**Freeport Field Hockey Defeats Yarmouth to Win Class B South Championship**
YARMOUTH — The Freeport field hockey team faced off against Yarmouth in last year’s Class B South final and suffered a loss. This fall, the Falcons played the Clippers twice during the regular season and lost both matches. However, coach Marcia Wood believed a third matchup would yield a different outcome. Her players, including 13 seniors, felt the same way.
“They were ready and they were focused, and everyone felt good,” Wood said. “Everyone felt good today. I knew they were a little bit nervous, but everyone felt good.”
By the end of the game Thursday night, those feelings had only grown stronger. Emily Groves scored a first-quarter goal, leading second-seeded Freeport to a 1-0 shutout over previously undefeated Yarmouth to claim the Class B South championship.
Despite close losses to the top-seeded Clippers earlier in the season—a 2-1 overtime defeat on October 6 and a 1-0 loss on October 20—Wood remained optimistic, focusing on the positives of the team’s improving play and health.
“I’ve been in this position multiple times, trying to beat a team three times,” she said. “I’ve been on the good side, the bad side, everything. I just knew. I just knew that we would adjust, and I knew that the girls were ready to do it.”
With the defeat, Yarmouth was denied a second straight regional championship and another chance to face defending state champion Belfast, which again won the North title a year after beating the Clippers in penalty corners in the 2024 state final.
“We’ll rebuild, we’ll be back, we’re not done yet,” Yarmouth coach Bri Page said. “We’re still chasing that title, and we’ll get there.”
The Clippers faced a veteran Freeport squad anchored by a senior class that has already competed in two state finals and won one. The Falcons were confident they could overcome an opponent that had bested them multiple times before.
“We were confident. Yarmouth came into this game undefeated, they had every right to be confident as well,” Groves said. “But I feel like we just believe in ourselves, and we knew that as long as we believed in each other, we could do it.”
Groves ensured the Falcons took an early lead by spearheading a rush in the first quarter. After firing a shot that Yarmouth keeper Emma Shannon stopped, the ball deflected to teammate Lizalyn Boudreau, who passed it back to Groves. The senior then scored at just 1:01 into the game, putting Freeport ahead 1-0.
“Scoring first is super important,” Wood said. “The longer the second game [in the regular season] went on without a score, the more panicked we were, and not necessarily playing our game.”
Yarmouth didn’t relent, with Celia Zinman leading multiple attacks that resulted in nine corners in the first half and 10 total for the game. However, quality rebounds and clear shots were limited, thanks largely to a staunch Freeport defense led by goalie Maddie Kryzek, who made nine saves.
“It’s so rewarding,” Kryzek said. “I talked myself through it a little bit. Trust my training—this is my game, I know what to do. I’ve been in all these situations. I had to kind of calm my nerves and focus in on the game. That is what I’m here to do tonight, nothing else matters.”
For Kryzek, the game was a chance at redemption after misplaying an unusual bounce on the overtime winner during the first loss to Yarmouth this season. This time, when her team needed her the most, she delivered one big save after another.
“She just was fantastic today,” Wood said. “She’s been totally locked in on this. She played the game of her life.”
Among her key saves was one with about 1:45 left in the second quarter, when she kicked away a shot by Sally McGrath. Another crucial stop came midway through the third quarter, when she blocked a shot by Zinman, followed by teammate Dalila McCarthy blocking Stella Peck’s follow-up attempt.
“We believed to the end,” Page said. “We thought it was coming, we just couldn’t get the last one in.”
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/11/06/freeport-field-hockey-solves-yarmouth-returns-to-class-b-state-final/