SANFORD — All season, Scarborough and Gorham were the two most dominant girls’ soccer teams in the competitive Class A South, but they didn’t play each other. They finally met Tuesday night in the regional championship game, and Scarborough came away with a 4-0 win.
“We haven’t had a game like this hyped up in a while. Two unbeaten teams going against each other is obviously going to be exciting,” said Scarborough senior Ali Mokriski, who scored twice in the first half.
Scarborough (17-0) is back in the state championship for the first time since 2019, and will face Class A North winner Brunswick (15-0-2) in the state championship game Saturday at Deering High in Portland. Regional runner-up for the second straight season, Gorham ends the season at 16-1.
“That’s one of the best Scarborough teams I’ve ever seen. They came at us quickly, and we had to work to try to bounce back. That was a tough one for us after such a successful season,” said Gorham Coach Jeanne Zarrilli.
The Red Storm took the lead 2:25 into the game when Lana Djuranovic’s high, arcing shot was just out of the reach of Gorham keeper Katie Martin. Djuranovic’s goal was a harbinger of how Scarborough would attack the Rams’ net throughout the game.
Scarborough effectively put the game out of reach with Mokriski’s goals in the span of 1:58 late in the first half. First, she scored with 13:22 left in the half with a high shot from the left that found the right corner of the net. With 11:30 to play, she fired a shot that was the twin of her first goal, again from the left to the right corner, and the Red Storm had a 3-0 lead.
“I am very confident in my left foot. I’ve been playing on the left this year a lot. When I get around the outside back, I’ll either cross it or just play it at the goal. I was surprised that it happened on two,” Mokriski said.
Julia Black’s goal, on a direct kick and another high shot from the left, pushed Scarborough’s lead to 4-0 with 26:07 left in the game.
Shooting high was by design, said Scarborough Coach Mike Farley.
“We talked about their goal keeper being ultra aggressive, especially on her front post, so getting crosses in and getting shots into that back post were key. And they were good shots,” Farley said.
The Rams had strong scoring chances throughout the game. Three minutes after Djuranovic scored for a 1-0 lead, Gorham’s Piper Forgues passed the ball from the right corner to Faith Connolly directly in front of the net, but Connolly’s shot went right in the arms of Scarborough goalie Sophia Rinaldi. With just over 21 minutes left in the first half, Connolly had a direct kick, but Rinaldi made the stop.
Just over five minutes into the second half, Gorham had its best scoring opportunity. Ashley Connolly broke in from the left, but Rinaldi was able to deflect the ball away before she got off a strong shot.
“Their high pressure kind of took us out of our game a little bit. That’s what we talked about at halftime, we just have to get our game back,” Zarrilli said.
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