GORHAM—Lana Djuranovic might miss once, but give her another chance to bury a free kick with the game on the line and the state’s best player is going to make you pay.
Saturday morning, Scarborough’s reigning Class A champion girls’ soccer team paid a visit to longtime rival Gorham and to no one’s surprise, the teams engaged in a low-scoring contest that was scoreless at halftime.
But with an opportunity to cap a season-defining week in style, the Red Storm rose to the occasion and got the only goal of the game in the second half.
With 27:45 to play, after being fouled, Djuranovic snuck a free kick just inside the near post and that allowed Scarborough to go on to a 1-0 victory.
The Red Storm, who previously this week won at Windham and beat South Portland at home, won their fourth straight game, improved to 7-1 and in the process, ended the Rams’ win streak at eight games and dropped them to 8-1.
“The way we played at Windham and Gorham and defending our home turf against South Portland, that’s a big step forward for us,” said longtime Scarborough coach Mike Farley. “We were playing well at the beginning of the year, hit a speed bump (with a loss to Thornton Academy), then got right back after it. Practice has been really good. Warmups have been much better. We’ve been a lot better since that loss.”
A game of inches
Last fall, Gorham and Scarborough were each undefeated entering the regional final when they finally squared off. The Red Storm struck early and often and went on to a stunning decisive 4-0 victory en route to capturing the Gold Ball.
“We want to forget about that game,” said longtime Gorham coach Jeanne Zarrilli.
This season, while Scarborough is seeking a repeat title for the first time in Class A, Gorham is perhaps the team best equipped to knock the Red Storm off their perch.
The Rams got taken to double-overtime in the season opener before holding off Marshwood, 3-2. They then downed Deering (4-0), Bonny Eagle (8-3), Windham (1-0, in overtime), Noble (2-0), South Portland (2-0), Thornton Academy (4-3, in double-overtime) and most recently, Sanford (4-2).
Scarborough began with wins over visiting Falmouth (4-1), visiting Noble (5-0) and host Kennebunk (5-0), then was shocked by visiting Thornton Academy (3-2, in overtime), before bouncing back to down visiting Cheverus (3-0), host Windham (3-0) and visiting South Portland (3-1).
Saturday, on an overcast but comfortable morning (58 degrees and rising at kickoff), Gorham sought its first win over the Red Storm since the COVID-shortened 2020 season, but instead, Scarborough did just enough to keep its good times rolling.
Opportunities were few for the home team in the first half, as Red Storm senior defender Natalie Ryan blocked a shot from senior Kaitlyn Nichols, junior goalkeeper Rinaldi beat junior Julia Reed to a feed from junior Ashley Connolly and Reed missed wide.
As the half progressed, Scarborough began to control possession and get a few looks, but it couldn’t convert.
Djuranovic’s first shot saw her spin, then miss wide.
After a nice drop-step move, Djuranovic shot again, but Rams sophomore goalkeeper Sawyer VonderHaar made the save.
Djuranovic then eluded two defenders, one by sending the ball through her legs, but again her shot was denied.
Red Storm senior back Maeve Davis then blocked a shot from Nichols in the box.
At the other end, with 15:02 on the clock, Djuranovic took a free kick from the left side and sent it in with her right foot, but VonderHaar made the save.
Late in the half, Djuranovic missed just high, then VonderHaar tipped away a corner kick serve from junior Delia Fravert to keep the game scoreless.
Two minutes into the second half, Gorham nearly benefited from a fortunate bounce, as the ball came free in the box, but Rinaldi fell on it just in time.
With 27:45 remaining, after being fouled just outside the box, Djuranovic took another free kick and this time, she was spot-on.
Shooting from the top of the box, to VonderHaar’s right, Djuranovic floated the ball just over the wall and VonderHaar, who momentarily hesitated on the shot, couldn’t get to the near post in time as the ball found the net for a 1-0 Red Storm lead.
Djuranovic, who has verbally committed to playing at the University of Miami in Florida next year, now has 14 goals on the season.
“The first free kick, I was like, ‘Please go in,’ but that one, I knew I had to score,” said Djuranovic. “I got fouled, the ball was right on the edge of the box and I knew I could get it in. Recently, when I curve it around the wall and go front post, I have more success and it worked out.”
“I trust Lana’s skills so much,” Davis said. “I’ve played with her my whole life.”
“Delia brought another player into the middle that made the goalkeeper worry about her for a split second and Lana hit it perfectly,” Farley added. “Right off the paint of the post. You couldn’t throw it in there any better.
