them all year,” Noltkamper said. “We know she’s tough to beat.”

The Clippers finished with nine corner kicks to the Capers’ seven.

Cape Elizabeth had a 10-5 edge in shots and got two saves from Law and another from Piper, but for the second time this season, couldn’t generate any offense against its rival.

“It’s hard to have four influential players on our team go down in the first 25 minutes, but the kids did well,” said Noltkamper. “New players stepped up in new situations. Sometimes you need these games right before playoffs. We knew coming in we’d be 1 or 2 regardless of the result. These games have a playoff feel. Fun to be a part of.”

Everyone’s 0-0 now

Cape Elizabeth will host a quarterfinal round playoff game next Tuesday or Wednesday, likely versus Wells or Gray-New Gloucester. The Capers beat the Warriors (4-1) and the Patriots (6-0) during the regular year.

“I think everyone is beatable in this league,” Noltkamper said. “No one is invincible. (Yarmouth’s) a good team and so are we and hopefully we’ll see each other again. We’ll keep moving forward. We just need to get healthy and stay positive. Hopefully we’ll keep trending in the right direction. Going 12-2 was a good regular season and going 16-2 would be even better.”

Yarmouth is idle until next Tuesday or Wednesday when it hosts a quarterfinal, likely against Morse or Lincoln Academy. The Clippers didn’t face either squad this season.

Yarmouth has gone from being underrated back in August to the team wearing the bulls-eye in late October, but the Clippers welcome the challenge.

“We have a target on our back being the number one seed,” Sullivan said. “We have to keep proving ourselves and we know we’re capable of that. I always talk about team chemistry, but it’s insane. That definitely helps us on the field.”

“I’m ready and I think the team is pumped up,” said Powers. “Everybody wants the same goal. Even with a target on our back, if we keep playing like we’re playing, I think we have a pretty good chance.”

“(The win’s) something we’ll enjoy tonight, then we’ll get back to it tomorrow because things get interesting moving forward,” Higgins added. “We’ve had a tough schedule. We’ve been tested day-in, day-out and now the tests get a little bit tougher with more at stake. I’m glad to be going into it with this group.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. For game updates and links to game stories, follow him on Threads: @foresports2023

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