SCARBOROUGH—Kerry Mariello made her return to the Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex Wednesday evening.
With her daughter in tow.
But for the first time in two decades, Mariello’s appearance on the sidelines wasn’t a good thing for Scarborough’s field hockey team.
That’s because she’s now an assistant coach with her alma mater, the Biddeford Tigers, and her freshman daughter, Mia, is a budding star.
Something the Red Storm discovered quickly in an early-season battle.
Mia Mariello scored the only goal her team would need midway through the first period, a goal which also proved to be the first of many in her varsity career.
Mariello added a second goal with 4:41 left until halftime to make it 2-0.
The Red Storm, thanks to some clutch saves from junior goalie Avery Ingersoll, hung tough and remained within two late in the third quarter before the floodgates opened.
First, junior Corinne Ramunno scored on a rush late in the frame, then the Tigers tacked on four more goals in the fourth period, as junior Kayla Magnant, freshman Lola Laverriere, senior Eliza Doyon and senior Ayla Lagasse all rattled the cage to produce a 7-0 victory.
Biddeford won its third straight game, improved to 3-1 and in the process, dropped Scarborough to 1-2 on the young campaign.
“I’ve had a little Mariello in me all along since (Kerry) coached me,” said Tigers coach Caitlin Tremberth, who once starred for the Red Storm. “It’s fun that we’re all together now.”
A star is born
Scarborough welcomed new coach Kyla Wigant with a 5-0 home win over Kennebunk, but last Thursday, the Red Storm ran into the Cheverus juggernaut in Portland and fell, 8-0.
Biddeford, meanwhile, played visiting Cheverus tough in the opener before losing, 2-0.
“To open up with Cheverus was a blessing and a curse,” said Tremberth. “It was a little deflating to lose that game, but we know we had the same amount of shots and corners and we just didn’t convert. We wanted to play them strong and learn and get better.”
The Tigers then bounced back and blanked both Gorham and Falmouth by 3-0 scores.
Last year, Biddeford won at Scarborough, 2-0.
Wednesday, on a comfortable but breezy 65-degree evening, the Red Storm looked for a signature victory, but instead, the Tigers made it three straight in the series.

Scarborough senior Hailey French and Biddeford senior Ayla Lagasse fight for the ball early in Wednesday’s contest. The Tigers would enjoy a 7-0 victory. Hoffer photos.
Biddeford had a territorial edge from the beginning, but Ingersoll and Scarborough’s defense held the Tigers off early.
Then, with 9:25 to go in the first quarter, after Ingersoll saved a shot from senior Hannah Sonne-Loranger off a penalty corner, Mariello got to the rebound out of a scrum and sent the ball into the cage for her first varsity goal and a 1-0 advantage.
“It’s really amazing to be a big part of this team,” Mariello said. “I’m sort of surprised by it. It was really important to come out and start with a bang.”

Biddeford freshman Mia Mariello, joined by her mother and Tigers assistant coach Kerry Mariello, shows off the ball from her first varsity goal. Courtesy Kerry Mariello.
Mariello was hit just over the eye with the ball in warmups prior to the victory over Falmouth, so perhaps it was a twist of fate that she scored for the first time Wednesday in Scarborough.
“I feel like everything happens for a reason and this is a much better story,” Tremberth said. “I told (Mia) before the game, ‘I bet you’re going to score your first-ever goal right here.'”
After Ingersoll denied Lagasse and Lagasse shot just wide off a corner, Ingersoll robbed Sonne-Loranger one-on-one on a rush to keep the deficit at one after 15 minutes.
Biddeford was stymied in its effort to add to the lead for over 10 minutes of the second quarter, as Ingersoll denied Doyon and Lagasse was wide twice.
But with 4:41 left in the half, after Scarborough failed to clear the ball and Laverriere won possession at the end line, Laverriere got the ball to Mariello who finished again to make it 2-0.
“The last time I came here was for my Mom’s games, so it’s kind of crazy to come here to play against the team she used to coach,” Mariello said. “She teaches me everything. She’s always helped me in middle school after games and now, it’s a great opportunity. My teammates are a big inspiration to me.”
“The seniors’ leadership, (Mia) feeds off it,” Tremberth said. “She knows where the space is. She changes her speed. She does all the right things as just a freshman. It’s exciting to see. There’s such a good core group of seniors, her Mom’s been around the sport a long time and the freshman class is the biggest one Biddeford has had in a long time and they’ve been growing together and have so much fun playing.”
After Ingersoll robbed Lagasse on the doorstep in the final minute, the Red Storm despite mustering just one shot, a bid from junior Laine Niles which was denied by Tigers junior goalie Mariah Villandry, was still very much in the game, down, 2-0.
Ingersoll made seven first half saves and did her best to keep Scarborough in the game in the third quarter as well.

Scarborough junior Sabrina Ocampo and Biddeford senior Hannah Sonne-Loranger give chase after a loose ball near the sideline.
First, Ingersoll robbed Kane with a diving save. Then she used her left foot to kick away a bid from Lagasse off a corner.
The Red Storm had a look to cut the deficit in half when sophomore Rosa Perlut unleashed a shot, but Villandry made the save.
Then, with 1:38 to go in the frame, on a rush, Ramunno sent the ball past Ingersoll and into the cage for a 3-0 lead and some breathing room.
Biddeford then completely broke the game open in the fourth quarter, scoring four goals in less than 10 minutes.
The fourth goal began with a Mariello rush. She got the ball to Lagasse, who sent it to Magnant, who finished with 10:47 on the clock.
A mere 56 seconds later, Lagasse had a shot saved, but Laverriere was there to bury the rebound to make it 5-0.
With 2:46 to go, Doyon finished unassisted.
Then, with just 1:08 left, Doyon set up Lagasse for a goal off a corner to bring the curtain down on the Tigers’ 7-0 triumph.
“Scarborough is Scarborough and they put up a good fight,” Tremberth said. “They’re solid and disciplined. It’s hard to get through their defense.”
Biddeford finished with a 18-2 advantage in shots on cage, got two saves from Villandry and took 11 corners to the Red Storm’s none.
Scarborough did get 11 saves from Ingersoll.
“We were only down 2-0 in the third quarter and all of a sudden, it became seven,” Wigant lamented. “We have the skills. We just need confidence. The first three quarters, it was a great game.”
Room to improve
Biddeford looks for its fourth consecutive victory Saturday at home versus Noble.
“I think we all bring different things to the table and I think we’ll put it together at the end and it will all work out well,” Mariello said.
“We need to just play better as a team,” Tremberth said. “We need to be able to build and be able to play our game and set the tone. We’re really excited.”
Scarborough looks to bounce back Saturday at Bonny Eagle.
“I think we’re making strides,” Wigant said. “Our defense just needs to get stronger. We can turn it around. We have a lot of things to work on. We have some games coming up that I think we can learn from. It’s still early in the season.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
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