(Ed. Note: For the complete Falmouth-Greely and NYA-Yarmouth field hockey, Freeport-Yarmouth girls’ soccer, Greely-Yarmouth boys’ soccer and Greely-Scarborough volleyball game stories, please visit theforecaster.net)

The fall sports season continued last week and there was plenty of drama and even some surprises.

Here’s a glimpse:

Boys’ soccer

An existing rivalry was ratcheted up a notch last Tuesday when Yarmouth traveled to Greely.

The Clippers and Rangers have long played two intense games each season, but this year, the possibility of a playoff showdown made things even more enjoyable.

Despite carrying play much of the first half, Yarmouth found itself down, 1-0, at halftime after Greely standout Jacob Nason scored a goal in the 12th minute. When Nason headed home another goal with 26:15 to play, the Rangers appeared destined for a win, but the Clippers, showing the character of the champion they hope to become, pulled within one when Wyatt Jackson finished a feed from Ben Decker with 17:22 to go. Less than eight minutes later, Yarmouth completed the comeback as Ben Vigue scored off a corner kick and the game went to overtime.

There, each squad had a golden opportunity to win, but ultimately couldn’t score and the contest ended in an entertaining 2-2 draw.

“It was an awesome game,” Yarmouth’s Chandler Smith said. “It’s always a boost coming from behind, especially when the team comes together. The rivalry has heated up. The guys on our team know a lot of the guys on their team, so it’s kind of a friendly rivalry. They’re fun to play against.”

“Greely’s very good,” Clippers coach Mike Hagerty said. “I’m so pleased with the effort. I just love how we never stop working. I thought the kids played hard and played clean. It was a hard fought game. These are fabulous games. The kids stepped up when they had to. They showed heart.”

“I thought a tie was a great result, to be honest,” said longtime Greely coach Mike Andreasen. “The first half we outscored them, but it was more their game. The second half was more our game. When we got ahead, 2-0, then it became theirs again.”

The Rangers improved to 2-0-1 Monday with a 1-0 home win over Gray-New Gloucester (Nason had the lone goal). Greely was at Kennebunk Wednesday, visits Cape Elizabeth Saturday and plays host to Freeport Tuesday.

The Clippers also improved to 2-0-1 with a 5-1 victory at Freeport Monday. In that one, David Clemmer scored twice, while Smith, Adam LaBrie and Wyatt Jackson each had one. Yarmouth was at York Wednesday, hosts Kennebunk Friday and visits Western C power Waynflete Tuesday of next week.

Two-time defending Class B champion Falmouth improved to 2-0 with a palpitating 2-1 double overtime win over visiting Kennebunk last Tuesday, getting the winning goal from Luke Velas. The Yachtsmen were home with Cape Elizabeth Wednesday (see theforecaster.net for game story), go to York Friday and host Poland Tuesday.

Freeport got its first win, 3-0, at Poland (Jack Davenport scored twice and Ethan Roney had the other goal), then fell to 1-2 Monday with a 5-1 home loss to Yarmouth (Davenport scored the goal). The Falcons were home with Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday, visit Fryeburg Friday and play at Greely Tuesday.

North Yarmouth Academy is quietly off to an impressive 3-0 start after recent wins at Gray-New Gloucester (6-2) and at home over Traip (5-1). D.J. Nicholas had three goals in each victory. The Panthers are home with Wells Friday and go to Richmond Tuesday.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, Yarmouth, after not playing for a week, hosted Freeport Monday afternoon and evened its record at 1-1 with a 1-0 victory. Emma Torres’ goal with just over nine minutes to go was the difference. Corey Langenback had the assist.

“We were pretty frustrated,” said Torres. “When we started the second half, we knew we had to take it up a notch because we weren’t playing to our abilities. Corey passed the ball, it landed and I just kicked it. I thought it would bounce back out the way things were going. It was a fortunate shot.”

