Portland: Early playoff action promising for city squads

While cross country took center stage with its regional meet last weekend (see story), the postseason is just getting started in most of the other fall sports.

By the end of this week, we’ll be down to a select few teams.

Here’s a glimpse at where things stand:

Volleyball

Deering’s volleyball team, ranked fourth in Class A after an 11-3 regular season, had no trouble with No. 5 Sanford in Saturday’s state quarterfinal round, sweeping the Spartans, 25-16, 25-13, 25-9, as Lara Gin had 16 kills and Maya Delicata finished with 13 service points. The Rams go to top-ranked Gorham (13-2) Wednesday at 5 p.m. for the state semifinals. Deering lost in straight sets to Gorham back on Sept. 6. The teams have no playoff history.

If Deering springs the upset and reaches the Class A state final for the first time, it will battle either No. 2 Biddeford (13-2), the reigning state champion, or third-seeded Scarborough (12-3) Friday at 8 p.m., at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.

Portland, ranked seventh in Class A after closing with a four-set (22-25, 27-25, 25-21, 25-19) victory at South Portland last Monday, couldn’t get out of the preliminary round, as it was beaten by No. 10 Thornton Academy, 3-1, to finish 9-6.

Cheverus, the No. 8 seed in Class A, lost in straight sets at Biddeford in its regular season finale, but last Wednesday, the Stags ousted ninth-ranked Brunswick/Morse/Mt. Ararat in four games (25-14, 25-16, 25-27, 25-10) in the state preliminary round. Cheverus then was eliminated by top-ranked Gorham in three sets (17-25, 17-25, 9-25) in the quarterfinals to wind up 9-7.

Boys’ soccer

Three city boys’ soccer teams will take part in the playoffs.

Waynflete, the four-time reigning Class C state champion, ended up 7-5-2 and fourth in the South after closing with a 1-0 victory at rival North Yarmouth Academy last Tuesday. Jacob Woodman scored the goal. The Flyers host No. 5 Lisbon (3-10-1) in the quarterfinals Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. The teams didn’t meet this fall. Waynflete has won three of four prior playoff encounters, with a 4-1 victory in the 2021 semifinals the most recent.

If the Flyers advance, they’ll either go to No. 1 Mt. Abram (14-0) or host No. 8 NYA (3-11) in the semifinals Friday or Saturday.

The Class C South Final is Wednesday of next week in Lewiston. The state game is Saturday, Nov. 4 in Topsham.

In Class A South, Deering finished third after closing with a 4-2 win at Cheverus last Tuesday, as Nick Mboumba scored three times and Chandrel Laza had the other goal. The Rams (9-3-2) welcome No. 6 Kennebunk (9-4-2) Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the quarterfinals. Deering beat visiting Kennebunk, 4-2, on Sept. 26. The Rams have lost two of three prior playoff meetings to Kennebunk, with a 2-0 setback in the 2019 preliminary round the most recent.

If Deering moves on to Saturday’s semifinal round, it will either go to No. 2 Gorham (12-1-1) or host No. 7 Falmouth (9-4-2).

Portland earned the No. 4 seed after an 11-2-1 season, which ended with a 2-0 home win over Marshwood last Tuesday. Olivera Nzolakio and Isaac Rodriques-Nkanza scored the goals. The Bulldogs host No. 5 Scarborough (10-4-1) in the quarterfinals Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. On Sept. 26, Portland won, 3-0, at the Red Storm. Scarborough has captured all five prior playoff meetings, with a 3-1 victory in the 2014 Western A semifinals the most recent.

If the Bulldogs buck history and move on to Saturday’s semifinals, they would go to No. 1 Windham (13-0-1) or host No. 8 South Portland (7-5-3).

The Class A South Final is Tuesday of next week in Kennebunk. The Class A state game is Saturday, Nov. 4 at Messalonskee High School in Oakland.

Cheverus wound up 5-9 after a 4-2 home loss to Deering in its finale. Ange-Michel Liwanga scored both goals, but the Stags finished 13th in Class A South and only 12 teams qualified for the playoffs.

Girls’ soccer

Cheverus’ Annie Vigue keeps the ball away from Marshwood’s defenders during Friday’s 3-0 preliminary round playoff win. Michael Hoffer / The Forecaster

On the girls’ side, Cheverus, ranked fifth in Class A South, started its title quest with a 3-0 home win over No. 12 Marshwood in the preliminary round Friday. Sophia Monfa scored late in the first half to put the Stags in front to stay, then Finley Brown added a penalty kick and Annie Vigue scored as well in the second half to put it away.

