BOX SCORE
Scarborough 12 Kennebunk 2
K- 0 0 1 1- 2
S- 0 5 4 3- 12
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
11:37 S Pedersen (unassisted)
7:40 S Pedersen (Callahan)
4:18 S Pedersen (Delaware) (MAN-UP)
4:05 S Delaware (Fogarty)
45.0 S Cassellius (Delaware)
Third quarter
10:04 K Sullivan (unassisted) (MAN-UP)
5:55 S Delaware (unassisted)
5:19 S Leadley (St. Germain)
3:24 S Pedersen (unassisted) (MAN-UP)
13.5 S Park (unassisted)
Fourth quarter
10:37 K Sullivan (Washburn) (MAN-UP)
5:31 S Delaware (Fogarty) (MAN-UP)
2:21 S Pedersen (unassisted)
2:15 S Delaware (Carlista)
Goals:
K- Sullivan 2
S- Pedersen 5, Delaware 4, Cassellius, Leadley, Park 1
Assists:
K- Washburn 1
S- Delaware, Fogarty 2, Callahan, Carlista, St. Germain 1
Faceoffs: (Scarborough, 10-7)
K- Moore 7 of 17
S- Carlista 10 of 17
Ground balls:
K- 21
S- 33
Turnovers:
K- 20
S- 16
Shots:
K- 34
S- 38
Shots on cage:
K- 14
S- 28
Saves:
K (Kudas) 16
S (Medeiros) 12
SCARBOROUGH—After a painful overtime loss at Falmouth Tuesday night, Scarborough’s boys’ lacrosse team could have gone one of two ways.
It could have sulked and gone into a tailspin.
Or it could regroup, get defensive and get back in the win column.
The Red Storm chose the latter approach.
Friday evening at the Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex, Scarborough hosted Kennebunk and couldn’t register a goal in the first quarter, but thankfully for the Red Storm, their defense came to play and the Rams didn’t put the ball in the cage either.
Then, in the second quarter, junior Finn Pedersen got it going, scoring three straight goals, and junior Tae Delaware and senior Ben Cassellius found the net as well, while Scarborough’s defense continued to shut Kennebunk out, producing a 5-0 halftime lead.
The Rams finally broke through early in the third period when senior captain Jacob Sullivan scored man-up, but the Red Storm answered right back behind goals from Delaware, senior Owen Leadley, Pedersen and junior Jeremiah Park to take a commanding 9-1 advantage to the fourth period.
There, while Sullivan scored again for Kennebunk, again man-up, Scarborough slammed the door from there and a pair of goals from Delaware and one final tally from Pedersen produced a 12-2 victory.
The Red Storm’s defense stood tall, as did senior goalie Josh Medeiros, who stopped a dozen shots, and Pedersen and Delaware paced the offense with nine combined goals as Scarborough improved to 4-1, matched its win total from 2019 in just five games and in the process, dropped the Rams to 2-4.
“We learned some things from the Falmouth game and re-emphasized some things we talked about earlier in the year,” said Scarborough coach Zach Barrett. “That was a really tough loss. Guys took it hard, but it was a great response today.”
Defensive pride
Kennebunk, which has moved down to Class B this spring, alternated losses and wins to start the season, falling at Falmouth (10-6), beating South Portland (10-8), losing to Windham (8-3), beating Mt. Ararat (11-2) and Tuesday losing to two-time reigning Class A champion Thornton Academy (12-2).
Scarborough, meanwhile, opened with victories at Thornton Academy (8-6), at home over South Portland (18-7) and at Windham (12-6), then, Tuesday, took host Falmouth into overtime before dropping a palpitating and agonizing 10-9 decision.
The teams last met May 21, 2019 when the Red Storm held on for a 9-8 victory.
Friday, on a pleasant 55 degree evening, the Rams looked to beat Scarborough for the first time since April 30, 2010 (13-11, in Scarborough), but instead, the Red Storm quickly squashed their hopes.
Scarborough had several good chances in the first quarter, but Kennebunk junior goalie Jacek Kudas denied Park, junior Quinn Fogarty twice, Park again and Pedersen.
At the other end, junior Matt Moore and Sullivan had looks for the Rams, but Medeiros saved them, keeping the game scoreless after 12 minutes.
The Red Storm then got it going in the second period.
Just 23 seconds in, after a nice dodge, Pedersen finished unassisted and Scarborough had the lead for good.
After Medeiros preserved the lead by saving shots from Sullivan and junior Henry Stauss, the Red Storm got their transition game going and senior defenseman Alex Callahan set up Pedersen for a second goal with 7:40 remaining before halftime.
