(Poland) Yarmouth boys’ soccer if very good.
They have been Class B champs the last two seasons.
They were ranked #2 in New England in a preseason poll this year.
The Clippers had that quality on display today as they defeated Poland, 6-0, on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Yarmouth is now 5-0-1 and it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see them making noise later in the season.
The Clippers have won ten state titles in the last eighteen years.
Yarmouth scored three times in each half.
Matt Gautreau paced the Clippers with two goals and an assist.
“Our goal was to compete against them, and we did,” said Poland coach Josh Kennison afterwards. “I think we played as well as we could.”
The busiest player on the field was Knights’ goalkeeper Sam Paladino. Yarmouth had at least ten corner kicks by my unofficial count.
Stevie Walsh scored the first Yarmouth goal at 28:46 out of a scramble near the goal.
Truman Peters and Adam McLaughlin added first-half scores within a minute of each other. Both players had good looks from further out. Truman found the right corner while Adam’s shot went just under the crossbar.
“Most of them can take a shot from anywhere,” said Coach Kennison. “They have multiple ways to attack you.”
“We moved the ball pretty well,” recalled Yarmouth coach Mike Hagerty post-game. “We have a lot of talented upperclassmen.”
Matt Gautreau’s two goals came in the second half.
Matt’s first goal was set up by a long-distance pass from Liam Hickey down the right sidelines. Matt ran under it and was off on a clean look that led to a goal.
“I have been working on those long balls all year,” said Liam Hickey afterwards. “We practice it a lot. Matt made a good play. He’s very fast.”
Matt’s next goal was set up by Zach Kelly.
Luis Cardoso had a great look from in close after a pass from Truman Peters.
Ian O’Connor recorded the shutout for the Clippers.
Coach Hagerty limited his starters’ playing time and had his team in a possession approach late in the game.
“They showed good sportsmanship and I appreciated that,” said Coach Kennison.
“Their one touch is what makes Yarmouth special,” added Coach Kennison. “Their first touch is just unbelievable.”
“I just happen to have some players who have played a lot more soccer than Poland does,” said Coach Hagerty. “Poland (1-4) is making strides. They’re positive and they work hard.”
“We’ve had a good start to the season,” said Liam Hickey, “but we have a long way to go. We have to keep working in practice.”
Liam told me that he wasn’t sure if he would be playing soccer next year in college.
The weather is the weather! Temps in the low 40’s at 7AM give way to temps in the 70’s at the 11:15AM start time.
(I made a picture gallery for MaxPreps from this game with fifty-five pictures.)
McClelland Miscellanea 