The Cheverus girls soccer team took advantage of their scoring opportunities and played well defensively as they grabbed a 2-0 victory at Scarborough on Saturday. It was just the second loss of the season for the Red Storm, whose only other setback came against Gorham by the same 2-0 score back on Sept. 4.
Scarborough was with the wind in the first half of play on a sunny but blustery afternoon. The Storm used the conditions to their advantage, controlling much of the early action with several corner kicks and a pair of decent scoring chances. Red Storm forwards Devon Leighton, Christi Tijiura, Lexi Udeh, Alexandra Pastore and Alex Laniewski pressured the Stags, but were unable to get on the scoreboard.
The Stags also played well in the opening period – despite going into the wind – and they consistently tested Scarborough goalie Abby Van Note (eight saves).
Cheverus eventually got goals from Sophia Bergen and Victoria Skyler to claim the 2-0 win and move to 9-1 on the season.
“I really think the difference in the game was Cheverus’ ability to win 50/50 balls – especially in the first half,” said Scarborough coach Mike Farley. “Every time there was a ball bouncing in the midfield or played in the air to their backs, they won the ball with authority. They also did a good job pressuring our backs, causing our backs to miss clear balls and caused a couple of turnovers that led to a goal.
“I think we needed to do a better job when we had the ability to clear or get control of balls in the back, we either misplayed them or our first touch led us into trouble.”
The Red Storm entered this week with a 7-2-1 record and a No. 6 ranking in the most recent West A Heal Point standings. Scarborough was scheduled to play their final home game of the regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 2, against Bonny Eagle before concluding the campaign with games at Portland, South Portland and Deering.
“The thing that I thought we did well is come out in the second half and we had some players that really got in the game and started challenging hard for the loose balls especially in the midfield,” said Farley. “That is what we are looking for as a team – to finally put 80 minutes of solid effort into a game, which we have had trouble doing. We really have to do a better job matching the other team’s intensity. Everyone shows up with their best game when they play us and we need to raise our level of effort to match that intensity.”
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