With cross country set to crown its state champions Saturday (see story), field hockey, soccer and volleyball’s postseasons are also underway with football about to follow suit.

Here’s an overview of the results to date and a look at the matchups to come:

Field hockey

Cheverus’ stay in the field hockey playoffs was short and not very sweet. The Stags finished fifth in Class A South and went to No. 4 Westbrook for a quarterfinal round playoff game last Tuesday. Cheverus fell behind early, 2-0, but rallied to tie it before halftime behind goals from Taylor Tory and Lucy Pirone. The Blue Blazes went back up by two goals again and Tory answered with one, but it wasn’t quite enough and the Stags finished 7-5-3 with a 4-3 setback.

“Every game is going to be tough,” said Cheverus first-year coach Theresa Hendrix, who previously coached at Westbrook. “Westbrook’s a fun one. They play with a lot of passion and I think between both teams today you could see how far both teams have grown over the season and all the girls’ love for the game.”

Boys’ soccer

Cheverus and Deering took part in preliminary round playoff games and were eliminated.

The Stags, seeded ninth in Class A South after closing the regular season with a 1-0 loss at Scarborough last Tuesday, went to No. 8 Westbrook Saturday and lost, 2-1, to finish the year 5-6-4. Brady Cormier scored on a penalty kick for Cheverus in the second half.

Deering, ranked 10th in Class A South after finishing with a 1-1 tie at Sanford last Tuesday (Ladislas Nzeyimana had the goal), went to No. 7 Kennebunk Saturday and lost, 2-0, to wind up 5-7-3. Goalkeeper Max Morrione made eight saves, but the Rams couldn’t convert on offense.

“That’s something we’ve struggled with all year, finishing our chances,” said Deering coach Joel Costigan.

Portland earned the No. 4 seed in Class A South and with it a bye into the quarterfinals after winning, 1-0, at Falmouth in the regular season finale last Tuesday. The Bulldogs got a set piece goal from Alex Millones and held on from there to wind up 10-3-1.

“It’s a huge win,” Millones said. “The last game of the season is always important and they were carrying a lot of Heal Points that we were able to take away tonight.”

“This game was circled on our calendar,” said Portland coach Rocco Frenzilli. “We just came out here expecting what we got and I’m really proud of how the kids hung in there. I’m incredibly happy with our season. The losses we had were against very good teams.”

The Bulldogs hosted No. 5 South Portland (10-4-1) Tuesday in the quarterfinals (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story). Portland lost, 4-2, Sept. 26 at the Red Riots. The teams had no playoff history.

If the Bulldogs advanced to Saturday’s semifinal round, they will either go to a team they know very well, top-ranked, defending regional champion Gorham (11-2-1) or host No. 8 Westbrook (8-4-3). Portland lost, 2-1, at Gorham in the regular season opener Sept. 5 and beat the host Blue Blazes, 1-0, Sept. 21. The Bulldogs are 2-3 all-time versus the Rams in the playoffs. The teams have played in the past three regional finals with Gorham taking last year’s meeting, 1-0. Portland is 1-2 all-time versus Westbrook in the playoffs, with a 1-0 loss in the 2008 Western A quarterfinals the most recent.

In Class C South, defending state champion Waynflete wound up 12-2 and third after closing with a 3-0 home loss to visiting Class B powerhouse Yarmouth. The Flyers begin their title defense Wednesday in the quarterfinals, when they host No. 6 Lisbon (10-5) at 3 p.m. (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story). The teams don’t play in the regular season and split two prior playoff meetings, with a Greyhounds’ victory in penalty kicks in the 2016 Class C South semifinals the most recent.

If Waynflete advanced to the semifinals, it would either go to No. 2 Monmouth Academy (13-0-1) or host No. 7 Traip Academy (9-4-2) Friday or Saturday. The Flyers didn’t play the Mustangs this year. Monmouth Academy has won three of five prior playoff encounters, but the most recent went to Waynflete, 4-0, in the 2015 Class C South Final. The Flyers beat the Rangers, 3-2, Sept. 19 in Kittery and 5-0 at home Oct. 1. The teams have no playoff history.

The regional finals are next Tuesday and Wednesday in Biddeford and Lewiston.

State Championship Saturday is Nov. 9.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, Cheverus capped the finest regular season in program history last Tuesday with a 1-0 home win over two-time defending regional champion Scarborough. After goalkeeper Neve Cawley made a huge save to deny a breakaway in the first minute, Riley O’Mara (from Mia Kratzer) scored the lone goal and the Stags held on to finish the campaign 14-0.

“We’ve worked really hard this season,” O’Mara said. “We’ve connected really well. It’s nice having so many scorers and so many players touching the ball.”

“We’re like a family, working hard for each other,” said Cawley

“We’ve never really focused on being undefeated, even today coming into this game,” added Stags’ coach Craig Roberts. “It was more about focusing on the opponent in front of us. The girls are really happy about beating Scarborough, because they’re well-coached and they have great players. You have to put forth a strong effort to beat them and fortunately, today, we did.”

Cheverus earned the top seed in Class A South for the first time and opened the playoffs at home Tuesday against No. 9 Kennebunk (9-5-1). On Sept. 21, the Stags beat the host Rams, 3-0. The teams had met once previously, in the 2005 Western A preliminary round, a 1-0 victory for Cheverus.

If the Stags advanced to Saturday’s semifinal round, they’ll host No. 4 Gorham (10-3-1) or No. 5 Windham (10-3-2). Cheverus downed the visiting Rams, 5-2, Sept. 19 and blanked the visiting Eagles, 1-0, Oct. 8. The Stags are 2-4 all-time versus Gorham in the playoffs with a 2-0 Cheverus win in last year’s semifinals the most recent. The Stags and Windham have split four prior encounters with a 3-1 Eagles’ win in the 2016 Class A South quarterfinals the most recent.

