It wasn´t just a matter of who scored for the Yarmouth boys´ lacrosse team. It became a matter of how many did.

Five players scored goals as the Clippers defeated Cape Elizabeth 9-4 for the Class B championship Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

The Capers and the Clippers have met four times in state finals since the Maine Principals´ Association began sanctioning the sport in 1998, and Yarmouth has won two of its three state titles against Cape, which has six state championships.

"It felt great to know Cape was here," Yarmouth goalie Jon Poole said. "It doesn´t feel like a real state championship unless you play Cape."

While a plethora of players powered the offense, one anchored Yarmouth´s defense: Poole. He made 15 saves, including 10 in the first half before he gave up Cape´s first goal to Zach Belden at 1:39 of the third quarter.

"(Jon) started playing in goal in the eighth grade, and he´s just worked unbelievably hard," said Jason Hichborn, who led the Clippers (13-2) with three goals. "He´s not afraid to go for the ball and he steps up huge, especially in big games like this."

Belden scored two goals for the Capers (10-5), and Chris Bagley and Jim Wilcox each had a goal. Jack Roos finished with eight saves.

Yarmouth led 4-0 at halftime. Jack Gross and Rob Highland each scored two goals for the Clippers, and Sam Miller also scored.

"(The Clippers) just played very well," Cape Coach Ben Raymond said. "The goalie played very well, and he made quite a few saves, especially in the beginning of the game. It gave them some momentum and our kids shot decent, but we got our shots and while we were trying to do something offensively, their goalie just made some great saves."

Yarmouth won despite being a man down for more than two minutes midway through the third quarter, and being held without a shot for the first nine minutes of the third before John Curry and Hichborn scored to make it 6-1.

Between quarters, officials ruled that Yarmouth´s James MacLeod was using an illegal stick and assessed the Clippers a three- minute penalty, and Cape cut its deficit to 6-3 on goals by Bagley and Belden.

"We work really hard every practice on our man-down (strategy)," Poole said. "We knew we could hang with these guys and it was just an ordinary day. We knew we could accomplish our goal playing the way we did play."

Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:
rlenzi@pressherald.com