SCARBOROUGH — For the first 36 minutes of their Class A South boys’ soccer quarterfinal Tuesday night against reigning regional champion Deering, the Scarborough Red Storm were on their heels.
Then in the blink of an eye, the Red Storm showed how dangerous they can be.
Denver Bachman assisted on Matthew Booth’s goal just before halftime, then fed Finn Coburn for a second goal as third-seeded Scarborough earned a 2-0 victory.
The Red Storm (13-1-1) will either go to No. 2 Falmouth or host No. 7 Biddeford in the semifinals.
“We just want to wait for opportunities,” said Mark Diaz, Scarborough’s longtime coach. “I like the way we defended and we were pretty patient tonight.”
Sixth-seeded Deering (8-7-1) spent much of the first half in Scarborough’s end and earned a whopping eight corner kicks, but the Rams really didn’t generate a great chance in the process.
“That’s been our story,” said Deering Coach Joel Costigan. “Scoring continued to be a drought for us.”
With 3:07 on the first-half clock, Khalil Ghosheh delivered a perfect cross to Bachman, who got past a defender and sent the ball on frame. It might have gone in on its own, but Booth got to the ball before it reached the line and drilled it into net for a 1-0 lead and a huge change in momentum.
“I really have to give all the credit to the defense,” said Bachman. “Khalil crossed it in, I spun my guy and I put it in a dangerous area, and Booth was there. I’m glad he was there. Going into the half with the lead was huge.”
With 23:20 to go in regulation, the Red Storm got some breathing room. Bachman served in a free kick from 40 yards, and Coburn ran on to it and fired it past Deering goalkeeper Jack Borland (one save).
“I saw the goalie kind of creeping out and (Denver) played a beautiful ball into the 6-yard area, and I skimmed the ball over the keeper,” Coburn said. “It worked out pretty well.”
Deering had one great chance to answer with 14 minutes left, but Cristiano Afonso’s header off a cross from Ethan Fisher was denied by Scarborough keeper Seamus Corry (six saves).
“I’m so proud of our effort all season,” Costigan said. “It’s been wax and wane. We want the guys to keep their heads high and we look for the underclassmen next year to come back and have focus from the get-go and make sure we leave everything on the field.”
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