It was a David vs. Goliath matchup when Scarborough traveled to Biddeford for Saturday’s boys soccer game. The visiting Red Storm squad is deep and has a number of starters back from last year’s 14-1-1 team. The Red Storm are a favorite to play for this year’s Class A Gold Ball. The Tigers, coming off a one-win season, have low numbers in the program and boast only three seniors on the roster.

For the opening 25 minutes, Biddeford hung tough. By packing it in on defense, the Tigers were able to keep the Red Storm – which had outscored its opponents 8-0 through its first two games – off the board. But the Tigers eventually ran out of rocks to sling. Scarborough netted five goals in less than six minutes late in the first half to take a commanding lead and went on to win 9-0 at Waterhouse Field.

“We tried a new defense,” said Biddeford coach Mike Grattelo. “We put two sweepers in the back with (defender) Eric (Dubois). We cluttered it up good for a while. We did. But we don’t have the subs. Backpedaling for a while, you just get tired. We did well. We had a 25-minute span there where we defended well. Scarborough, every one of their players is a premier player. They have the subs and they have the skill.”

Nate Tolman tallied first for Scarborough, as his corner kick from the right side hooked inside the near post with 15:22 to play in the first half and set off the goal barrage. Ted Palmer’s direct kick from straight on, just outside the box, found the low, left corner of he net to make it 2-0 with 10:24 remaining before the break.

Less than a minute later, Trevor Hoxsie outraced the Biddeford defense to score a breakaway goal and make it 3-0. It stayed that way for all of 29 seconds before Ian Philbrick took a pass in deep on the left side and slid it past Tiger goalkeeper Evan McBreairty. It took Philbrick just 14 seconds to find the net again, converting a penalty kick with 9:24 to go in the half after getting taken down in the box. It was 5-0 at halftime.

“We started the game a little sloppy,” Philbrick said. “Once we got one in, they started coming in. We got a little confidence.”

Scarborough wasn’t without its chances before the first goal, but McBreairty (13 saves) came up with some big stops and the Red Storm struggled to make good passes early on.

“We just got a little more patient, kept the ball on the ground, and I thought we served the ball better during that (five-goal) stretch,” said Scarborough coach Mark Diaz. “Once we got in there and served the ball to the right spots, we got a few bounces.”

In the second half, both teams got to empty the benches and get everyone a chance to play. Scarborough added four more goals and outshot Biddeford 23-1 in the contest.

Having rolled over the competition in the first three games, the Red Storm has been able to work on the development of some of the younger players, which the team hopes will pay dividends come tournament time.

“It definitely helps with the progression of the younger guys,” Philbrick said. “Everyone gets a chance to get some varsity time. Right now we’re just trying to get everyone in, get everyone improved, play as a team, and just work out the kinks from preseason and stay in shape for playoffs. “

“We got everyone in, we worked on some stuff, we had the opportunity to try people out in different spots,” said Diaz. Despite the impressive showing, the coach said his team has a ways to go. “We’ve got to pass the ball better,” he said. “There were times we tried to do too much and didn’t find the open guy quick enough.”

The Tigers will look to learn from the experience of playing Scarborough. Grattelo was not discouraged by the outcome. He hopes it is something his team can build on.

“We’re looking to take it game by game and pick the battles we can compete in,” Grattelo said. “Against these guys, we knew we were outmatched, that’s just the way it is. We’re going to take this, we’re going to practice, and we’re going to work on what we need to work on. We’re going to be all right against the teams at our level.

“These kids are working hard. They don’t stop playing the whole game. That’s all I can ask of them.”

Scarborough improved to 4-0 and kept its shutout streak alive with a 5-0 win over Thornton Academy on Monday.

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