Portland’s Jack Fink makes a pass while being defended by South Portland’s Alberto Kissaka. Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald
As the calendar flips from September to October, the intensity switch will be flipped as well as games take on more meaning with postseason positioning at stake.
With most teams having played at least half of their regular season schedule, the biggest games are still to come.
Here’s a glimpse back at the week that was:
Football
Portland’s football team got a jump start on the weekend last Thursday, as it improved to 4-0 with a 35-8 victory at Gorham in a contest moved up 24 hours due to impending bad weather. The Bulldogs never trailed, as quarterback Grant Crosby threw for 143 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score. Reegan Buck added two rushing TDs. Portland has a showdown at reigning Class B champion Marshwood (3-1) Friday.
Cheverus, after consecutive weeks of having games canceled due to COVID complications, finally returned to action Saturday (24 hours later than scheduled due to bad weather) with a 34-8 victory at Spruce Mountain. The Stags (2-0) forced three turnovers and are at reigning eight-man champion Mt. Ararat (4-0) Friday.
Deering fell to 0-4 Saturday after a 48-6 setback at Kennebunk. The Rams go to 3-1 Bangor Friday.
Boys’ soccer
Cheverus’ Carter Hoglund and Deering’s Abdulla Al Taee collide as they jump up for a header during the Rams’ 2-1 win last week. Brianna Soukup / Portland Press Herald
Deering’s boys’ soccer team is hitting its stride. The Rams rallied to tie host Falmouth, the reigning Class A state champion (1-1) last Monday and rallied to beat host Cheverus (2-1) two days later to improve to 4-2-1. In the tie, Patricio Mowa leveled the game with a 35-yard blast in the second half.
“We bounced back really well,” said Rams coach Joel Costigan. “I’m very happy with how the guys played today. I think it’s the best soccer we’ve played all season. This was a great step forward and I hope it continues.”
In the victory, Jeannot Ndayishimiye tied it, then David Kita had the decisive goal.
“We can still get better,” Kita said. “We have to keep our heads in the game and want it more to come out on top.”
“This is encouraging, but we still have a lot of work to do with the intangibles and I hope that can continue,” Costigan said.
Deering is idle until Wednesday, when it goes to Biddeford. The Rams then host Bonny Eagle Friday.
Portland suffered a painful 2-1 overtime loss at Scarborough last Wednesday, then fell to 4-4 Saturday morning after a 1-0 home loss to South Portland. Cristo Vumpa scored the tying goal at the Red Storm, but Scarborough scored two minutes into the extra session.
“If we can come away from here with something, I thought we played a very competitive game against a very competitive team and unfortunately, they just hit a good shot.” said longtime Bulldogs coach Rocco Frenzilli, “We didn’t know what to expect coming in and we handled everything we needed to handle.”
Against the Red Riots, Portland only managed five shots on frame and couldn’t rally after conceding an early goal.
“I’m proud of our effort,” Frenzilli said. “We have nothing to hang our heads for. We played a great second half. Balls got played where they were supposed to get played. Everybody has a job to do with the ball and the finishing thing is to knock it in the goal. If you get the ball all the way through, you did everything you needed to do but the final thing. SP did it and we didn’t and that was the difference. I thought we carried play in the second half. They just bent but didn’t break. They got numbers behind the ball. They blocked a lot of shots. That’s what you do with a one-goal lead.”
The Bulldogs are idle until Saturday, when they go to Sanford.
“We have six games left,” Frenzilli said. “We’ll build in the month of October and get healthy. We have to find a way to put the ball in the net. Every game will be like this. We have a nice week off and will be ready for Sanford next Saturday. We want to be playing our best at tournament time. We’re figuring it out. We’ll be there.”
Cheverus fell to 2-5-1 after a 2-1 home loss to Deering and a 5-3 setback at Falmouth. Emmet Schuele scored the goal against the Rams, but the Stags couldn’t hold a second half lead.
“This is our first game all season with our whole squad between injuries and close contact on the COVID stuff and I thought we carried the play the first 50, 55 minutes,” said Cheverus coach Bill LeBlanc. “Our better players need to finish and they know it. We should have been up 3-0, but it was 1-0, then we got a little bit complacent. ”
Against the Navigators, Liam Fedrizzi, Keegan Hale and Brady Hoglund scored the goals. The Stags go to Bonny Eagle Wednesday.
“We’ll be fine,” LeBlanc said. “I like where we’re at. We’re learning how to deal with adversity, but I like our team. We’re solid in the back. We’re good enough to possess the ball more. We just need to finish more and get our fitness up more. We’ll be ready to play Saturday at Falmouth.”
Waynflete’s three-year, 19-game win streak came to a close last Tuesday with a 3-1 home loss to Cape Elizabeth. Liam Slocumb scored the lone goal.
“I’m proud of all the guys who have played in the program and (19 wins in a row) was a program result,” said Flyers coach Brandon Salway. “To play the schedule we play, you have to expect some lumps along the way, so to not have any losses the last 19 games was nice. Overall, it’s a good learning day for us. We had some good chances, but they wore us down. It’s been a long time since we’ve lost as a program, but we learned a lot today about having to play quicker and a little more physical.”
Waynflete then improved to 6-1 Thursday with a 2-0 home win over North Yarmouth Academy, as Samir Sayed scored on a penalty kick and Jacob Woodman added the second goal. The Flyers played at Greely Tuesday, go to Freeport Friday and return home next Tuesday to meet St. Dom’s.
