GORHAM — Slow starts have stymied the Gorham boys’ soccer team on multiple occasions this fall, but the Rams turned the tables against visiting Deering in a late-season Class A South battle on Tuesday evening.

In the game’s third minute, Owen Spera scored on a breakaway goal, then in the 15th minute, Zach Chandler scored on a rebound. Spera then put it away with a second goal late as Gorham went on to a 3-0 victory, improving to 8-4 in the process.

“I’ve been saying to the boys for a long time now that getting the first goal means a lot,” said Gorham Coach Nick Viola. “In important games, you might just get one or two chances and if you take advantage of them, it can set the stage for the rest of the game.”

After having his first bid denied by Deering goalkeeper Jack Borland (five saves), Spera quickly got a second chance as Riley Dever played a beautiful long ball forward, Spera ran on to it and flicked it past Borland to put Gorham up 1-0.

“We knew (Deering) didn’t play well with balls played over the top and we thought we could catch them off guard,” said Spera.

The second goal came with a little bit of good fortune.

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A shot from Moises Ntango was blocked by a Deering back, but the ricochet came right in front to Chandler, who buried his opportunity to make it 2-0 with 25:23 to play in the first half.

Deering’s best first-half chance came with 4:44 left, as Ethan Fisher set up Augusto Daniel for a shot, but Gorham goalkeeper Antoine Dube handled it.

Deering then controlled play much of the second half, earning six corner kicks and having several good looks at getting right back in, but Dube stopped all six shots he faced, including a point-blank stop on a shot from Samuel Almeida.

“We controlled play much better in the second half, but we couldn’t bury our opportunities,” said Deering Coach Joel Costigan. “We made adjustments and the adjustments were good. but we’re not scoring goals and it’s kind of our story this year.”

Spera ended any lingering doubt with 6:35 remaining. After being fouled in the box, he lined up a penalty kick and tucked it inside the right post.

“I was confident I could go bury it,” Spera said. “Before the game, I always pick a spot where I’m going to go. It’s all mentality.”

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“Owen’s been a great player for us for two years now,” added Viola.

Gorham still has games remaining versus Marshwood and Windham and hopes to move up the standings by season’s end.

“I think the message at this point of the season is just to be playing our best at the right time, then we’ll see what happens from there,” Viola said.

Deering closes with a showdown against rival Portland and hopes a win there could spark another playoff run, like a year ago when the Rams got all the way to the state final.

“It would be fun to end with some momentum,” Costigan said. “We’ll see if we can make a run. I hope so.”

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