PORTLAND — Some cheap shots and a near melee didn’t stop Yarmouth from accomplishing its ultimate goal — a state title.
A goal by Yarmouth junior Patrick Grant in the 27th minute was all the Clippers needed to accomplish that feat as they defeated Ellsworth, 1-0, in the Class B state title match at Deering High School on Saturday.
“The past two years we’ve lost in the Western finals, so I’ve never had the chance to be on this kind of stage,” Grant said. “It’s absolute happiness right now.”
The Clippers dominated time of possession in the first half, but didn’t record their first shot on goal until 13 minutes in. After surrendering three consecutive corner kicks to the Eagles, Yarmouth reversed field and found the back of the net. Adam LaBrie fired a shot on net from 15 yards out that was blocked aside by Ellsworth goalkeeper Nicholas Bagley. Bagley couldn’t control the rebound and Grant was there to knock in the loose ball.
“The scouting report on the goalie was that he does give rebounds,” Yarmouth coach Michael Hagerty said. “He gives up a lot of rebounds and we talked about every shot needed to be followed because of that. Patrick has been doing that all year. He’s a work horse and it gets things done the right way.”
The Eagles thought they had tied it in the 53rd minute when the ball found the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed after a Ellsworth foul in the box.
Ellsworth had just one shot on goal the entire game, that attempt coming in the final eight minutes. The Eagles’ frustrations reached a boiling point in the 87th minute when a cheap shot behind the play triggered four ejections on the Ellsworth sideline.
No players from Yarmouth were ejected.
“A bunch of our guys got tackled from behind and punched from behind and could easily have turned up and started throwing haymakers back,” Hagerty said. “I was very pleased they didn’t. They knew the bigger picture was to get the result we felt we deserved.”
The Eagles played the final 2:13 with seven players, making a last-ditch comeback impossible.
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