SCARBOROUGH—Scarborough’s girls’ soccer team took care of business like a top seed should in Tuesday’s Class A South quarterfinal against No. 8 South Portland at the Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex.
The Red Storm, the reigning state champions, dodged an early bullet when a promising Red Riots’ shot hit the post, then got the only goal they would need, courtesy senior standout Lana Djuranovic, in the 10th minute.
Djuranovic added a second goal in the 30th minute and with 6:56 left, sophomore Paige Garlock scored for a 3-0 halftime lead.
Scarborough ended any remaining doubt 10 minutes into the second half when senior Talia Borelli scored on a rebound, then with 13:36 to play, freshman Maggie Booth got in on the fun, scoring from Garlock to produce a 5-0 victory.
The Red Storm won their 11th game in a row, improved to 14-1, ended South Portland’s fine season at 8-6-2 and advanced to host No. 5 Cheverus (11-3-2) in the semifinals Friday at a time to be announced.
“I didn’t even realize until I was on the field that it could be our last time playing,” Borelli said. “That really motivated us. Everyone went in with as much high intensity as they could and put their whole heart out there.”
Eye on the prize
Scarborough was a perfect champion a year ago, going 18-0 and capturing the crown in double-overtime against Brunswick on Djuranovic’s legendary header.
This fall, even with the opponent giving them their best effort every time out, the Red Storm managed to pass every test but one (see sidebar, below, for links to previous stories) and locked up the top seed in the region.
South Portland, meanwhile, won just four times in 2022 but was vastly improved this season in Tyler Pelletier’s second year as coach, winning seven games (its best mark in six years), earning the No. 8 seed in Class A South, then eliminating No. 9 Noble, 3-0, in Friday’s preliminary round for its first playoff victory since 2017.
The teams met back on Sept. 27 when host Scarborough prevailed, 3-1, rallying from an early deficit.
The Red Storm had won the only prior playoff encounter, 5-1, way back in the 2002 Western A preliminary round.
Tuesday, on a comfortable late-October evening (52 degrees throughout), Scarborough almost fell behind early again, but this time seized control of the game by halftime.
Scarborough senior Lana Djuranovic races down the sideline with the ball during the Red Storm’s 5-0 win over South Portland Tuesday night. Hoffer photos.
In the second minute, the Red Riots won the ball, counter-attacked and freshman Maci Rauscher launched a bender from 30-yards out that almost found the mark but instead rattled off the goal frame.
“If it bent in, it would be a different game,” said Pelletier. “Earlier this season, we scored first, then they scored right after, but we were confident coming in and if that went in, we would have had extra energy.”
“Give them credit,” said longtime Scarborough coach Mike Farley. “They got the ball free. It was six inches away. (Junior goalkeeper) Sophia (Rinaldi) was probably going to get it because she can cover anywhere on the goal. We had to clean it up a little bit.”
After South Portland had a corner kick cleared, the Red Storm went on the attack and after Djuranovic’s initial shot sailed wide after a stop-and-go move, then she had a long shot saved by South Portland sophomore keeper Amelia Burton-Fowler, she struck, as only she can.
With 30:46 left in the first half, Djuranovic got the ball near the right sideline, dribbled back to her left, then ripped a shot that bent inside the far post, to the right of Burton-Fowler for a 1-0 lead.
“They caught us off-guard a little bit, but our main goal tonight was to score first and score early,” said Djuranovic, who will play at the University of Miami in Florida next year. “We just had to get in the right mindset. I knew I would be man-marked and I knew they’d give me space to dribble. I took advantage of that and just saw the goal and hit it the way I wanted.”
“That goal was huge,” Borelli said. “We were able to take a breath and relax and enjoy the game. Lana’s amazing. She sets up so much. She gives us confidence. She’s always a good teammate.”
