Avery Lawrence will never forget Senior Night 2023.
Neither will his Deering Rams teammates.
Lawrence, a senior back, didn’t just help the Rams’ defense hold potent rival Portland at bay Thursday evening at Memorial Field, he also scored the first goal of his varsity career to clinch a Heal points-rich 3-1 victory.
“It was electric,” said Lawrence. “Portland’s always a big game. Always exciting. Scoring the first goal of my career was really exciting, especially on Senior Night.”
Deering (8-3-2), which moved up to fourth in the Class A South Heal point standings, didn’t generate any great scoring chances in the first half, while fifth-ranked Portland (10-2-1) had its share of possession but couldn’t put a shot on frame.
The Rams went ahead with 33:42 remaining. Ibrahim Abdullahi played a long ball ahead to Cristiano Afonso, who ran it down and while being hounded by a defender, then sent it past Bulldogs goalkeeper Calvin Hale (three saves).
“That first goal was great,” said Deering Coach Joel Costigan. “That’s not a run Cristiano usually makes. We asked him to do something different today. He recognized the space, and Ibrahim, who played with Cristiano on JV all year, recognized his partner to play forward at the right time.”
While Lawrence and his defensive mates limited Portland’s possession, the Rams got an insurance goal with 16:40 left. Benedito Nzeza got to a feed from Nick Simon Mboumba a split second before Hale could react and bodied the ball into the net to make it 2-0.
Portland finally came to life with 5:19 remaining, as Martin Kalala-Wasukundi buried a free kick from just outside the box.
The Bulldogs nearly tied it with 2:40 to play. Isaac Rodrigues-Nkanza launched a strike from about 30 yards, but Deering keeper Adao Lufumbo-Mbenza (three saves) managed to tip it over the bar.
Lawrence then clinched the victory with 1:02 remaining, converting a penalty kick.
“I just wanted to stay relaxed,” Lawrence said. “I’m used to pressure moments. We were up, so I knew if I missed that it wasn’t the end of the world. I went bottom left, the keeper chose right, but I got it there.”
The Rams were coming off a lopsided loss to Gorham and had dropped three of four, but they got back on track against the team they like to beat most.
“This was insanely important, but I don’t want it to be the highlight of our season,” Costigan said. “We still have Cheverus (on Tuesday) and we still have playoffs. It’s going to get harder.”
Longtime Portland Coach Rocco Frenzilli tipped his cap to Deering.
“I just told the kids, we’re not going to be defined by one game in the regular season,” said Frenzilli. “All the credit to Deering for getting the job done. They deserved the win.
“We just have to get ready for Marshwood on Tuesday, then we’ll see what comes after that.”
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