“We as a group will learn what we need to do better,” Salway said. “We have to take advantage of opportunities. We have to get better in both boxes and play with more urgency.”
Girls’ soccer
Cheverus’ Kadynne Smith plays defense during last week’s home loss to Falmouth. Michael Hoffer / The Forecaster
On the girls’ side, Cheverus was 5-2 after last week’s 5-1 win at Deering and 2-1 home loss to Falmouth. In the victory, Julia Kratzer had three goals, while Finley Brown and Caoilinn Durkin also scored. Against the Navigators, the Stags fell behind by two goals in the second half, but rallied, as Kadynne Smith scored before Kratzer had a penalty kick opportunity to tie it, only to have it saved.
“We came out and played well in the first half, but in the first 10 minutes of the second half, we didn’t transition well and Falmouth made us pay,” said Cheverus coach Craig Roberts. “It’s frustrating to lose after having that lapse.”
The Stags hosted Bonny Eagle Tuesday, welcome Kennebunk Saturday, then go to Windham Tuesday of next week.
“The young kids have been very competitive and driven and we need our experienced rowers to have their oars in the water and paddle at the same time because we don’t have that right now,” Roberts said. “The idea is to have that happen by the time the playoffs roll around. We want to get to the place where we want to do whatever it takes to win as a team.”
Portland lost at home to Scarborough, 5-0, then improved to 3-5 after a 4-0 victory at South Portland. Against the Red Storm, Vanessa Connolly stopped 15 shots. In the win, Anneliese Collin scored twice and Eliza Stein added a goal and an assist, while Kendall Sniper also scored, Elizabeth Littell had two assists and Connolly made seven saves. The Bulldogs host Sanford Thursday and welcome Massabesic Tuesday of next week.
Deering fell to 1-5-1 after home losses to Cheverus (5-1) and Falmouth (4-1). Elsa Freeman had the goal against the Stags and converted a penalty kick against the Navigators. The Rams hosted Biddeford Tuesday, went to Bonny Eagle Thursday and visit Westbrook Tuesday of next week.
Waynflete fell to 2-3 last Tuesday with a 6-0 loss at two-time reigning Class B champion Cape Elizabeth. The Flyers hosted Old Orchard Beach Tuesday, go to Lake Region Saturday and welcome St. Dom’s Tuesday of next week.
Field hockey
Cheverus’ field hockey team remained perfect and improved to 6-0 after 3-0 wins last week at Bonny Eagle and at home over Kennebunk. In the win over the Scots, Lucy Johnson, Mary-Kate Murphy and Taylor Tory scored the goals. Against the Rams, Tory scored twice and Johnson had the other goal. The Stags hosted Windham Tuesday, go to Thornton Academy Thursday and return home Monday of next week to face Noble.
The Portland/Deering co-op team fell to 0-8 after a 7-1 loss at Thornton Academy and a 3-0 home setback to Noble. Against the Golden Trojans, Halle Chase scored the goal and Ella Burdin made 16 saves. Burdin then stopped a dozen shots in the loss to the Knights. Portland/Deering hosted South Portland Tuesday, goes to Massabesic Thursday and welcomes Falmouth Monday of next week.
The Waynflete/North Yarmouth Academy co-op team takes a 3-2 record into Thursday’s home game against Yarmouth (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story). Saturday brings a trip to Sacopee Valley, and next Tuesday, Traip Academy pays a visit.
Volleyball
Deering’s volleyball team improved to 4-3 after wins last week at Kennebunk (3-2) and Windham (3-0). After playing at Portland Monday, the Rams welcome Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday, play host to Massabesic Friday and visit Marshwood Monday of next week.
Cheverus suffered three-set losses to visiting Yarmouth and at Biddeford, then won its first match in seven outings Friday, beating visiting Brunswick/Mt. Ararat in three games (25-17, 25-23, 25-13). The Stags hosted Gorham Monday, welcome Sanford Wednesday, go to Kennebunk Friday and visit Windham Monday of next week.
Portland fell to 0-6 after recent three-set losses at Thornton Academy (19-25, 19-25, 14-25), at home against Sanford (16-25, 23-25, 11-25) and at Bonny Eagle (15-25, 12-25, 10-25). The Bulldogs hosted Deering Monday, welcome Kennebunk Wednesday and Windham Friday, then play at Lewiston Monday of next week.
Cross country
Cheverus joined Massabesic and Scarborough for a cross country meet Saturday in Biddeford. The girls didn’t score, but had the top individual in Annabelle Brooks (20 minutes, 9.72 seconds). The boys were fourth and were led individually by Danny McCartney (sixth, 19:22.03).
Golf
Cheverus’ golf team was 4-4 after a 7-6 win over Portland and a 9.5-3.5 loss to Scarborough. The Stags met Falmouth Tuesday and close the regular season Thursday versus South Portland.
Portland fell to 1-6 after losses last week to Cheverus (7-6) and South Portland (10-3). The Bulldogs faced Deering Tuesday and close versus Falmouth Thursday.
Deering fell to 0-8 after 13-0 losses last week to South Portland and Falmouth. The Rams played Portland Tuesday and finish versus Scarborough Thursday.
Waynflete improved to 3-1 after last week’s 7-0 win over Old Orchard Beach.
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
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