CAPE ELIZABETH — Aine Powers’ feet and Regan Sullivan’s hands have led Yarmouth’s girls’ soccer team to big things this fall.
On Tuesday evening at Hannaford Field, the tandem excelled again as Powers scored two goals and Sullivan made several clutch saves to lead the Clippers to their biggest win yet, 2-0 over rival Cape Elizabeth.
The win gives Yarmouth the top seed for the upcoming Class B South playoffs.
Powers scored one goal in each half, Sullivan made 10 saves – several of the highlight-reel variety – and Yarmouth, the reigning state champion, culminated a 12-1-1 campaign with the victory.
“This says a lot about our team,” Powers said. “A lot of people on the outside didn’t expect much from us this year because we lost so many great players, but we’ve really stepped up and worked well together.”
The Capers, who finished 12-2 with both losses to the Clippers, will be the No. 2 seed in Class B South.
“We pretty much knew coming in today that we’d be 1 and 2 no matter the result, but there’s always a playoff-like environment when we play and it’s fun,” said Branden Noltkamper, Cape Elizabeth’s first-year coach.
Yarmouth struck quickly with Powers scoring in the 14th minute, running down a lob from Sonja Bell and firing a shot that Capers goalkeeper Ellis Piper got a hand on but couldn’t keep out of the goal.
“They had us on our heels a bit, but that gave us some breathing room,” said Clippers Coach Andy Higgins. “That was a great strike by Aine that trickled in.”
Cape Elizabeth took two corner kicks in the first half and both should have resulted in goals, but first, Sullivan denied Maisie Raybeck’s one-timer in the 19th minute, then she made perhaps her finest save of the season nine minutes later, diving and swatting away another Raybeck point-blank bid with her right hand.
“It’s just so chaotic in the box and you just have to read and react,” said Sullivan. “I just had to prepare and I got lucky.”
The Capers, who lost four key players to injury in the first half, including Piper, had five more corner kicks in the second half but couldn’t convert, then had an apparent game-tying goal from Noelle Mallory waved off with 29 minutes remaining due to a foul.
Powers then gave Yarmouth an insurance goal with 11:38 left, running down a long feed from Neena Panozzo and with her left foot and sending it past Cape Elizabeth’s backup keeper Kelsey Law.
The Clippers are ready to make another title run.
“There’s definitely pressure having the target on our back with the No. 1 seed, but we just have to continue to prove ourselves and we know we’re capable of that,” Sullivan said.
Cape Elizabeth, which finished with a 10-5 advantage in shots on frame, now turns its attention to the postseason.
“I think anyone’s beatable in this league,” Noltkamper said. “Hopefully we’ll keep trending in the right direction. We’ll just stay positive and keep moving forward and hopefully, we’ll see each other again.”
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