FALMOUTH—Be careful what you wish for.
Scarborough’s girls’ soccer team was eager to measure itself against one of the elite teams in Class A South Monday evening when the Red Storm traveled to Falmouth.
But the Navigators brought Scarborough down to Earth and in the process, delivered the message that they’re even better than people think.
The Red Storm, who won their first 11 games with varying degrees of ease, began a regular season-ending gauntlet in auspicious fashion, when sophomore standout Lana Djuranovic scored in the fourth minute, but the rest of the game would belong to Falmouth.
Navigators senior goalkeeper extraordinaire Jordan Wolf then sparked the comeback with not just her play in goal, but by serving a long free kick into the box which led to the tying goal, from junior Audrey Murray, midway through the first half.
With 5:15 to go before halftime, Falmouth went on top for good, as junior Abbie Ford buried a loose ball in the box for a 2-1 advantage.
The Navigators didn’t take their foot off the gas when the second half began and with 34:36 remaining, senior Whitney Adams scored for some breathing room.
Wolf and her defense did the rest and Falmouth went on to a 3-1 victory, improving to 10-1-1, beating Scarborough for the first time in 20 years and in the process, handing the Red Storm their first setback in 12 outings this fall.
“I’d say it’s probably the biggest win we’ve had in my nine years here,” said Navigators coach Andrew Pelletier. “We’ve never really come close to solving Scarborough. We’ve probably had teams better equipped to beat them, but tonight, I thought we were on top for the most part and the girls deserved to win.”
Crank up the intensity
Scarborough won most of its first 11 games with ease, outscoring the opposition by a composite 66-6 margin. The Red Storm started with an 8-1 win at Deering and a 4-0 home shutout of Biddeford. After edging host Thornton Academy, 1-0, Scarborough had its way with visiting Westbrook (17-1), host South Portland (6-1), host Portland (5-0), visiting Sanford (6-0) and visiting Massabesic (10-1). After a 2-0 win at Noble, the Red Storm downed host Kennebunk (5-1) and Thursday, held off visiting Marshwood (2-1).
Falmouth started with a 4-0 win at Sanford, then blanked visiting Massabesic (8-0) and after settling for a scoreless home tie versus Gorham, shut out host Kennebunk (3-0) and visiting Bonny Eagle (3-0) before downing host Cheverus (2-1) and host Deering (4-1). The Navigators suffered their first loss, 3-0, to visiting Windham, then defeated host Biddeford (8-1), host Thornton Academy (3-1) and visiting Westbrook (14-0).
The teams played twice a year ago, with Scarborough taking both games, 1-0 and 3-0, to take a 7-0 advantage in the series (see below, for previous results) since Falmouth moved up to Class A.
Monday, on a pleasant mid-October evening (61 degrees at the start), the Red Storm looked to do it again, but instead, the Navigators produced a masterpiece and beat Scarborough for the first time since Sept. 27, 2001.
Falmouth senior Whitney Adams trips over Scarborough senior Darby Stolz during Monday’s contest. Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald photos.
Less than a minute in, Wolf took a free kick from 45 yards out and sent it on frame where Red Storm junior goalkeeper Savannah Beaulieu made the save.
Lesson learned.
After Scarborough’s first chance, a feed from senior Una Djuranovic to junior standout Ali Mokriski that was broken up by Falmouth senior Avery Quinn, the Red Storm kept at it and with 36:22 to play in the first half, off a cross from senior Natalie Bilodeau, Lana Djuranovic one-timed the ball with her left foot past Wolf and into the net for a quick 1-0 lead.
But there was still a long, long way to go and Falmouth would respond.
First, Scarborough looked to double its lead, but Wolf denied Una Djuranovic, Mokriski and senior Gwen Diaz missed wide, Mokriski had a shot saved by Wolf and Lana Djuranovic missed wide.
The Navigators nearly tied it up off a corner kick, as Quinn served the ball in front where sophomore Mallory Kerr was able to get her head on it, but she sent it wide.
Then, with 20:18 to play in the first half, Falmouth did draw even.
Again, Wolf took a free kick, this time from just over the Navigators side of midfield and this time, she didn’t send it directly on goal, but instead lobbed the ball into the box where the Red Storm couldn’t clear it and Murray was there to poke it home to tie it up.
“I love being involved in the offense,” said Wolf. “It’s one of my favorite things to do. It was so nice to get that assist. I just kind of aimed to get it over the back line, so I didn’t have to sprint back. We’re very resilient. We work really hard. We went down four minutes in, but we didn’t give up. We needed that first goal and it really boosted our confidence.”
“Jordan can probably score from midfield,” said Pelletier. “She’s got two goals and three assists for us this year. She hit a ball perfect. She continuously gives us opportunities at both ends.”
After Wolf preserved the tie with saves on shots from Bilodeau and Mokriski, she sent a free kick high, but with 5:15 remaining in the half, the hosts went on top to stay.
The play began with a run down the right side by freshman Mackenzie Verlee. She sent the ball across, but Beaulieu couldn’t handle it and it trickled across the goal mouth to Ford, who was finishing a run near the back post and Ford banged home the rebound for a 2-1 lead.