“It took us awhile,” said Clippers coach Rich Smith. “We’ve got a lot of young kids out there. They know how to play. We have potential. Top to bottom, I have a solid core. We’re young and we’re learning. There’s lots to build on.”

Yarmouth played at York Tuesday, goes to Kennebunk Friday and hosts Wells Tuesday of next week. After playing just twice in the first two-plus weeks of the season, the Clippers are about to get busy.

“It’s been hard to get into a rhythm,” Torres said. “Hopefully this is the start of something good. I think so.”

The loss dropped Freeport to 2-2. The Falcons were coming off home wins over Sacopee (4-2) and Wells (2-1). Against the Hawks, Lexi Dietrich, Brooke Heathco, Maddie Squibb and Julia Smith all scored. In the win over the Warriors, Heathco and Smith had the goals and Livvy Dimick was solid in goal. Freeport then battled Yarmouth for 80 minutes, but fell just short.

“I told my team I felt like we played as strong as I know we can play,” said Falcons coach Elayna Girardin. “Defensively, we were strong. They had a ton of shots, but they weren’t scary goal chances. I was sure we were getting tired and I tried to sub because there’s only so much you can do to hold a team off. We didn’t give in. I’m happy. We played as hard as we could.”

Freeport was at Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday, hosts Fryeburg Saturday and welcomes Greely Tuesday.

The Rangers improved to 3-0 after a 5-3 win at Gray-New Gloucester Monday. Izzy Hutnak and Jocelyn Mitiguy both had two goals, while Kristina Volta scored the other. Greely was home with Kennebunk Wednesday, then hosts rival Cape Elizabeth in a playoff rematch Saturday (see theforecaster.net for game story). The Rangers are at Freeport Tuesday.

Three-time defending Class B champion Falmouth is up to its usual tricks. The Yachtsmen were 3-0 winners at Kennebunk last Tuesday to improve to 2-0. Megan Miller had all three goals in the victory. Falmouth was at Cape Elizabeth Wednesday, welcomes York Saturday afternoon, then goes to Poland Tuesday.

In Western C, NYA fell to 1-2 after 3-2 losses at Gray-New Gloucester and Traip. Melanie Regan and Alex Wahlstrom had the goals against the Patriots. The Panthers were home with Old Orchard Beach Wednesday and play host to Buckfield Tuesday.

Field hockey

An old field hockey rivalry became new (and red-hot) again Friday when Yarmouth (new to Class C) made the short jaunt to NYA.

The Clippers were 2-0, coming off a 4-0 home win over Sacopee, in which standout Kallie Hutchinson had three goals and Emma Peterson had the other.

The Panthers were 2-0, coming off a 2-1 win at Wells.

NYA and Yarmouth hadn’t played since 2006 and it was worth the wait. The teams battled through a scoreless first half. The Clippers broke through on a Peterson goal with 11:02 left in regulation. The proud Panthers tied things up with 6:47 remaining on a goal from Juju Tardif and the game went to overtime. In the first OT, Yarmouth dominated and had three penalty corners, but couldn’t finish and with 2:45 left in the second and final session, NYA standout Olivia Madore broke free, eluded two defenders and fired a shot into the cage which gave the Panthers a palpitating 2-1 victory.

“I went to the ball for the first time in the whole game,” Madore said. “I got around the first girl. I was going to go left, but stopped and pulled it right, then there was another girl, so I pulled it right again. I was at the top of the circle and I just drove it in. It was an unreal feeling it was finally over. I was pretty tired.”

“We’ll end up seeing them again,” NYA coach Tracy Quimby said. “A couple times probably. They’re the best Class C team we’ve seen. It’s good to have them back. It’s good competition. The girls know they can come back from a deficit, but besides that, they didn’t want to lose to Yarmouth. The girls get fired up to play them.”

The Panthers got 10 clutch saves from goalie Elizabeth Coughlin.

