KENTS HILL — The Maranacook/Winthrop lacrosse team scored just 16 seconds into its Eastern B semifinal game Saturday afternoon against Yarmouth.
The top-seeded Hawks spent the rest of the game trying to keep pace with the Clippers.
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“After we got the first goal, we got excited,” Maranacook/Winthrop attacker Toby Smith said. “We had a lot of confidence. Then they just started ripping shots.”
Joe Oliva scored three goals and a pair of assists to lead No. 4 Yarmouth past Maranacook/Winthrop 10-7 in an at-times chippy game before a modest crowd.
The victory propels the Clippers (9-5) into the regional final Wednesday against either Camden Hills or Freeport.
The Hawks, who twice made second half runs to pull within two goals, finished 13-1.
“We accomplished a lot,” Maranacook/Winthrop coach Zach Stewart said. “We were a (junior varsity) team four years ago. There is a lot of potential in this program. We’re disappointed we lost but we believe we will come back stronger.”
Smith scored five goals and Zach Glazier added two to lead the Hawks, who trailed 4-2 at the half and 8-4 after three periods.
Isaak Dearden and Brendan Dioli each scored two goals for the Clippers, who put the game away midway through the third after the Hawks pulled within a pair.
Smith scored two goals in 17 seconds and the Hawks trailed just 6-4 with 7 minutes, 39 seconds left in the period.
“We knew they weren’t going to go away,” Yarmouth coach David Pearl said. “We had talked about how this team was never going to give up.”
But the Clippers weren’t about to give in.
Oliva, a junior attacker, made it 7-4 when he ripped a shot past Hawks goalie Zach Bessette with 2:42 left in the third. Kyle Thomas made it 8-4 about a minute later.
Both goals came after the Hawks lost possession of the ball after they won a faceoff.
“The mistakes hurt us,” Stewart said. “The little mistakes just killed us. (Possession) was one of our bothers going into the postseason. We seemed to fix it against (North Yarmouth Academy in the quarterfinals).”
Oliva and Timothy Pietropaoli scored in the first three minutes of the fourth to give the Clippers a 10-4 lead.
The Hawks tried to fight back in the waning moments, scoring three goals in the final three minutes, but it wasn’t enough.
“We’re glad we didn’t have to play another quarter,” Pearl said. “This is a legitimate team.”
The Clippers out-shot the Hawks 27-22.
“It’s tough to lose but we had a great year,” said Smith. “The program is growing.”
Bill Stewart — 621-5618
Twitter: @billstewartmtm
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