“I was really impressed how we reacted to (that first Scarborough goal),” said Ford. “In past years, sometimes we’d get down on ourselves, but we’re a lot different this year. I think we kept our intensity up and had to make it 0-0 again and keep playing our game. You have to keep runs going. You never know what’s going to happen. The goalie can make a mistake. You have to be ready at any moment for those through balls.”
“The resiliency of the team is something to be proud of,” said Pelletier. “We’ve got to make sure when we get our opportunities, to take advantage. The ones we got were good and we did a really good job of finishing them.”
“We started off really well in the first 10 minutes, but the second 20 minutes of the first half, Falmouth outworked us,” lamented longtime Scarborough coach Mike Farley. “They just beat us to two balls and that swung the momentum right around. We might have gotten a false sense of security when we got the first goal, but hand it to Falmouth. They played balls in areas where they’re dangerous and they outworked us to get the ball in the net. That’s the difference in the game. It’s tough the way we gave those goals up. When you don’t deal with those balls, the tide of the game changes. Then we were on our back foot and we never really got it back.”
After Wolf saved a late shot from Lana Djuranovic, the contest went to the half.
Scarborough senior Evelyn Boardman gets past Falmouth senior Natalie Murray
The Navigators then carried their momentum over into the second half.
After junior Elise Gearan had a shot saved by Beaulieu after a long run, Falmouth kept the pressure on and with 34:36 to play, Murray fed Adams down the left side and Adams, despite a tough angle, managed to send a shot off Beaulieu and into the left corner of the net for a 3-1 lead.
“That third goal was massive,” said Pelletier. “Whoever scored the next one would get on top of the game. If they made it 2-2, it would have been tough for us.”
Rallying from a two-goal deficit is difficult in any circumstance, but when you’re trying to come back against arguably the state’s premier goalie, it’s nearly impossible.
And Wolf got plenty of help from her defense.
Scarborough did get a good look seconds after the third Falmouth goal, but Lana Djuranovic had a shot in the box deflected (the Red Storm felt a hand ball should have been called and a penalty kick should have been awarded) and Bildeau sent the rebound wide.
Down the stretch, Quinn broke up a feed from Una Djuranovic to Mokriski, Wolf saved a pair of shots from Mokriski and junior Bridget Davis missed wide as the Navigators closed out and celebrated their 3-1 victory.
After the final horn, Falmouth celebrates its 3-1 victory.
“We figured it out,” said Wolf. “A bunch of players stepped up tonight like (sophomore) Peaches (Stucker), who had never played a full game. She came in and played great.”
“We did a really good job limiting them,” said Pelletier. “We don’t mind people shooting from 30-yards out when we have Jordan. We’re fortunate to have some really good defenders and the best goalie in the state. We’ve got really young backs and Jordan and (senior Natalie Murray’s) leadership in the back made sure we didn’t fall further behind. This was a maturity day for us. We took a huge step forward. We beat Cheverus, drew Gorham, got beaten badly by Windham and for us to be on the winning side against Scarborough and the way we did it was huge.”
Falmouth finished with an 8-6 edge in shots on frame, got seven saves from Wolf and had a 2-1 edge in corner kicks.
Scarborough got three saves from Beaulieu.
“Falmouth played really well,” Farley said. “They had numbers back and helped each other out. They put pressure on the ball. If you contain that well for that long, you’ll be in a good spot, especially with a goalie that good. We’ve had trouble with loose balls in the box against teams that didn’t punish us the way Falmouth did.”
Two to go
Scarborough (currently ranked fourth in Class A South) finishes up at home, with two more huge tests, Gorham on Thursday night and Cheverus next Tuesday evening.
“We have to get better,” Farley said. “If we lick our wounds or put our heads down, we’re going to run into a couple other juggernauts who will run us over too. We have to turn it around and be more composed. These games prepare us for playoffs. We needed to be pressed hard and we’re going to get it.”
Falmouth (now second to Windham in the Class A South Heal Points standings) is back in action Thursday at South Portland. The Navigators then close the regular season at home next Tuesday versus Portland.
“I think we really needed a big win and beating an undefeated team will boost our confidence,” Ford said.
“I think our chances are good,” Wolf said. “I don’t want to get cocky, but I don’t think a lot of us thought it would be this good of a season. We’re not getting into our heads too much. We know who we are and we just have to keep that in mind.”
“I think we’re a team that no one will want to see (in the playoffs),” Pelletier added. “We can’t just walk on the field and just beat anybody and we know that, but we’ve got stuff figured out defensively and we’re well organized. We’re excited.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
Previous Falmouth-Scarborough results
2020
Scarborough 1 @ Falmouth 0
Scarborough 3 @ Falmouth 0
2019
@ Scarborough 2 Falmouth 0
Class A South quarterfinals
@ Scarborough 1 Falmouth 0
2018
Scarborough 1 @ Falmouth 0
2017
@ Scarborough 2 Falmouth 1
2014
Western A quarterfinals
@ Scarborough 6 Falmouth 0
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