“I feel like as a younger team we had to work on trusting each other,” said Brown. “We’ve worked together and it’s built our confidence.”

“It’s hard to score goals in the playoffs, so to score three today is really good,” said Stags veteran coach Craig Roberts. “It’s never perfect in the playoffs, so for veteran players who are highly technical, it can be frustrating, but I had to commend them for working through it. The conditions weren’t conducive to making all the passes you want.”

Cheverus advanced to take on No. 4 Thornton Academy (10-3-1) in the quarterfinals Tuesday. The Stags beat the host Golden Trojans, 2-1, back on Sept. 13. The teams had no playoff history.

“We’ll make sure we’re not too confident or under-confident,” said Monfa. “We know we can do it.”

“There are a lot of positives to take out of this,” Roberts said. “We have a big challenge at TA. They’re playing really well. We’ll try to figure it out. We have nothing to lose. We’ll have to show up focused and ready to go.”

If the Stags spring the upset, they’ll either go to No. 1 Scarborough (13-1), the reigning state champion, or host No. 8 South Portland (8-5-2) Saturday in the semifinals.

The Class A South Final is Tuesday of next week in Kennebunk. The state game is Saturday, Nov. 4 at Messalonskee High School in Oakland.

Portland, the No. 11 seed after a 2-1 loss at Sanford in the regular season finale (Anneliese Collin had the goal and Lucy Tidd stopped eight shots), was ousted by No. 6 Falmouth, 2-0, in the Class A South preliminary round Friday. The Bulldogs fell behind in the 13th minute, conceded another goal in the second half and couldn’t generate any offense. Tidd made six saves, but it wasn’t enough for Portland to advance as it finished the season 5-9-1.

“Congrats to Falmouth,” said Bulldogs coach Matt Bernstein. “They’re an amazing team. They have some great players. They’re going to be very difficult to beat. I think we came in here and pushed them. It’s a battle when you have two quality teams going at it. They’ll give their best and we’ll give our best. We had some good opportunities, but we were just an inch away. They pushed us to do things just a little quicker than we wanted to.

“I’m incredibly proud. They’re great kids. They gave everything. I’m really impressed with what my team did all season. I think we really grew this season. I’ve loved every second of coaching this team. Being able to be their coach is a privilege.”

Portland loses a lot of talent to graduation, but will be back in the mix in 2024.

“The saddest part of tonight isn’t that we lost, but that’s it’s the end of the road for our season and for our seniors,” said Bernstein. “I can’t imagine a better group of seniors. They’ve had quite an impact on the program. They’ve left their mark. The impact they had on Portland soccer is bigger than wins and playoff games. We have a lot of players coming back. We’ll be excited to go again. I’m already counting the days.”

Deering finished 3-10-1 after a 4-0 loss at Thornton Academy in the finale last Tuesday. The Rams wound up 13th in Class A South, but only 12 teams made the playoffs.

In Class C South, Waynflete finished the regular season with a 2-1 home loss to NYA to wind up 9-5 and third in the region. Lucy Hart had the goal and Ayla Stutzman made eight saves, but the Flyers weren’t able to sweep the season series from the rival Panthers for the first time since 2015.

“We just didn’t have it today,” said Carrie Earls, who co-coaches Waynflete along with George Sherry. “Kudos to NYA for capitalizing on their chances. We started the game sleeping a little bit and they made us pay. After we tied it, I thought we dominated possession and I thought we had the better play, but they do their strengths well. They have speed and physicality. They came in and wanted it and they got it today.”

Waynflete hosted No. 6 Traip Academy (3-9-2) in the quarterfinals Tuesday (see our website for game story). The Flyers won both regular season meetings, 2-1 at home Aug. 31 and 5-0 on the road Oct. 10. The teams split two prior playoff encounters, with a 3-0 Waynflete win in last year’s semifinals the most recent.

“We know Traip well,” said Earls. “We played a much harder schedule this year to make us battle-tested. We’ve gotten important wins. We need to lock in for 80 minutes. That’s it.”

If the Flyers advance to the semifinals, they’ll go to No. 2 Maranacook (13-0-1), the reigning regional champion, or host No. 7 Mt. Abram (5-8-1) Friday or Saturday.

The Class C South Final is Wednesday of next week in Lewiston. The state game is Saturday, Nov. 4 in Topsham.

