PORTLAND—For the better part of 100 minutes Saturday evening, Scarborough’s potent girls’ soccer team was held scoreless by Brunswick in a thrilling Class A state final at Deering High’s Memorial Field.

But you can only hold the dynamic tandem of senior Ali Mokriski and junior Lana Djuranovic in check so long.

And a second shy of the five minute mark in the second-overtime, the duo produced arguably the most dramatic goal in program history.

A Gold Ball-winning goal.

The unbeaten Dragons gave the undefeated Red Storm everything they could handle through 80 scoreless minutes of regulation.

Then, in the first of a possible two 15-minute “sudden victory overtime,” Brunswick almost captured its first state title in 13 seasons, as sophomore Alexis Morin sent a promising shot on goal, only to have it saved at the last second by Scarborough’s sophomore goalkeeper extraordinaire Sophia Rinaldi.

Then, in the second OT, off a corner kick, the Red Storm ended it.

Mokriski served the ball in, Djuranovic soared over the defense and her header found the mark to give Scarborough a palpitating 1-0 victory.

The Red Storm finished a perfect 18-0, ended Brunswick’s season at 15-1-2 and captured their first championship in a decade and the program’s fifth all-time.

“I’m just so excited,” said Djuranovic, who extended her single-season program scoring mark to 28 goals with her 28th being one that will never be forgotten. “We’ve worked so hard. I’m filled with emotion. I’ve never felt like that before.”

Too good to end

Scarborough was expected to be strong this fall, but the Red Storm upped the ante and won every game. Scarborough passed an early test with a 1-0 victory at reigning state champion Windham and that led the way to a 14-0 regular season.

As the top seed in Class A South, the Red Storm were pushed for a half by No. 9 Portland in the quarterfinals, but pulled away for a 4-0 victory. After holding off No. 5 Cheverus (2-1) in the semifinals, Scarborough made its most impressive statement to date in the regional final, advancing past No. 2 Gorham with surprising ease, 4-0 (see sidebar for links to previous stories).

As for Brunswick, after losing to Windham in last year’s state final, the Dragons have been on a mission this season and won every game two, ties at Bangor and Brewer. Brunswick then dispatched No. 8 Messalonskee (5-1) in the quarterfinals, held off No. 4 Mt. Blue (1-0) in the semifinals and Tuesday, in the regional final, conceded the first goal, then handled No. 3 Camden Hills (5-1).

The Red Storm had lost three straight state finals to Camden Hills and were 4-5 all-time on the big stage (see sidebar).

The Dragons had played in eight previous state games, winning two, with the most recent title coming in 2009.

Brunswick and Scarborough had no playoff history prior to Saturday, where, under unseasonably warm skies (67 degrees at kickoff) and in front of a large and boisterous crowd, they became inexorably linked thanks to a 99-minute, 59-second passion play that ended with a highlight reel goal.

The Red Storm had some good chances early, but Dragons’ senior goalkeeper Sophia Morin denied Mokriski two minutes in, then she saved a shot from junior Talia Borelli.

At the other end, Scarborough senior captain Julia Black broke up rushes from Alexis Morin and freshman Molly Tefft.

In the 14th minute, Rinaldi had to tip out a high blast from Alexis Morin.

Junior back Natalie Ryan then had to break up a rush by Tefft in the box.

Senior Hannah Lay had a long shot saved by Rinaldi, then she served a corner kick in to Alexis Morin, whose header landed on top of the net.

Late in the half, a promising Mokriski cross to junior Sanibel Shinners didn’t result in a shot when Shinners lost her footing and at the other end, Rinaldi saved a shot from freshman Eva Kousky, sending the contest to intermission still scoreless.

The game would remain 0-0 through the second half as well, but Scarborough, with the wind at its back, had ample chances to win it in regulation.

First, Sophia Morin had to punch out a Mokriski cross.

After Rinaldi twice denied Tefft, Djuranovic looked to put the Red Storm up on a 25-yard free kick with 27:45 remaining in regulation, but Sophia Morin leaped, tipped the ball in the air and caught it.

After Morin saved shots from Djuranovic and sophomore Delia Fravert, Djuranovic took a free kick from the side of the box midway through the second half and that was saved by Morin as well.

With 16:33 to play, Mokriski sent the ball through a defender’s legs, chased it down and shot, but Morin made the stop.

Down the stretch, Morin saved shots from sophomore Emma Blanchette, Fravert, Djuranovic and Fravert again.

A late free kick from Black sailed wide and the contest would head to overtime.

Brunswick got the wind for the first OT and rediscovered its attacking ways, but a long shot from senior Kynli Van Leer was saved by Rinaldi and with 10:30 on the clock, off a promising blast from Alexis Morin, Rinaldi was somehow able to react and tip the ball off the top of the crossbar to keep her team’s season alive.

“It was all a blur,” Rinaldi said. “The ball hit the crossbar and rolled out, thankfully. Sometimes it is lonely back there, but I have 10 teammates in front of me and it’s a team effort.”

“Sophia’s incredible,” said Djuranovic. “She has so much potential and she’ll keep going up with her skill.”