Kudas then denied Park and Pedersen, but with 4:18 on the clock, with Scarborough playing man-up, Delaware found Pedersen for a goal and a 3-0 lead.
“We just had to get our heads straight and focus on our main objective, that’s moving the ball around and if we do that, we get goals,” Pedersen said. “We all moved around for each other, got open and passed the ball around.”
Junior Jack Carlista won the ensuing faceoff, Fogarty pounded on the ball, raced into the offensive zone and set up Delaware for his first goal with 4:05 to go.
Then, with 45 seconds left before halftime, Delaware found Cassellius, who finished, and the lead was 5-0 at the break.
In the first 24 minutes, the Red Storm forced 13 turnovers, got five saves from Medeiros and out-shot the Rams, 22-13.
Kennebunk looked to rally when the second half began and playing man-up, got on the board with 10:04 to go in the third period, when Sullivan ripped a shot past Medeiros.
Medeiros didn’t let the Rams go on a run, however, saving shots from Moore, Sullivan and senior Nate Cripps.
Scarborough then returned to its scoring ways with 5:55 remaining in the frame, as Delaware scored unassisted on the Red Storm’s first shot of the second half.
A mere 36 seconds later, senior Will St. Germain set up Leadley for a goal and a 7-1 lead.
“We had a little bit of a slow start on offense, but we got going and had fun,” Barrett said. “We found open guys and made them pay. I’m happy that we figured it out.”
After Medeiros denied Moore, Scarborough went man-up again and with 3:24 left, Pedersen scored unassisted.
Then, with just 13.5 seconds to go in the quarter, Kudas stopped an initial shot, but Park pounced on the rebound and finished for a 9-1 advantage heading to the final stanza.
There, Sullivan scored for the second time, on a man-up goal from sophomore Andrew Washburn, but that would be it for Kennebunk’s offense.
Down the stretch, Delaware scored man-up (from Fogarty) with 5:31 to play, Pedersen scored his final goal, unassisted, on a circus shot while he was stumbling to the ground with 2:21 remaining, and six seconds later, after Carlista won the draw, he ran in and set up Delaware for one final goal and that accounted for the Red Storm’s 12-2 victory.
“Our start means a lot,” Pedersen said. “We’re just focusing on one game at a time and trying to win that game.”
“The Falmouth game definitely fueled us tonight,” said Callahan. “Losing in OT hurts. We’ll build off it.”
“The thing about 2019 was that we played a tough schedule,” Barrett added. “We played some close games. That record wasn’t reflective of where we were as a team. I don’t think we’re too much better than we were then, but now we’re clicking.”
Pedersen led all scorers with five goals, while Delaware added four, to go with a pair of assists. Cassellius, Leadley and Park each scored once.
Fogarty also had two assists, while Callahan, Carlista and St. Germain had one apiece.
Medeiros made 12 saves and got a tremendous defensive effort from Callahan, seniors Will Arpin and Mason Hartlein and juniors James Day, Andy Lancaster and Sam Rumelhart.
“We played unbelievable on defense, on-ball, off-ball and Josh in goal made huge saves for us,” said Callahan. “We practice fundamentals every day and it showed today. They only scored on man-up. That says a lot for our defense. Shutting another team down is what we live for. Defense wins championships and we want to get to a point where we’re the best defense in the state.”
“Our defense has come together,” Barrett said. “They’re playing at an incredible level. I think they’re playing at a level way above a high school level. I credit our assistant coach, Ty Souder, for that. He’s done incredible work with those guys. Our goalie played awesome and made some great saves. Props to the D guys. Kennebunk was a little hesitant.”
Carlista won 10 of 17 faceoffs, Scarborough had a 33-21 advantage in ground balls (Delaware had a team-high five), a 38-34 edge in shots (28-14 on frame) and overcame 16 turnovers.
Kennebunk’s offense consisted of two Sullivan goals and a Washburn assist.
Kudas made 16 saves.
Junior Brad Foster had a game-high six ground balls.
The Rams committed 20 turnovers.
Get better every day
The teams play again May 25 in Kennebunk.
The Rams first look to bounce back Wednesday at Windham.
Scarborough visits South Portland Tuesday, welcomes Thornton Academy Thursday and still has key home tests remaining against the likes of Windham, Falmouth and Cape Elizabeth.
“We still have some plays to work on,” said Pedersen. “We need to keep the ball moving, work on dodges from behind the net and move the ball around.”
“We’re still struggling with playing at a top level all game,” Barrett said. “First quarter, we struggled to score and we can’t have that kind of a lag. The guys need to breed a little more confidence, which I think is coming. We need guys knowing they can step up and take the reins. We’re having some fun.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
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