SCARBOROUGH — Maggie Cochran was held without a goal, but the Cape Elizabeth girls’ soccer team has other players who can put the ball in the net.
Scarborough discovered that the hard way Wednesday evening at Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex. The Red Storm didn’t allow many scoring chances, but senior captain Laura Ryer produced a pair of goals to lift Cape Elizabeth to a 2-0 victory.
Ryer headed home a Cochran cross in the first half, then scored on a rebound off a corner kick late in the second half to help Cape Elizabeth, winner of the last two Class B state championships, improve to 4-0.
“It’s easy to become one-dimensional with Maggie and let her do her thing, but we have a talented roster,” said Cape Coach Graham Forsyth, whose team has lost just one game in his three seasons. “(Scarborough was) double- and triple-teaming (Maggie), so we had to find another way, and Laura, being a senior captain, stepped up huge and got a couple goals.”
The game marked the first regular-season meeting between the neighboring schools and former rivals since 2002. Scarborough reached the Class A championship game each of the past three seasons, losing each time to Camden Hills.
After Ryer and Cochran each missed golden opportunities early and Ryer was robbed by a diving save from Scarborough keeper Savannah Beaulieu in the 19th minute, Cape Elizabeth got the only goal it would need in the 23rd minute. Cochran lofted a cross in front of the goal, and Ryer headed it past Beaulieu for a 1-0 lead.
“We got the balls in and we got our chances,” said Ryer. “I feel like Maggie will find me. She’s an amazing player.”
The Red Storm nearly tied it two minutes later, but Capers goalkeeper Elise Branch (four saves) made a sprawling save to deny Grace Pettingill.
Scarborough held Cape Elizabeth in check for most of the second half and twice had great looks at drawing even. Luna Djuranovic redirected Maddie Scammell’s free kick just wide with 7:25 to play, and a minute later, Abby Drapeau was just off the mark.
The Capers iced it with 4:02 left, off a corner kick. Cochran served the ball to Emily Supple, whose shot deflected off a defender. When Beaulieu couldn’t handle it cleanly, Ryer banged home the rebound.
“These girls don’t want to lose a game,” Forsyth said. “They’re driven. They want to do it for the seniors and represent their school proudly. It’s a bummer not to have a state championship to play for, but they’re relieved to play.”
Scarborough, which got five saves from Beaulieu, fell to 1-2-1. The Red Storm will get another shot at the Capers next Tuesday in Cape Elizabeth.
“It was relatively even tonight in the regular run of play, but the crosses were the difference,” said Scarborough Coach Mike Farley. “We have to do a much better job dealing with them. We’ll work on it and see if we can do better against them next time.”
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