“Sophia has been huge all year,” added longtime Red Storm coach Mike Farley. “I think she got taller as the year went along. She’s saved everything. She’s got a bright future. Going into the year, it was pretty even between her and (senior) Makenzie (Lydon), then something happened and she took off with it.”

The Dragons’ ensuing corner kick was cleared and late in OT, Rinaldi saved a long free kick from Lay.

The contest would go to a second overtime, which would have led into penalty kicks had no one scored.

But Scarborough was tired of not scoring.

And finally put the game to bed.

After Lay shot high on a free kick early, Black served a long free kick in to Djuranovic, whose one-timer rolled just wide.

With 10:55 to go, a Djurnaovic feed to Mokriski was broken up, but the play resulted in a corner kick.

Mokriski then found Djuranovic near the near post, but she couldn’t convert.

“I thought that was going to be the one, but I didn’t hit it hard enough,” said Djuranovic.

The ball was knocked out for another corner kick and this time, the Red Storm did everything perfectly.

Mokriski served a nice lofting ball into the box where Djuranovic, who stands 5-foot-6, rose like she was a foot taller, then soared into program lore, heading the ball past Sophia Morin, who had no chance.

“I don’t think I’ve ever jumped as high as I did there,” said Djuranovic. “As soon as I saw the ball going toward the goal, I was jumping as high as I could.”

“I always look for Lana on corners because she’s always in the right spot and I know she can finish,” said Mokriski. “I was trying to hit the ball a little farther out from the net, so the goalie had to either stay in the net, or come out and grab it and Lana was in the right place. She got way up there.’

“We’ve been dangerous on corners all year long and Lana jumped over everybody,” Farley added. “She’s not the tallest player, but she jumped over everyone. To be an attacking midfielder and score 28 goals, it’s just insane. She’s defending too. She scored in every way this year, set plays, with her head, driving with the ball, from 35-yards out. Having her and Ali on the same team is just dynamic and hard to stop for a long period of time. Brunswick did it as long as anyone.”

At 7:33 p.m., the celebration could at last begin as the Red Storm had prevailed, 1-0.

“It feels so good to go undefeated,” Mokriski said. “I think a lot of people underestimated us as a team. I didn’t have any doubt because I knew how much everyone wanted it. We hadn’t been to overtime this year, but everyone worked together and we stayed mentally in the game. That really helped us. As the game went on, we got hungrier to finish and we got closer and closer. We knew the goal was coming. It was so relieving. It took a second for me to realize that we had just won a state title. I was personally hungry to win. I know everyone on our team wanted this.”

“Honestly, it was very stressful, but we played really hard,” said Rinaldi. “Once we went into overtime, we showed what we can do. It was amazing to see (Lana) score. I was so scared of going to penalty kicks and Lana saved me from that.”

“I wasn’t expecting double overtime,” Djuranovic said  “I get the credit because I scored the goal, but everyone played so well today. Our defense, midfield and offense played the best we could. I expected Brunswick to come out this strong. I knew they wanted it after they lost in states last year. The first half was dangerous because we were against the wind. It was physically really tough because they’re a tough team.”

“It was well-worth the wait,” Farley added. “What a game. This feels good, because I know how hard these kids have worked. Last year, I thought we underachieved and this year, they wanted to right a wrong and they had focus all year long. I’m going to savor this one. It was a really fun season. We knew we were good, but as the season went along, you could tell we got better and better. We hit another gear in the playoffs. To grind this out, it shows how much this group has grown as soccer players.

“Brunswick’s a really solid defensive team. They’re strong and physical all over the field. It was tough to just get the ball under control. The wind didn’t feel like much, but you could feel momentum swing every time someone had it (at their back). It gave you 10 more yards on your clearance, so it allowed you pressure down the field.”

Scarborough finished with a 14-7 shots advantage, had a 3-2 edge in corner kicks and got seven saves from Rinaldi.

“Sophia is amazing,” Mokriski said. “I’m so proud of her stepping up as a sophomore. She deserved this win.”

Morin made a dozen saves for Brunswick.

On to 2023

The Red Storm have to part with Black and Mokriski, along with several other key contributors. That group got the program back to the pinnacle and will be missed.

“The seniors and underclassmen are all so close,” said Djuranovic.

“Ali makes us so dangerous and Julia in the back has been a rock,” Farley said. “They’ve led this team really well as captains.”

Weep not for Scarborough, however. For starters, Djuranovic will be a year older and even more dangerous next fall and with Rinaldi back in net, along with several others ready to step it up a notch, a repeat run is most realistic.

“The younger players can do anything,” Mokriski said. “They’re a great group. I’m so lucky I got to play with them this season.”

“We just need to keep up our effort and we’ve shown that even the younger players have skills and we can push to the top next year and in the years to come,” Rinaldi said.

“I’m very excited for next year,” said Djuranovic. “It won’t be the same, but we’ll keep working hard in the offseason and we’ll get there.”

“No one will feel badly for us,” Farley added. “I have 50 players who could play on the varsity team.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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