Colter Olson’s dream was turning into a nightmare, but he wasn’t about to lose the final game of his high school career.
Olson assisted on the tying goal with 2.4 seconds left in regulation, then scored a minute into overtime to give No. 3 Yarmouth a 13-12 victory over top-seeded defending champion York in the Class B boys’ lacrosse state championship game Saturday afternoon at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
York (15-2) erased a three-goal deficit with just over four minutes to go by scoring four straight goals, but Olson set up Hakon Yeo to tie it and force OT. Then, he took matters into his own hands in the extra session and gave Yarmouth (14-3) its first title in three years, and the program’s ninth all time.
“I’m on cloud nine,” said Olson, who is bound for Rutgers University. “This means everything to me. Being in the blue-and-white means so much to me. I love this group so much.”
The first half was a story of runs. Olson set up Matt Cain for the game’s first goal, but York answered with two goals from Evan Anastas and another from Quinn Walenta in just over two minutes to go up 3-1. Yarmouth roared back to tie it by the end of the first quarter, as Olson set up George Brown for a goal, then scored himself.
The Clippers carried their momentum into the second quarter. Colby Carnes scored from Olson, Yeo set up Ian Minnihan, and Olson scored again, assisted by Brown, to cap a 5-0 run that gave Yarmouth a 6-3 lead.
Olson finished with four goals and seven assists.
Wildcats Coach Bill McNamara called a timeout, and it sparked a 4-0 run for his squad.
Walenta connected on a crease roll to end the Yarmouth surge, then Haydn Forbes and Luke Douris scored less than a minute apart to tie it for the third time.
With 3:58 left in the half, Walenta scored again on a crease roll to give York a short-lived lead before Olson set up Yeo for a pretty transition goal with 36.9 seconds remaining in the first half, forging a 7-7 tie.
The Clippers appeared to take control in the third quarter, as Olson scored twice and Cain added a goal to make it 10-7.
After Walenta got one back for York to start the fourth quarter, Olson fed Carnes for a goal with 9:17 to play, pushing the lead back to three.
The Wildcats rallied, though, with three straight unassisted goals from Anastas. Then, with 15.2 seconds on the clock, Walenta rolled to the crease again for a tiebreaking goal that looked like it would give York a repeat title.
But Noah Tippie, who had lost eight straight faceoffs, won possession for Yarmouth. Olson ran down the clock, then fed Yeo to make it 12-12 with just 2.4 seconds showing.
“I never lost hope,” said Yeo, who had three goals. “Colter found me. That was beautiful. I just caught and shot and tried not to fall in the crease.”
York won possession to start overtime but turned the ball over.
Yarmouth took a timeout, and to the surprise of no one, Olson kept possession, worked around several defenders, then shot through traffic to end it.
“I was not passing the ball,” said Olson. “They were in a zone, so I knew if I kept going, they’d mess up a pass-off. I got my hands free and I hit the net.”
“Credit to York for coming back,” added Yarmouth Coach Jon Miller. “But Colter said, ‘I’m winning this game.’ That’s why I think he’s the best player in the state.”
Anastas and Walenta scored five goals each for the Wildcats.
“The team battled all over the field,” said McNamara. “They just made a couple more plays than we did. I’m proud of the guys. It was a great year.”
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