The Patriots’ winning streak came to an end when they lost 5-1 to the Yarmouth Clippers. This game was a tough battle from start to finish, that was more closely contested than the score shows.
The first eight minutes of the game were all the Clippers. The Patriots didn’t seem to be ready to play. Unfortunately for the Patriots those first eight minutes resulted in three goals for the Clippers. The first goal came just under three minutes in. Hannah Dwyer took a shot from the right side of the field that arced over the defense and keeper into the left side of the net. The next goal came three minutes later when the Clippers sent in a free kick from the right side near the endline that found Ava Feeley on the six yard line. She was able to run through the ball and redirect it back towards the post it came from, barely going into the goal. The third goal came two minutes later. Ivy was able to come out and make a save on the initial shot, but the ball bounced right back to Hannah Dwyer, who lofted in a shot to score her second of the game.
It was a totally different game for the final seventy-two minutes. The play was much more even with the shot total being 10-8 in favor of the Clippers and the score being 2-1. The Patriots’ had a few players put in outstanding performances in the loss. Ivy Abrams made several key saves in the game. West Duffy and Liza Sturgis took control of the midfield, harassing the Clippers every time they had the ball and forced them to turn it over several times. Lydia Espling seemed to be everywhere on the field, breaking up many attacking plays by the Clippers and creating many opportunities for the Patriots on offense.
Hannah Dwyer completed her hat trick when she scored off a rebound after Ivy made a fantastic save. Anna Wallace completed the scoring for the Clippers when Adrianna Whitlock sent in a cross that found her making a run towards the far post. The Patriots were able to get one back, though they had several great opportunities to score a few times, when they earned just their second corner of the game with under a few minutes left to play. West Duffy sent in a great ball that Jordan Grant was able to run onto and head past the keeper for her eight goal of the season.
The Patriots drop to 5-4 with the loss and the Clippers improve to 7-1-1 with the win. The Patriots will look to bounce back when the host the Waynflete Flyers Saturday October 5th. JV will play first at 4:15 with Varsity expected to kickoff at 6:00pm.