YARMOUTH — At the risk of mixing metaphors and making inexact comparisons, in this World Series frame of mind, it’s a reasonable analogy to say the Oak Hill field hockey team threw six innings of no-hit ball at Yarmouth on Wednesday evening.
The only problem was that the Raiders couldn’t pitch around Clippers senior co-captain Kallie Hutchinson forever.
Hutchinson tied the Western Class C quarterfinal on a penalty stroke and later cashed in a reverse stick sweep by way of a penalty corner, nudging No. 3 Yarmouth to a 2-1 win.
Prior to that outburst, No. 6 Oak Hill (7-7-1) held the hosts without shot on goal or a corner for more than 37 minutes.
“First half I think that we came out pretty flat. We’ve never seen this team before, so I don’t think we were prepared for what we were going to face,” Hutchinson said. “We felt like this was our game, and we decided to take it back.”
Yarmouth (10-4-1) advanced to the regional semifinals for the first time in 13 years. The Clippers will make the one-mile trip to No. 2 North Yarmouth Academy on Saturday.
Without a senior in the starting lineup but playing in the quarterfinals for the second straight year, the Raiders looked like the veteran team in the first half, particularly late.
Neither team enjoyed a shot or a corner for most of the session, but that ended when junior captain Hayley Marshall zigzagged through traffic and rifled one past Yarmouth goalkeeper Victoria Messina with 1:52 to go.
Oak Hill also had a fruitful corner as time expired, with Messina denying Marshall from a tough angle to end the half.
“We didn’t have a scouting report, so we didn’t really know what we were looking for,” Oak Hill coach Betsy Gilbert said. “We just wanted to come out and play our game. That’s what we were building upon, not setting the precedent of what they were going to throw at us but what we were going to throw at them.”
It didn’t take long to identify Hutchinson as the conductor of Yarmouth’s offense, anyhow. Even without any official shots, Hutchinson’s ability to step back and fire dangerous passes from outside the circle kept the Raiders’ defense on its toes.
Yarmouth’s first crack at Oak Hill goalie Abby Fuller forced the sophomore to make three saves in quick succession and ultimately led to the equalizer.
After the final save in the sequence, the Clippers snuck the ball behind Fuller, where an Oak Hill defender stopped it with her foot to draw the penalty stroke.
The uncontested opportunity was Hutchinson’s first of the season after attempting dozens in practice. She rolled it inside the left post to put the Clippers on the board with 22:45 left.
“We knew that would be a turning point for us, and it absolutely was,” Yarmouth coach Mandy Lewis said. “In the first half, not having an offensive corner affected our whole game.”
Credit Oak Hill’s hungry defense — particularly Danielle Samson, Heather Hannigan, Autumn Frechette, Brooke Surette and the ever-present Marshall — for seeing to that. The Raiders intercepted numerous loose balls in the circle and took them the other way throughout the first half.
“These girls are amazing. They poured their little hearts and souls out there,” Gilbert said. “They weren’t intimidated. They actually play better on (artificial) turf.”
So does Yarmouth, of course. The Clippers had to relocate a few home games in September while their field was being renovated. Only recently have Hutchinson and the explosive Clippers rediscovered their power-hitting ways.
That was evident on the game-winner at the 18:23 mark. Hutchinson leaned left, hoping at least to keep the ball in play, and uncorked a blistering shot that found a seam through traffic.
“Being back on our turf, we’re bringing back the sweeps and the chips,” Hutchinson said. “I said I’m not going to have the strong stick drive that I usually do, so just go for the chip and see what happens. It was there.”
Oak Hill didn’t go away. Marshall just missed connecting with Sadie Goulet in Messina’s shadow with 8:30 to go.
After fighting off a corner with a minute to go, the Raiders pushed the ball up field for one final bid. Taylor Morrison and Katie Overhaug sufficiently disrupted it for the Clippers until the horn.
“I knew they were going to make a run. Of course they were,” Gilbert said. “We’re young. We have nothing to hang our heads about. We’ll be back and we’ll be back stronger than ever next year.”
koakes@sunjournal.com
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