“It was super exciting,” Coughlin said. “We welcomed them to Class C. It was awesome winning. We love beating them. This motivates us so much and makes us so much more excited.”

Yarmouth, which got 11 saves from goalie Tori Messina, didn’t act like a team that had lost.

“We’re more encouraged than disappointed,” Clippers coach Mandy Lewis said. “I’m very proud. It was exciting to see (the girls) come out and play so well. We talked about what it means to play as a unit and today we saw it. It’s fun to play NYA again. It’s also fun to have two turf teams playing. We were really hoping to win.”

The Panthers improved to 4-0 Monday with a 2-1 win at Traip. NYA was at Waynflete Tuesday, hosts Sacopee Thursday and has a showdown at Falmouth Wednesday of next week.

The Clippers looked to bounce back at Wells Tuesday. Yarmouth goes to Traip Friday and visits Cape Elizabeth Wednesday.

Falmouth took a 3-0 record to nemesis York Tuesday. The Yachtsmen were coming off a 1-0 home win over Greely last Wednesday, in a game which had a long weather delay at halftime before being called with 11:50 left due to thunder and lightning. Freshman Sydney Bell had the lone goal.

“It was kind of nervewracking, but (during the delay) we just encouraged each other and talked about how we’d play in the second half,” Bell said. “It got frustrating at one point, but we knew we’d pull through.”

“I think Greely was really impressive tonight,” said Falmouth coach Robin Haley. “They challenged us in every facet. I’m not sure we were ready for that. It’s always a fun competition. This is a game we look forward to.”

The Yachtsmen go to Lake Region Friday, visit Kennebunk Saturday, host Freeport Monday and welcome NYA Wednesday.

Greely, playing without coach Kristina Lane Prescott, who just gave birth to a daughter, fell to 1-2 with the loss at Falmouth, but played the Yachtsmen tough.

“It’s always interesting when we come to Falmouth,” said Rangers assistant coach Becki Belmore. “I’m really proud of the girls. They held tough and stayed strong. I told the girls Coach Prescott would be super proud of them.”

Greely was home versus Cape Elizabeth Tuesday (see theforecaster.net for game story), visits Gray-New Gloucester Thursday and plays at Lake Region Monday.

Freeport gave new coach Marcia Wood her first win Friday, 5-1, over Gray-New Gloucester. The Falcons, who were coming off an 8-1 loss at Fryeburg (Olivia Bubar had the goal), got a hat trick from Hannah Williams and one goal each from Dani Foster and Emily Sturtevant. Freeport was at Poland Tuesday, visits Cape Elizabeth Thursday, goes to Falmouth Monday and hosts Lake Region Wednesday.

Cross country

Falmouth’s cross country teams joined Kennebunk at Fryeburg last weekend and both came in first. The boys were led by Bryce Murdick, who was the top individual on the 5k course in 17 minutes, 20 seconds. Madeline Roberts won the girls’ race in 20:23.

Freeport hosted Merriconeag, Poland and York. The Falcons girls were first, with Merriconeag third. Freeport’s Bethanie Knighton was second individually in 21:33. Merriconeag was paced by Samantha Pierce (sixth, 22:42). York won the boys’ meet, with the Falcons second and Merriconeag third. Individually, Freeport’s Chandler Vincent was the winner (17:54). Merriconeag was paced by runner-up Zach Neveu (18:00).

Greely and Yarmouth joined Lake Region at Cape Elizabeth. The Clippers came in runners-up in both races, while the Rangers were third on both the boys’ and girls’ sides. Individually, Yarmouth’s Ben Decker, in his first race of the season, won the boys’ meet in 15:16, with teammate Braden Becker second (15:36). Greely’s top finisher was Ryan Morrison (sixth, 16:47). The girls’ race was won by Greely’s Kristina Smith (19:13). Rangers standout Kirstin Sandreuter did not run. Yarmouth’s Caitlin Teare was runner-up in 19:15, while Ellie Teare was third (19:40).