“We’ve gotten in a rhythm of playing quickly. If we can move off the ball and play fast with each other, we can get separation and get players into space where they can get down the line. That’s when we’re dangerous. We exposed the wings in the second half. Transition caused the free kick. They tried to clear the ball, we won it and got right back after them, then they fouled and we got a free kick in a dangerous spot.”
Zarrilli suggested that there was perhaps another reason that VonderHaar wasn’t able to make the save.
“My (defender) said it hit off her ponytail and took a weird bounce,” Zarrilli said. “That’s how soccer goes. (Lana’s) a great player, but I actually thought in the first half, she got loose once, but most of the way, our plan to contain her worked well.”
Scarborough was far from home free, however.
With 16:15 remaining, a promising free kick from junior Bailey Hatch was blocked at the last moment by Ryan.
Less than a minute later, the Rams took a corner kick, which was headed out by Red Storm sophomore Maya Taylor.
With 8:23 to go, junior Julia Reed rushed in, but Scarborough sophomore Shay Charsky broke up the opportunity.
Gorham’s best chance came with 5:05 on the clock, as the Rams sent a free kick in and it was knocked around in the box, directly to Hatch, who had a great look, but Rinaldi dove to make the save and preserve the lead.
“Our defense was awesome,” said Davis. “We have a great defense and a great goalkeeper.”
“I’ll say it again, our defense is the best in the state,” said Djuranovic. “They really showed how good they are today. Gorham has one of the best forwards in the state (Connolly, who has verbally committed to the University of South Carolina) and the fact they were able to deal with her, I’m really proud of them.”
“That was a big save,” added Farley. “It was a scrum in the middle and a shot. Those are the ones you have to go down and get. Luckily, Sophia has ‘Go-Go-Gadget’ arms. She’s covering all the way to the post on a diving save when she was in the middle. It’s a nice feeling to have a goalkeeper like her.”
Down the stretch, Red Storm junior Emma Blanchette booted away a pass from Connolly into the box and Rinaldi saved a long free kick from Nichols.
Scarborough was able to run out the clock from there and celebrate a 1-0 victory.
“This says we’re ready to bring it back this season,” Davis said. “We’ll take whatever challenge comes our way. We knew it would be a tough game, but we were able to pull through. I was a bit nervous, but I knew if stayed composed and didn’t give up too many free kicks, we’d hold them off.”
“(Gorham) definitely gave it to us,” said Djuranovic. “It was a close game. I think in the end, we were more confident. That goal helped push us through. I think we had possession more of the time, so we felt confident how we were playing. We knew we had momentum. This just says that we’re still here.”
“Coming here and winning a close game is never easy,” Farley added. “The difference was having someone like Lana who could have a moment that changes the game. Coming here slowed the game down a little for us and makes it more of a grind. We’re better on turf when we can fly up and down the field.
“I’m really happy because the games we had this week were tough. South Portland is an up-and-coming team that defended really hard. Windham is Windham and beating them there was impressive. Gorham’s as good as anybody. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them again. They’re definitely one of the top teams in the league.”
Scarborough finished with a 9-3 edge in shots on frame, got three saves from Rinaldi and took five corner kicks to the Rams’ two.
VonderHaar saved eight shots for Gorham, but the Rams couldn’t counter the Red Storm’s goal.
“That’s how these games go,” Zarrilli said. “It’s tough to be on the losing end, but we fought hard. Finishing when we need to is a challenge. We’re getting there. They’re tough defensively and put a lot of pressure on us. We said before the game that whatever happens, this is a game where we’ll learn a lot. Defending, midfield, finishing. Scarborough taught all of us a lot. Kudos to them for playing a tough, physical game. We have to learn to stand up to that as well. We’re a little smaller, so that’s a big lesson.”
Closing stretch
Gorham stays home for another tough test Monday versus Cheverus. Thursday, the Rams play at Portland.
Scarborough hosts Portland Tuesday and Bonny Eagle Thursday (on Senior Night). The Red Storm then finish the season on the road, at Deering, Marshwood, Sanford and Falmouth.
“Just because we lost a game doesn’t mean we’re not as good as we were,” Djuranovic said. “Whoever doubts us should stop. We want another championship. We just have to maintain how we’re playing. Keep pushing ourselves in practice.”
“We need to keep playing our game,” Davis said. “We want to get the number one seed again. I think we have a chance again this year.”
“I think we just need to stay focused,” Farley added. “We want to be at home for as many games as we can. Being on turf makes us far more dangerous. This should put us in a spot to defend our home field. We’re in a much better spot now.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. For game updates and links to game stories, follow him on Threads: @foresports2023
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