SCARBOROUGH — In a game where Scarborough took advantage of its speed on the wings – one of the few areas it could find space – the only goal in a showdown against Gorham came from the middle of the field.

Ashley Sabatino scored from 20 yards with 7:30 remaining as the Red Storm outlasted the Rams for a 1-0 win at Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex.

Scarborough, the top team in Class A South, remained undefeated at 13-0. The defending Class A champion will look to complete back-to-back undefeated regular seasons when it hosts Windham on Tuesday.

Gorham (9-2-2), still ranked second in the Heal point standings, travels to Sanford on Tuesday to close out its season.

“I got the ball in front and I knew pressure was coming soon, so I had to hit it quick,” said Sabatino, who has nine goals on the season. “It went in and I was so excited.

“I wasn’t going to be happy with a tie. I felt a tie was a loss (for us) for this game. I needed to win. I’ve been waiting for this game all season.”

The strike came at the end of a flurry of scoring opportunities for Scarborough – the only time in the game either team had more than one chance in succession.

A minute earlier, Jess Rinaldi served a corner kick into the goalie box, but a Scarborough player headed it over the crossbar.

The Red Storm gathered the ensuing goal kick, and Molly Murnane, on the right wing, got the ball to Sabatino 10 yards from the near post. Sabatino’s shot was deflected wide.

“(Ashley) did a great job taking one touch into that little opening – it was like less than 2 feet wide – and hit it really hard to the near post. It was a great strike.”

The Rams’ best chance came with 17:50 remaining in the first half when Hallie Shiers got the ball at the 35, then dribbled through three defenders before uncorking a shot that hit the crossbar.

Red Storm goalie Nicole Young only had to make four saves, none challenging.

Lily Courtney stopped 10 shots from the Rams.

“(With these two teams) it comes down to one goal – Who’s going to strike? Who’s going to make a mistake?” Gorham Coach Jeanne Zarrilli said. “And you know, that’s the way it happens. I thought it was a great soccer game.

“I felt our shots need to challenge the goalie more than we do. We were down in the offensive end and got shots, but they need to be more challenging.”

Since Farley started coaching Scarborough in 2005, either his team or Gorham has gone to the Class A state final every year except 2009, 2013 and 2014.

“It’s always a good win against Gorham,” Farley said.

“It doesn’t matter who on paper is a better team, it is always a battle. They give us a game, and my kids are always up for it. This is the type of game that feels like what it is going to be in the playoffs.”

“To come to Scarborough and play them to a 1-0 game gives us confidence going forward,” Zarrilli said. “We played all 80 minutes, and we’ve been struggling to put a complete game together.”

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