SCARBOROUGH — When the rain picked up in the second half of Wednesday night’s Class A South girls’ soccer game, so did Scarborough’s offensive production.

After a scoreless first half between the top-ranked Red Storm and second-ranked Marshwood, Gaby Panagakos scored with about 19 minutes left for a 1-0 victory that kept Scarborough undefeated.

“It’s really the first game where somebody came out and actually pushed us around in the beginning, and really got us back on our heels,” Scarborough Coach Mike Farley said. “In the second half we got a lot more aggressive and started winning some of those battles.”

Marshwood (9-3-1) nearly scored in the first two minutes when Marin Smith launched a shot from 35 yards.

Scarborough goalkeeper Emily Royce leaped up and batted down the ball, just under the crossbar.

Casey Perry of Marshwood charged the loose ball, but Royce popped up just in time to collect it for the save.

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“Marin Smith can hit the ball from a distance. If we fell asleep there, (Royce) could have easily been out of position and on the ground,” Farley said.

“That was huge because getting down 1-0 really would have tested us and put us in a bad spot.”

The Hawks continued putting pressure on Scarborough (12-0) in the opening half – notching five shots on goal in the first 20 minutes.

“I wanted to keep them motivated because you never want to let up a goal in the first 10 minutes. It’s hard to come back from that,” Royce said. “It’s a wet night so it’s kind of hard to keep control, but I think we settled in really well.”

Panagakos gave the Hawks their first scare after 12 minutes when she broke loose with just the goalkeeper between her and the back of Marshwood’s net. But she missed her chance, kicking the ball just over the crossbar.

Later in the half – on another breakaway – Panagakos overshot the ball again.

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“We had a couple chances in the beginning where we were one-on-one with the goalkeeper and we couldn’t finish those,” Farley said. “But then (Panagakos) goes and finishes a really complicated challenge. The one that she made was the hardest chance that she had.”

With 19:01 left in the game, Lauren Sabatino fed Panagakos a through ball down the right side of the field. While charging toward the goal – shoulder-to-shoulder with a Marshwood defender – Panagakos fired a shot on the ground past the attacking goalkeeper, tucking it into the bottom left corner of the net.

“Getting past their offside trap was the goal,” Panagakos said of Marshwood’s defense. “I think they did a great job. We just got that one breakaway and finished.”

Royce and Miranda Montgomery of Marshwood finished with seven saves apiece.

“This was a Heal point game that was big. It was probably for first place,” Farley said, noting that this win likely secures Scarborough home-field advantage in the playoffs. “It was a good game to get by and I’m glad that when we got pushed back, we actually responded.”

Taylor Vortherms can be contacted at 791-6417 or

tvortherms@pressherald.com

Twitter: TaylorVortherms


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