SCARBOROUGH — For the second year in a row, the marquee girls’ soccer matchup between Scarborough and Windham ended in a tie.
And for the second year in a row, that result seemed just about right.
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Morgan Rodway’s shot from the right end line slipped inside the far post with 3:03 left in regulation Wednesday night to lift Scarborough to a 2-2 tie against Windham in an SMAA game at the Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex.
“I went to the end line like I always do,” Rodway said. “I saw the goalie coming out and said, ‘Well, this is my shot. I decided I’ve got to do it. It’s senior night so you’ve got to do it for the team, right?”
Both teams, who played to a 1-1 tie as contenders last season, remained undefeated. Scarborough (10-0-2) entered the game ranked No. 1 in the Western Class A Heal point standings; Windham (11-0-1) came in ranked No. 3, behind Falmouth.
“It was a great defensive battle,” Scarborough Coach Mike Farley said. “When they won the ball, they kept possession and put us under a lot of pressure. When we won those individual battles and when we got the ball in behind them, we had chances.”
Jenna Soucy put Windham up 1-0 with 4:29 left in the half. The play began with a hard header that Scarborough keeper Sydney Martin (nine saves) punched away. Soucy connected with a low shot from 15 yards.
“The ball was bouncing out so I took a touch,” Soucy said. “It was still bouncing so I took a shot. I had about two feet (between the post and keeper).”
About 20 minutes into the second half, Scarborough freshman striker Ashley Perriello fought through two defenders and got off a shot at the top of the box that beat keeper Kate Kneeland (six saves) to make it 1-1.
“It was all thanks to Ashley Gleason, the center midfielder who set it up with a great (pass),” said Perriello, whose playing time has increased sharply in the absence of 20-goal scorer Hadlee Yescott, who has missed two games, according to Farley, because of a “team decision.”
“It was a really fun game to play because it was so intense,” Perriello said. “It could have gone either way.”
Three minutes later, Lauren Shoemaker finished a counterattack fueled by Soucy’s strong rush that drew Martin to her left post. Soucy slipped the ball across the goalmouth to a wide-open Shoemaker, and the Eagles were back in the lead, 2-1.
“That was all (Soucy,)” Shoemaker said. “All I had to do was touch it in.” That set up Rodway’s late heroics.
“This is a good eye-opener before going into the playoffs,” said Windham Coach Deb Lebel. “There are some good teams out there and we need to play top-notch for 80 minutes.”
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