Field hockey

Cheverus’ Lucy Johnson celebrates after scoring the 111th goal of her illustrious career in last week’s win at Noble, tying the all-time state record. Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald

Cheverus’ powerhouse field hockey team, the reigning Class A South champion, capped its third straight 14-0 regular season last Monday with a 2-0 victory at Noble, the Stags’ 46th consecutive regular season victory. Junior standout Lucy Johnson scored twice to reach the 111-goal plateau for her career, tying the all-time state record set by former St. Dominic star Hannah Trottier-Braun.

“It’s definitely a good feeling, but I couldn’t have done it without anyone on my team,” said Johnson, who has 34 goals this year alone. “I have worked hard personally. I was definitely thinking about it throughout the season, but I wasn’t necessarily keeping track.”

“She’s awesome, she contributes so much to the team,” senior standout Lily Johnson said. “She’s my sister, so it’s cool to (set her up). We work really well together.”

“(Lucy’s) somebody who works really hard, she’s passionate about field hockey,” added Cheverus coach Theresa Arsenault. “Just to see her get some of that recognition, it’s really exciting. We’re really happy for her.”

The Stags earned the top seed for the tournament and will host No. 8 Massabesic (8-6-1) in the quarterfinals Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. (see our website for story) when Lucy Johnson has a chance to score the goal that will set her apart.

Cheverus blanked the visiting Mustangs, 8-0, on Sept. 21 and won the lone prior playoff encounter, 5-4, in overtime, in the 2018 Class A South preliminary round.

“(Last year’s state loss to Skowhegan’s) something that’s on all of our minds, but I definitely think that our team is completely different this year and we’re going to take it like a new round,” Lucy Johnson said.

“We want to be in every situation before the playoffs and we’ve been in it,” Arsenault said. “That’s good, because it gives us that confidence of ‘we’ve been here before, we know how to handle this pressure.’”

If, as expected, the Stags advance to the semifinals, they will host either No. 4 Scarborough (8-6) or No. 5 Falmouth (8-5-1) in the semifinals Saturday.

The Class A South Final will be contested Wednesday of next week in Fryeburg. The state game will be Saturday, Nov. 4 in Lewiston.

Portland/Deering finished 4-10 and failed to quality for the postseason.

In Class C South, Waynflete, which returned to stand-alone varsity status this fall, finished the regular season 5-7 after closing with a 2-1 home win over Sacopee Valley last Tuesday. The Flyers wound up eighth in the region and go to No. 1 Spruce Mountain (13-1) for the quarterfinals Wednesday. The teams didn’t meet this year and have no playoff history.

If Waynflete springs the upset, it will go to No. 4 St. Dom’s (6-8) or No. 5 Sacopee Valley (6-5) for the semifinals Saturday.

The Class C South Final will be contested Wednesday of next week in Fryeburg. The state game will be Saturday, Nov. 4 in Lewiston.

Football

Deering quarterback Tavian Lauture passes to Zeke Dewever during last weekend’s home loss to Westbrook. Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald

For the first time this season, no city football team earned a victory last weekend, but that comes with a caveat, as 7-0 Portland had a bye. The Bulldogs host South Portland (4-4) in the “Battle of the Bridge,” regular season finale Friday night needing a victory to hold off reigning state champion Oxford Hills and lock up the top seed for the upcoming Class A North playoffs.

Deering finished the regular season 4-4 after a 29-12 home loss to Westbrook. The Rams took a quick 6-0 lead on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Tavian Lauture to Pedro Lombi and held that advantage at halftime, but the Blue Blazes drew even early in the third period. Deering went back on top, 12-6, on a 9-yard touchdown run from Joey Foley, but Westbrook took a 14-12 advantage, then put it away with a pair of scores in the fourth quarter. Foley finished with 130 yards rushing and also had 11 tackles on defense.

The Rams wound up fifth in Class B South and will go to No. 4 Westbrook (3-5) for the quarterfinals Friday at a time to be announced. The teams have no postseason history.

Cheverus wound up 6-2 and third in Class C South after closing with a 34-14 loss at undefeated, reigning state champion Leavitt. The Stags fell behind, 28-0, at halftime, but got a 6-yard touchdown pass from Gio St. Onge to Preston Fallon in the third quarter. The Hornets immediately answered, however, and St. Onge’s 1-yard run in the fourth quarter wasn’t enough to inspire a comeback.

Cheverus has a bye into the semifinals, then will go to No. 2 Fryeburg Academy (7-1) the weekend of Nov. 3-4. The Stags lost at home to the Raiders, 27-7, Sept. 30. The teams have no playoff history.