Scarborough girls return to form with win over Cheverus

SCARBOROUGH—On the heels of its first loss in nearly two calendar years, Scarborough’s girls’ soccer team returned to the pitch Wednesday afternoon at the Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex and responded like the champion it is.

And hopes to be again.

Hosting Cheverus, a mere 48 hours after a stunning overtime home setback to Thornton Academy, the Red Storm quickly found their footing, taking a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute on a goal from junior Delia Fravert.

Classmate Emmie Flaker struck as well before halftime to double the lead.

Senior standout Lana Djuranovic then ended all doubt by burying a gorgeous free kick early in the second half and all is right in Scarborough’s world again after a 3-0 victory.

The Red Storm showed tremendous depth and shot-making ability as they improved to 4-1 on the season, while dropping the Stags to 3-2-1 in the process.

“We took some positives from that loss,” said the University of Miami-bound Djuranovic, who is widely considered the state’s best player. “We learned that we need to come into the game with a better mindset. It also showed us we can come back. We had a conversation before this game and said to forget about what happened, that it was a new game and we needed to win.”

Back to reality

Scarborough managed to navigate the 2022 regular season and postseason without a blemish, then kicked off the 2023 campaign with wins over visiting Falmouth (4-1), visiting Noble (5-0) and host Kennebunk (5-0). Monday, however, the Red Storm met their match, digging a two-goal deficit against visiting Thornton Academy, rallying to tie it on late goals from Djuranovic and Fravert (with nine seconds left in regulation), then falling in overtime, 3-2. The loss snapped a 21-game win streak and served as a wakeup call.

“The team hadn’t known what it felt like to lose in awhile, but I think it was a good thing for us because it gave us the realization that we have to work hard from the beginning,” Fravert said.

“In fairness to TA, they came out and worked their butts off and put us under pressure and we didn’t respond to it,” said longtime Scarborough coach Mike Farley. “The game bogged down. They constantly played balls in channels and we were running back toward our goal. That’s a bad spot to be for a defender. You always want to play with the ball in front of you and respond and win it forward, especially for us, because we can quickly get forward. I didn’t know who our team was the other day.”

Cheverus, meanwhile, began the season with a 2-0 home loss to Windham and after tying host South Portland (1-1), beat visiting Westbrook (7-1) and host Thornton Academy (2-1), giving coach Craig Roberts his 100th victory with the program, before blanking visiting Portland (4-0) in its most recent outing, last Friday.

Last fall, the Red Storm and Stags didn’t play in the regular season, but squared off in the Class A South semifinals, a 2-1 Scarborough victory.

Wednesday, Cheverus looked for its first win over the Red Storm since a 1-0 home victory Oct. 22, 2019, but instead, Scarborough improved to 20-4 all-time in the series (see sidebar, below, for previous results).

The fired-up Red Storm were on the attack from the early moments, but after Stags sophomore back Rachel LaSalle cleared away a shot from senior Talia Borelli, Cheverus junior goalkeeper Evelyn Rush denied a shot from Fravert, saved another Fravert shot and held tight to the ball with Borelli bearing down for a possible rebound, then saved a long shot from Borelli.

With 29:22 to go in the first half, Scarborough’s intensity was rewarded, as junior Megan Rumelhart sent the ball ahead to Fravert, who ripped a low blast from about 25 yards out that found the far corner, to the right of a diving Rush, to make it 1-0.

“We knew this would be a big game because Cheverus had beaten Thornton,” Fravert said. “Starting off strong and scoring early was important. When Lana has more than one defender on her, it leaves more space for me. I made my run. I was trying to stay low and aim for the corner. That’s what I focused on.”

“I was really glad to see us respond from the opening whistle,” Farley said. “The warmup was better. Everything was better. I tell the girls the first 10 minutes, we have to put them on their heels. We’re capable of doing that. Delia hit a great shot. There’s nothing a goalkeeper can do when you slot balls in the side netting.”

The Stags had chances to answer, but a shot from freshman Addy Rush in the box sailed high and a promising cross from junior Sophia Monfa flew through the goal crease but couldn’t connect with a teammate.

Then, with 15:31 left before halftime, Scarborough’s depth helped double the lead.

The goal came from a pretty passing sequence that featured several players off the bench and included junior Grace Carlista, senior Sanibel Shinner and sophomore Paige Garlock, who set up Flaker for a shot from about 25 yards out.

Flaker, the track standout, fired a high shot to Rush’s left and into the net to make it 2-0.

“I’m glad we have a deep bench,” said Djuranovic. “It’s really good to have other players who contribute. Having several players who can score is important.”

