AUBURN — The game had just ended and in front of the goal, a team gathered, hugging and crying. Ten meters away, the other did the same. Same hug. Same tears.

And that’s no surprise, considering how the Class B field hockey state championship game went Saturday afternoon.

Halle Tarbox scored on the first corner kick after overtime and Belfast beat Yarmouth, 2-1, to win the state title at Edward Little High School.

The Lions (17-1), one of the state’s most decorated programs, won their eighth Class B championship, but their first since 2011. Yarmouth, playing in its first state championship game since 1995, finished 16-2.



“It’s so unreal,” Belfast senior forward Bre Shorey said. “We worked hard throughout the game and it was a hard-fought victory. … It’s really amazing, we’ve been working on this all season, all four years. We wanted this.

There were tears of joy and tears of relief for the Lions and their six seniors, who suffered losses in the regional finals the previous two years, then rallied from a second-half deficit against Yarmouth to claim their price.

“(They) have been working since they were little girls for this moment. So it was very emotional for them to (see) all their hard work pay off,” coach Jan Holmes-Jackson said. “They have dreamed of it all their lives. What a way to end.

For Yarmouth, the tears were of disbelief and the pain of seeing a spirited race fail.

“We knew going into this game that it was going to be tough, and when it got to 7-on-7 overtime, we practiced every day during the playoffs,” the senior guard and captain said. » said Harper Featherstone. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do it. But we really tried to get through it.

The Clippers struck the first blow in the second quarter on a goal by Erica O’Connor, and Belfast tied it up in the third quarter when Payten Wadsworth scored. Possession tilted towards Belfast in the second half, but Yarmouth’s resilient defense, led by Featherstone, Chloe Wright, Brooke Abbott, Zoe Sammon and goalkeeper Emma Shannon, continued to withstand the Lions’ threats, including 16 corners in regulation and two extensions.

Holmes-Jackson, however, suspected his team’s time was approaching.

“During that second overtime, I was like, ‘Man, I hope they don’t score one and get unlucky,’ because we had dominated and worked so hard,” he said. she declared. “But I was pretty confident in the corners, when you’re also down against a defender, that we could score.”

Belfast’s Ava Markham attempts to push the ball past Yarmouth goalie Emma Shannon during the Class B field hockey final Saturday at Auburn. Andrée Kehn/Sun Journal

Yarmouth lost the ball out of bounds on their try, giving Belfast a chance to end it. Wadsworth had a shot that was saved but returned to her and she sent the ball to the left side.

Tarbox was waiting and the junior fired a shot into the net to spark the celebration.

“(I thought) just put it at the bottom of the cage and don’t waste it,” she said. “It’s so amazing, I’m so happy.”

Yarmouth took the lead with 7:15 left in the second quarter when Sally McGrath found O’Connor cutting alone towards the goal, while Maya Nasveschuk also collected an assist.

Wadsworth tied it with 3:06 left in the third, taking a layup from Jocelyn Valleau and firing a shot from the top of the circle.

“You feel a little depressed (with the deficit), but earlier in the season, Gardiner beat us on their field, and we kind of quit,” Wadsworth. “We learned from this situation. If we score first, we can always come back.

Belfast kept up the pressure after the goal, but the Clippers continued to push the Lions back even after losing Sammon, a senior captain, to injury in overtime.

It was a blow, but a program that two years ago was in the middle of the pack in Class B South didn’t give in.

“We were all playing for her,” Featherstone said. “It’s unfortunate, but we love each other so much and we’re really happy that we were able to prove everyone wrong that Yarmouth could get here and we could compete.”

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