Gorham girls’ soccer coach Jeanne Zarrilli offers instruction during a practice in early October. The Rams will play Scarborough for the Class A South championship on Tuesday in a battle of 16-0 teams. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
Scarborough High girls’ soccer Coach Mike Farley will be on the sideline Tuesday in the Class A South championship game. But ask him about the matchup, and he starts to sound like a fan.
“Both teams being undefeated is a very rare thing for the final,” he said. “How can you not be excited with two 14-0 teams?”
Scarborough and Gorham will pit their perfect seasons – now 16-0 after a pair of playoff wins – against each other for a spot in the Class A state final. The game will be one of the marquee matchups during two busy days of regional championships.
Other girls’ soccer regional finals on Tuesday include No. 1 Brunswick and No. 3 Camden Hills in A North, No. 2 Richmond and No. 1 North Yarmouth Academy in D South. On Wednesday, No. 2 Yarmouth and No. 5 York meet in the B South final, along with No. 5 Waynflete and No. 2 Maranacook in C South.
In boys’ soccer, Tuesday will feature No. 6 Windham and No. 1 Scarborough in A South, No. 4 Lewiston and No. 3 Brunswick in A North and No. 5 NYA and No. 2 Islesboro in D South. On Wednesday, rivals No. 3 Yarmouth and No. 1 Cape Elizabeth meet in B South and No. 2 Mt. Abram and No. 1 Waynflete play for the title in C South.
Field hockey regional finals on Wednesday include No. 6 Windham versus No. 1 Cheverus in A South and No. 3 Freeport against No. 1 York in B South.
State championships in soccer and field hockey are scheduled for Saturday. All the regional and state title games will take place at neutral sites.
Plenty of eyes will be on the two unbeaten girls’ soccer teams in A South, who in a scheduling rarity didn’t meet during the regular season.
Scarborough players celebrate after scoring a goal in an early-season game against Windham. The 16-0 Red Storm meet undefeated Gorham Tuesday in the Class A South championship game. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
“It was the first time in 20 years we didn’t play each other,” said Gorham Coach Jeanne Zarrilli. “Both of us were disappointed that we didn’t see each other in the regular season, not necessarily for the win-loss count, but for the competition. We love to play each other.”
The teams have more in common than their records. Both have been stingy defensively, as Scarborough has allowed three goals all season and Gorham has allowed four in its last 14 games. And both feature the talent up front to test those steady defenses.
“That type of pressure that you’re going to be under in that game with the type of offensive players in this game will be different,” Farley said. “It’s really about how the teams react to it. Neither one of us has faced that on a consistent basis.”
The roster makeup is where the teams are different. Scarborough is well-seasoned and experienced, Gorham is young.
“(Scarborough) comes to play, and they don’t rattle easily,” Zarrilli said. “We’re starting five sophomores who this is their first playoff experience. … But they have learned and stood the test. They’re an extremely competitive group.”
In boys’ soccer, Yarmouth (12-2-2) and Cape Elizabeth (15-0-1) will meet in a rematch of last year’s B South final, a 2-1 Clippers win. The teams met twice this season, tying 1-1 before the Capers took a 3-0 victory – even though the Clippers outshot them 11-10.
“This is the game we wanted back,” said Yarmouth Coach Mike Hagerty, who has guided the Clippers to six of the last seven Class B titles. “We felt like that (3-0) game didn’t represent (things). We feel like we’re pretty evenly matched with Cape.”
Yarmouth’s Zachary Turkel battles for the ball with Cape Elizabeth’s Sam Cochran, left and Jack Carignan. The teams met twice in the regular season, one ending in a draw and the other a 3-0 Capers’ victory. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
Capers Coach Ben Raymond said the midfield will be a key for his team.
“We need to protect the ball a little bit more,” he said. “Looking back at both of the games that we played, a lot of their opportunities have come from our turnovers. Just being a little bit more disciplined in the midfield (is key).”
In field hockey, Windham (11-5) will try to continue its unexpected run against high-powered Cheverus (16-0) in A. In Class B, Freeport (12-3-1), which has won 1o of its last 11 games, will look to ride its hot streak into its first state final since 2000.
To get there, however, the Falcons will need to beat a York (15-1) team that before last year had made seven straight B finals and 10 of the last 11. Freeport was the only team to beat York this fall, which Coach Marcia Wood said gives her team the belief it needed.
“In years past, it was always such a daunting task to try to beat York,” she said. “Having that confidence that we can and we know what we need to do to do that, it doesn’t seem as daunting as in years past. We just needed that confidence boost.”
York Coach Barb Marois said the loss may have helped her team as well.
“In some ways, it was just kind of a pressure relief for them, because we are the team that always has a target on our back,” she said. “Sometimes it’s just what you need. … It kind of was a good way for us to reset and just think about things that we could do differently.”
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