SCARBOROUGH — Even though it’s early in the SMAA boys’ soccer season, there was playoff feel Tuesday evening when two of the league’s top programs met.

Scarborough, the defending Class A South champion, has had an edge over Gorham in recent years, but this time the Rams broke through for the first time since 2010. Tyler Richman scored the deciding goal with 9:01 left as Gorham rallied for a 2-1 victory.

Richman, a senior midfielder, gathered in a pass by shielding the defender, then flicked a left-footed shot into the back of the net from 10 yards as Scarborough keeper Chris Franklin came out to challenge him.

“I couldn’t tell you (what happened on the goal),” said Richman. “I won a tackle at midfield, found space, (collected the ball) and put it past the keeper. It’s a bit of a blur, to be honest.”

The Rams (3-0) scored both of their goals in the second half after getting outplayed in the first half.

Scarborough Coach Mike Diaz thought his team rested a bit on its 1-0 halftime lead, letting Gorham dictate the final 40 minutes.

“It certainly was a tale of two halves,” said Diaz, whose team dropped to 2-2. “I thought we sat back too much in the second half. We definitely didn’t handle the moment very well, but we’ll learn from it and we’ll get better.

“They’re a good team and it was a good test for us.”

Gorham tied the game at 23:23 of the second half when Jackson Fotter, who scored five goals in his team’s first two games, showed he can pass, too. He dribbled from left to right at the top of the box before slipping a through pass to Kyle King. The senior wing beat an oncoming Franklin for the equalizer.

Richman said the halftime talk from Coach Tim King settled the team, which he admitted didn’t play its best soccer.

“I’m not sure if (the talk) settled them down other than light a fire under them,” said King, whose team lost in the Class A South quarterfinals as a No. 2 seed a year ago. “I felt like our first half was lackadaisical and we didn’t play the way we are capable of playing.”

Scarborough produced its best second-half pressure after the go-ahead goal. But a couple deep throw-ins from Scarborough’s Jared Greenleaf and a free kick from Franklin from midfield never made it to Gorham keeper Alex York (10 saves).

The Red Storm grabbed the lead in the final minute of the first half.

Franklin took a direct kick from near midfield and the ball deflected to Garrett King, who volleyed the ball from 15 yards with 39.5 seconds showing on the clock.

Richman noted that this was the second straight close match to go the Rams’ way.

“Two hard-fought, not easy wins, is huge for our confidence,” he said. “We didn’t come here to lose. We had an extra chip on our shoulder, like we usually do with Scarborough.

“It’s been a long time for Gorham to beat Scarborough. It’s a big deal for us, but it’s a long season and we expect to see them again.”

UPDATE: This story was corrected at 9 a.m. on Sept. 15 to note that Scarborough is the defending regional champion.

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