York stunned as Yarmouth ties game with 2.4 seconds left, wins title in first minute of OT

PORTLAND, Maine — One moment it looked like the York High School boys’ lacrosse team was going to celebrate a state championship after a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback. But then heartbreak set in Saturday morning at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

No. 3 Yarmouth tied the game with 2.4 seconds to play in regulation, and then won the Class B state title one minute into overtime on Colter Olson’s goal, 13-12.

Olson had been an effective scorer and passer all morning, setting up the tying goal.

“We knew he could do both (pass and score),” said York coach Bill McNamara in preparation for the winning Yarmouth possession in OT. “He actually shot through a double team, around a screen. So, you kind of have got to give it to him. We were definitely focused on him, but that was a good play.”

York rallies to take lead in fourth

Down 11-8 in the fourth quarter, York, which was trying to win two straight Class B titles, desperately turned up the pressure, scoring four goals in four minutes to pull ahead. Junior attack Evan Anastas netted three goals in a span of two and a half minutes to tie the score at 11-all with 1:40 to play.

The Wildcats retained possession of the ball when Riley Butters controlled the draw. York then held the ball for a last shot. Quinn Walenta stood behind the net with the ball for 30-plus seconds before making his move with 20 seconds to play. He dashed left from behind the net and stuffed it in to put the Wildcats (15-2) up, 12-11, with 15 seconds left.

“We were having trouble possessing the ball, so I called some timeouts so we could possess it,” said McNamara, who called several timeouts during his team’s resurgence in the fourth. “I thought the guys did a good job on offense. I thought we battled well all over the field. They made a few more plays than us.”

Anastas reflects on scoring

When Anastas scored his goals, he knew there wasn’t a lot of time to run set stuff.

“I was just trying to shoot and pray to be honest,” he said. “We were just going right away, trying to observe the field and then like I said just shoot and pray.

As for the quick Walenta goal that put the Wildcats ahead, McNamara said: “We went at 20 seconds. That’s what we do. That’s how we practice it. He really just beat his guy so cleanly and scored with 15 or so (seconds).”

Yarmouth's last-second goal sends game to overtime

Yarmouth (14-3) still had life. The Clippers won the draw, called timeout, and then put the ball in their best player's stick, Olson. He was rebuffed on two quick moves, but with four seconds to play, he got inside the defense and was able to shovel it to Hakon Yeo who tied the game with 2.4 seconds to go.

“We definitely felt good,” said Anastas after the Walenta goal. “But with that team, you can never really feel good. They did it.”

“We gave Colter the ball and let him go and see what he can do,” said Yarmouth coach Jon Miller. “But knowing that the whole York defense was going to be eyes on him. The option was there to skip to somebody, and it ended up being Hakon.”

York takes first possession in overtime

In overtime, York won the draw and actually had a golden chance to score. But a pass in front was too high to handle and a turnover eventually gave the ball to the Clippers.

Yarmouth called a timeout at 3:14 of the four-minute overtime. Olson was at the center of what they were going to do and he delivered with a goal moving left that slipped past York goalie Evan Giacobba (eight saves) for the sudden victory at the 3:00 mark.

“Colter just took it and did his thing. We executed,” said Yarmouth’s Miller. “That’s all the credit to him.”

Colton nets four goals, dishes out seven assists

Olson was huge in the Clipper win with four goals and seven assists. Yeo had three goals and Colby Carnes (assist) and Matt Cain had two goals apiece. Will Redfield had 12 saves in goal.

For the Wildcats, Walenta (assist) and Anastas each had five goals. Luke Douris and Haydn Forbes had one each. It was the final game for the senior-heavy team, which graduated 13.

York overcomes two three-goal deficits

York twice came back from three-goal deficits to take the lead. In the first half, they trailed 6-3 in the second quarter, but scored four straight times (two from Walenta) to take the lead, 7-6, with 3:58 to play. Yarmouth tied it up, 7-7, in the final 40 seconds on a feed from Olson to Yeo.

Goals by Olson, Cain and Yeo put the Clippers ahead 10-7 after three. It was still a three-goal lead (11-8) with under five minutes to play when York rallied to take the lead with its dramatic late flurry.

McNamara expressed dissatisfaction with some officiating behavior.

“I thought the officiating was pretty bad," McNamara said. "The referee hugged their coach after the game. I’ve never seen that in my life. I’m a little upset about that.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: York stunned as Yarmouth ties game with 2.4 seconds left, wins title in first minute of OT