“We have an amazing team,” Fravert said. “When the subs come on, there’s no worry we’ll stay strong.”

“We needed our depth today,” Farley added. “I haven’t see Emmie doing that turn and shooting the ball. If we can get her to get going and have the confidence to shoot, her pace is dangerous. Sanibel came in and was instrumental in that goal. She makes good decisions. The 28th kid on this team would play regularly on other teams. It’s a good problem to have.”

Late in the half, Red Storm junior goalkeeper Sophia Rinaldi made her first stop, saving a floater from Stags junior Jillian Foley.

Junior Annie Vigue then missed just wide and Scarborough held a 2-0 advantage at the break.

Cheverus had the first good look of the second half, but Rush missed just wide.

Then, with 31:05 to play, after a Stags’ foul, Djuranovic lined up a free kick from about 30 yards out, to the right of Rush.

Djuranovic, who might be one of the finest set piece specialists this state has ever produced, calmly blasted a low shot near the near post and while Rush was leaning the way, she couldn’t quite reach the ball and it tickled the twine for a 3-0 advantage.

“Even Coach Roberts knew what she was going to do,” Farley said. “He said it’s going to go near post. She hit it right off the paint in the corner. It’s a tough ball to deal with and she does that all the time. I tell people what makes Lana so dangerous is there isn’t a way she doesn’t score. She can score in the run of play, she scores on corners, she scores on set plays, she scores with both feet. Having Lana is like having a cheat code.”

Cheverus hoped to answer, but Rinaldi saved shots from freshman Maddie Smith and Vigue.

Rush didn’t allow the Red Storm to strike again, as she denied Djuranovic, Fravert and Carlista.

Scarborough eventually was able to run out the clock and celebrate a 3-0 victory, as it began what it hopes is another win streak.

“Today, our pressure in the midfield was so much better,” Farley said. “Cheverus couldn’t turn easily and play the ball into channels. We played 80 strong minutes and that’s who we are and who we need to consistently be.”

The Red Storm finished with a 15-4 advantage in shots on frame and a 7-1 edge in corner kicks. Rinaldi made four saves.

The Stags got a dozen saves from Rush and did some positive things over the course of 80 minutes.

“We got into the offensive third more than we have in the past,” Roberts said. “We just need a little more composure. I played five freshmen and I think they played with composure. If I can put freshmen in a game like this and get them comfortable and get the veteran leaders at peace playing in this type of game, we can have something. That’s part of the reason I’m optimistic about what I saw.

“We knew Scarborough would have a big push at the start, but I think our younger players rose to the challenge. I think I played 15 of 16 girls when it was still hanging in the balance. Usually, I come over here and maybe play two subs. To play Scarborough at their most focused, coming off a loss, and get some things out of players I might not have expected is really great. (Freshman) Olivia Vigue I thought was excellent. I told her she can be one of the best backs in the conference as a freshman. (Junior) Finley (Brown) was excellent as well. I thought she defended Lana really well and rose to the challenge. That’s promising. She’s a player with a high compete level, high drive.”

Good games, fun games

Cheverus plays host to Sanford Friday then goes to Kennebunk Wednesday of next week.

“We’ve built a program where we can compete with Scarborough, Gorham and Windham and now, we have to find a way to win those games,” Roberts said. “We’re definitely progressing. I feel like we’re playing good soccer against teams we should be playing good soccer against. We want to play the powerhouses and compete with them. There are some things we still have to do. We’re trending in the right direction. We’ll learn from what we’re doing and move forward. We’ll get ready for Sanford Friday. That will be a good challenge for us.”

Scarborough’s tough slate continues with a trip to rival Windham Monday. After hosting an improved South Portland squad next Wednesday, the Red Storm go to Gorham, which is currently unbeaten, on Sept. 30.

“It’s going by fast,” Fravert said. “After winning states last year, everyone expects a lot from us and we expect a lot from ourselves. We have to keep up the hard work. I think playing the more competitive teams will help us be stronger for playoffs. Those games give us adrenaline. It’s a lot more fun.”

“Our schedule this year is awesome,” said Farley. “I think it sharpens teams that need to have competitive games throughout. For the development of kids and soccer in general for people to come watch, it’s better when the top teams play each other multiple times.

“We basically gave away any margin for error we had against TA. If we lose any more games, we might lose homefield advantage. We want to play here. We have three really competitive teams coming up and we have to win every game. We have to have the mentality we’re down a goal and get one in each game. We have to do everything the same way we did today.”