Portland finished the regular year 11-2-1, its best record since 2003, after holding off visiting Falmouth, 2-1, last Tuesday behind goals from Isabella More and Kendall Sniper.

“This year, everything has clicked, as our older players have really put everything together and with some amazing young players making a huge impact, we have grown into a very good team,” Bulldogs’ coach Curtis Chapin said. “We have become more dynamic out wide and our midfield has really stepped up to realize where the defense is weak and picking the right ball. Most importantly, our defenders in the back have been phenomenal at erasing mistakes and stopping counter-attacks. Our program is deeper than ever and that has really helped us. Depth has been key and so has trust in each other.”

Portland earned the No. 2 seed for the Class A South playoffs, its best ranking since being the top seed in 2003 and hosted No. 7 Noble (10-4-1) in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story). On Oct. 12, the host Bulldogs held off the Knights, 1-0, on a goal from Annika More. Noble beat Portland in last year’s preliminary round, 4-0.

Portland last won a quarterfinal round game in 2008 and last played in a regional final in 1993. The Bulldogs have never been on the biggest stage of all, the state final.

“We need to continue our attention to detail and playing as a team to enjoy playoff success,” Chapin said. “This team has really been special to coach because with all the talent we possess, they take care of one another and are all willing to sacrifice for the team.

“This team works to get better every day. If we can continue to do that, only good things will happen.”

If Portland advanced to the semifinals, they will host either No. 3 Scarborough (12-2) or No. 6 Falmouth (9-3-3) Saturday. The Bulldogs lost, 4-1, at the Red Storm in the regular season. Scarborough won both prior playoff meetings, with a 2-0 victory in the 2004 Western A quarterfinals the most recent. Portland and the Yachtsmen have never met in the postseason.

Deering fell short of the playoffs with a 3-11 record, but the Rams closed with a 4-2 home win over Sanford last Tuesday. Mia Sargent had two goals and Kiaya Gatchell and Sahar Habibzai also found the net. Deering placed 14th in Class A South, but only 12 teams qualified for the postseason.

In Class C South, Waynflete finished the regular season 2-9-3 and earned the No. 12 seed. The Flyers then went to No. 5 Oak Hill last Friday and sprung a 1-0 upset in the preliminary round behind a goal from Lucy Goodman and 10 saves from goalkeeper Jesse Connors.

“You’ve got to go for it,” Goodman said, of her goal. “And I think that’s just how I was feeling. I’ve been out for a little while, so I kind of just was like, ‘Why not take the chance?’ And it was awesome. It went right in.”

“Our goalie came up huge,” said Waynflete co-coach Carrie Earls. “She stayed composed and our defense, we’ve got four seniors back there, so they just held it together for us.”

The Flyers went to No. 4 Maranacook (10-2-3) for a quarterfinal round game Tuesday. The teams don’t meet in the regular season and had no playoff history.

The regional finals are next Tuesday and Wednesday in Biddeford and Lewiston.

State Championship Saturday is Nov. 9.

Volleyball

Cheverus’ volleyball team finished the regular season 8-6 after a straight-set (9-25, 21-25, 22-25) home loss to Thornton Academy last Tuesday. The Stags, ranked eighth in Class A, then hosted a Class A preliminary round match last Thursday, but dropped a five-set thriller to ninth-seeded Marshwood (19-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-18, 9-15).

Cheverus was paced by Maggie Williams’ 22 assists and 18 kills from Alex Hammond. Kristina Matkevich contributed 16 service points and seven kills.

“It felt like we were fighting from behind all night, but I expected to win the whole night,” said Stags’ coach Andy Wimmer. “We’ve been in this situation so many times. We usually answer that call, but a couple key mistakes hurt us.

“I believed in this team and we got so much better. We started out against three of the top four teams and they’re established. We wanted to get better and we played our best volleyball at the end of the year. That was our goal. A lot of players got better and I appreciate the work they put in.”

Portland finished 4-10 and 14th in Class A, but only 11 teams qualified for the postseason. The Bulldogs closed with a five-game (14-25, 25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 11-15) loss at Massabesic last Tuesday.

Deering wound up 1-13 and 16th in Class A after finishing with a 3-1 setback at Scarborough last Tuesday.

Football

The final weekend of the high school football season saw Cheverus beat Deering and Portland lose to Massabesic.

The Stags wound up 4-4 and sixth in Class B South after downing the visiting Rams, 31-6, Saturday. Quarterback Josh Paquet threw two touchdown passes and Ian Trafford had a rushing touchdown. Paquet’s 12-yard pass to Sean Tompkins gave Cheverus a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The Stags broke it open with 17 points in the second quarter. Avery Conant also scored a touchdown and Teddy Michaud kicked a field goal.

Cheverus will go to No. 3 Massabesic (6-2) for a quarterfinal Friday night. The teams didn’t play this year. The Mustangs are 2-0 all-time versus the Stags in the playoffs, with a 37-7 victory in the 2001 Western A semifinals the most recent.

Deering’s loss at Cheverus left it 2-6 and seventh in Class B South. The Rams visit second-ranked Kennebunk (6-2) in Friday’s quarterfinal round. The teams didn’t meet this fall and have no playoff history.

Portland wound up 1-7 and ninth in Class B South (where just eight teams qualified for the postseason) after a 31-26 home loss to Massabesic Friday.

Press Herald staff writers Steve Craig and Mike Lowe and Sun Journal staff writer Wil Kramlich contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

Comments are not available on this story.

« Previous

Super Six Polls

Next »

Locals dominate at cross country regionals- Northern edition