NYA joined Gray-New Gloucester, Traip and Wells at Sacopee. The Panthers won the girls’ race and were second to Gray-New Gloucester in on the boys’ side. Hannah Austin continued her excellence by winning the girls’ race in 21:05. Matt Malcom was second among the boys in 17:59.

Golf

Falmouth’s golf team is off to a 4-0 start following an 11-2 victory over South Portland Monday. The Yachtsmen were at Scarborough in a potential test Wednesday. Greely also improved to 4-0 Monday with a 12.5-0.5 win over Gorham. The Rangers hosted Bonny Eagle Wednesday. Yarmouth fell to 1-4 with a 6-1 loss to York Monday. Wednesday, the Clippers went to NYA, which improved to 3-1 Monday with a 5-2 victory over Waynflete. Freeport fell to 0-6 Monday after a 7-0 loss to Gray-New Gloucester.

Volleyball

Greely’s gold standard volleyball team is used to making history, but last week, the Rangers did so for the wrong reasons, as they lost to Scarborough for the first time.

First, Greely hosted Biddeford in the season opener, which also served as a rematch of last year’s state final. It was a five-set thriller, as the Rangers won the first, 25-19, and third, 25-21, but lost the second (20-25) and fourth (14-25), setting up a winner-take-all, first-to-15 fifth set. Greely got to sit in its “comeback” bench and sure enough, down 10-13, the Rangers rallied behind the serving of freshman Kayley Cimino to win the game, 15-13, and the match, 3-2.

The Rangers then went to Scarborough to face a team they’d beaten in all 20 prior meetings, including last year’s semifinals, and when Greely came from behind to take a palpitating first set, 31-29, it looked like business as usual, but the Red Storm responded and won the next three, 11-25, 14-25, 24-26, to hand the Rangers their first loss of the season (Cimino and Lauren Warnock both had six kills).

“We squeaked out (the first set) and I thought we were pumped to go out and really give it to them,” Greely coach Kelvin Hasch said. “It didn’t happen. We came out flat and forgot how to pass the ball. When you can’t pass the ball, you can’t hit the ball. We came back and they were squirming over there, but we didn’t get a good call at the right time. That’s part of the game. I’m proud of the girls coming back. They showed you can’t count us out.”

Monday, Greely improved to 2-1 with a 3-0 home win over Windham. The Rangers had a showdown at Falmouth Wednesday, visit Kennebunk Friday and play at Lake Region Monday.

Speaking of the Yachtsmen, they were 3-0 entering the Greely match, after handling Gorham (3-0, 25-11, 25-19, 25-16), Thornton Academy (3-0, 25-9, 25-18, 25-7) and Biddeford (3-1, 25-23, 14-25, 25-16, 25-15). Falmouth is at Cape Elizabeth Friday and goes to Kennebunk Monday.

In Class B, Yarmouth opened with 3-0 wins at NYA (25-17, 25-7, 25-15) and Lake Region (25-2, 25-14, 25-7). Grace Mallett had 14 aces and 27 service points in the win over the Lakers. Monday, the Clippers dropped a 3-1 home decision to Cape Elizabeth (15-25, 25-17, 24-26, 14-25). Yarmouth was at Cheverus Wednesday and goes to Kennebunk next Wednesday.

NYA followed its loss to Yarmouth with a 3-0 (23-25, 17-25, 17-25) setback to Cheverus. The Panthers were home against Kennebunk Wednesday and go to Thornton Academy next Wednesday.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

Sidebar Elements

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Greely goalkeeper Alex McAdoo skies to make a save as Yarmouth’s Travis Hamre arrives a second too late during the teams’ thrilling 2-2 tie last week.

Freeport’s (from left) Elly Bengtsson, Bethanie Knighton and Nina Davenport lead the way during the Falcons’ home meet vs. Merriconeag, Poland and York last weekend. Knighton was second, Bengtsson third and Davenport seventh as Freeport finished first as a team.