YARMOUTH — Soccer may be called the beautiful game for its free-flowing action but the real drama often begins when the ball stops.

Wednesday night in Scarborough every dead ball within 40 yards of either goal will create heightened tension in the Class A South boys’ soccer final. The rematch of last year’s final pits defending state champion Cheverus High against unbeaten and No. 1 seed Scarborough.

Alex Nason of Cheverus practices a corner kick on Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday’s Class A South final against Scarborough. The practice may come in handy as in last year’s regional final between the Red Storm and Stags all four regulation-time goals were from set pieces. Gabe Souza/Staff Photographer

Last year in Cheverus’ 3-2 double-overtime win, all four regulation-time goals were from set pieces. Coaches and players from both teams expect converting and defending such plays will again be crucial.

“We’re working on our set pieces almost every practice, trying to improve them because we know that might be one of the most important parts of playoff soccer is set pieces,” Scarborough’s Matt Caron said.

Caron assisted on one goal with a long throw-in and scored another on a direct kick in Scarborough’s 3-0 win against Falmouth in the regional semifinal.

Cheverus secured its 1-0 semifinal win against South Portland because goalie Jake Tomkinson stopped a brilliant free kick by Khalid Suja in the waning seconds.

Tomkinson said he always feels the emotions racing in the moments before a restart.

“Of course, of course. It’s an opportunity for (a) goal so every opportunity for (a) goal is going to be played as carefully as possible,” Tomkinson said.

Set pieces – i.e., direct and indirect free kicks, corner kicks and throw-ins – have always played a prominent role in the sport, particularly if they come within scoring range.

But a variety of factors seem to be highlighting the importance of converting and defending after stoppages of play at the high school level.

Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan pointed to the fact that most of the top teams have a number of year-round club players. That means better organized defenses so less scoring in general. “There are fewer and fewer opportunities to score,” Halligan said. “So those dead-ball opportunities are magnified.”

Plus, that same increase in skill level means more players are capable of putting a kick where they want it and having a player at the other end capable of delivering with a one-time strike or crisp header.

“The service is critical,” Cheverus Coach Colin Minte said. “You look at the best teams scoring off set pieces and they’ve got a guy who can pinpoint exactly where they want to serve it and who they want to serve it to.”

Increasingly, teams can get that same effect off throw-ins. It used to be rare to find a player who could hurl a two-handed overhead throw from the sideline into striking range. Now it is relatively common.

“And it’s more accurate than a corner kick,” Scarborough Coach Mark Diaz said. “There are several in the league who can put it where they want so it’s definitely dangerous.”

Plus, this season there has been very little separating the teams in Class A South.

“There are a lot of defensive-oriented teams and there are a lot of games where there aren’t a lot of chances being generated and you can have two set pieces and win the game 2-0,” Minte said.

Diaz agrees.

“There is so much parity in the league, particularly this year, that a lot of times those are the ways teams are going to score,” he said.

The ability to produce a goal on a set piece can also make up for a possession deficit.

“We obviously didn’t get as many shots on goal last year as (Scarborough) did,” in the regional final, Tomkinson noted, “but we took advantage of our set pieces.”

As teams improve on their ability to score off set pieces, coaches spend more time emphasizing defending them.

“Certainly matchups matter as they do with all sports,” Diaz said. “It’s a lot like basketball, defending an inbounds play.”

The basic measure for the defense is to stay with their marks.

Minte noted he – like most coaches – likes to leave his best “aerial” player free from marking responsibilities.

For the Stags, that player is 5-foot-10 senior captain Andrei Vile. His combination of courage, timing and skill allows him to win more than his fair share of contested head balls. He’s a definite target when Cheverus has a throw-in or corner kick (he scored the state championship winning goal on a header) but his ability to head a ball away from his goal is even more important.

Vile emphasized with vigor the importance of the total team when defending a long throw-in or a well-placed free kick.

“The main thing is, it’s not just one person,” Vile said. “Especially with a team like Scarborough, we cannot have one mental breakdown in our team’s defense because one mental breakdown will mean 1-0.”

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