Girls lacrosse: Yarmouth wins eighth straight by frustrating Greely, 9-3
Source: Portland Press Herald
Author: Michael HofferForecaster
YARMOUTH -- For 27 minutes Wednesday evening, Yarmouth's girls' lacrosse team held the high-powered Greely Rangers without a goal.
And the Clippers were rewarded with a decisive regular-season-ending victory that sends them into the playoffs on a high note.
In their first meeting this spring, the Clippers scored at the buzzer to beat the Rangers, but this time, they took the lead for good in the second quarter. Their defense stymied Greely's offense for a 9-3 win.
The Clippers (12-2) won their eighth in a row, and project to be the No. 3 seed for the upcoming Class A state tournament.
"Our defense was a collective thing. We didn't really focus on one player," said Yarmouth Coach Dorothy Holt. "We've focused on team D and it really showed tonight. I'm super-proud of these girls. It's been an incredible year so far."
The Clippers never trailed and jumped to a 2-0 lead on goals from Neena Panozzo and Brooke Boone.
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The Rangers drew even as Jane Flynn scored on a rebound in the final minute of the first quarter, then Flynn set up Asja Kelman for a goal with 7:23 to play in the second, but Greely's offense dried up from there.
Free-position goals from Boone and Lauren Keaney made it 4-2 Yarmouth at the half.
In the third quarter, the Rangers hit the post on three occasions and several other good looks were turned aside by Clippers senior goalie Regan Sullivan (six saves).
At the other end, Boone set up Panozzo for a goal in transition and Aine Powers struck with 22 seconds to go, beating Greely goalie Mya Vickerson (three saves) to push the lead to four.
"Our defense had a lockdown game today," said Sullivan. "We had a really aggressive ride in the midfield. We were all over them in transition and that led to turnovers that we were able to finish."
After Panozzo scored early in the fourth quarter, Eva Williams answered for Greely with 4:02 left, but late goals from Boone and Panozzo put it away.
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Boone and Panozzo paced the offense with three goals, and Powers added two.
"Our defense really motivated us," said Panozzo. "The defense amped up the attack to work hard too."
"We've got such a strong group this year," Powers said. "Going through a season of ups-and-downs really helps build a strong team by the end. It's important we went through that to be able to perform at our best in June."
The Rangers (9-4) got one goal apiece from their dynamic tandem of Kelman and Williams.
"(Yarmouth's) defense was really strong tonight and for us, it was also possession. We needed to get into the attacking end and that was our Achilles' (heel) tonight," said Greely Coach Becca Koelker. "It felt like we had quite a few shots hit the post and had we'd finished those, it might have been a more even game.
"We just have to refine the little things going into playoffs. We're excited for it."
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