“(Lana) got free and ripped it and it bent inside the far post and I don’t know how you defend that,” Farley added. “Her growth from sophomore year to this year is huge. Sophomore year, if she got marked, it would mentally mess with her. Now, she welcomes the challenge and goes right after players. Good luck. She’s so fast moving without the ball and when she gets the ball, she’s tough to stay in front of.”
“Getting scored on first by Scarborough was very difficult to come from back from,” said Pelletier. “Lana’s a great player. I thought (junior) Emma Travis played very well against her and made everything difficult. We stuck to the game plan, but unfortunately it didn’t pay off.”
After Djuranovic had a shot blocked, then missed wide, junior Delia Fravert had a shot saved by Burton-Fowler.
The Red Riots tried to answer, but junior Brooke Lawton’s bid was saved by Rinaldi.
After Burton-Fowler saved bids from junior Grace Carlista and junior Emmie Flaker, the Red Storm doubled the lead with 10:01 remaining, as Fravert served in a corner kick and Djuranovic headed the ball past Burton-Fowler and just inside the near post for a 2-0 lead.
“Those are my favorite goals to score,” said Djuranovic. “Getting one there was nice.”
The goal was Djuranovic’s 28th of the season, matching the single-season program mark she set a year ago, and was the 100th point of her illustrious career, giving her the program mark by one over Ali Mokriski (Class of 2022).
With 5:42 on the clock, Garlock, who had a shot saved a moment before, extended the lead by scoring unassisted, as she got a rebound of her own shot and sent a one-timer into the right corner for a 3-0 lead.
“Our attacking pressure today is what I was most happy about,” said Farley. “When a team plays a lot of players behind the ball, you have to put them under pressure and drive and attack and we did a good job of that most of the game. It was really good to see a balanced attack. We can rotate 16 players. That makes it tough to defend. When they’re all dangerous, it’s big for us.”
Scarborough had the game in hand when the second half commenced, but didn’t let up and wound up scoring twice more.
Scarborough senior Sarah LeFebvre battles South Portland junior Brooke Lawton for possession.
Djuranovic just missed in the first minute, then Fravert was robbed on a one-timer by Burton-Fowler.
After a long shot from senior Avery Pettingill hit the crossbar, she had another shot saved.
With 29:52 remaining, Borelli got in on the fun, taking a pass from senior Sarah LeFebvre, having an initial shot saved by Burton-Fowler, then scoring on the rebound to make it 4-0.
“Sarah played a really nice ball to me and I was able to get a touch and I shot it right at the goalie, but we got the rebound,” Borelli said.
With 13:36 left, Booth capped the scoring, taking a cross from Garlock and one-timing the ball into the net.
“I love seeing everyone happy,” said Djuranovic. “Sometimes it’s hard when you don’t get a chance, but when you start scoring it gives other people hope that they can score.”
Down the stretch, senior Olivia Bean bid to get South Portland on the board, but Rinaldi made the save, then Rauscher shot just wide, while at the other end, Burton-Fowler robbed Flaker and denied Carlista on the rebound.
Scarborough then ran out the clock and celebrated its 5-0 victory.
Scarborough congratulates junior goalkeeper Sophia Rinaldi at the end of Tuesday’s victory.
“It was a battle the whole game,” Farley said. “I think Coach Pelletier had them organized and they defended hard the whole game. It’s tough to break them down. Emma did a good job marking Lana.”
The Red Storm finished with a 22-3 advantage in shots on frame, got three saves from Rinaldi and had a 7-5 edge in corner kicks.
Burton-Fowler made 17 saves for the Red Riots.
“Amelia came in and took over as a sophomore,” said Pelletier. “We went from 4-10, letting in 39 goals last year, to 7-5-2, letting in 14. She had five shutouts.”
Despite the disappointment of the setback, there’s no question that South Portland enjoyed a terrific season.
“It’s all on (the girls),” said Pelletier. “They really came together and played for each other. We have a lot of youth and I can’t say enough about our seniors and how they led us. Our future is bright. We have a lot coming back and coming up. This was a step forward and we’ll keep going.”
Buckle up
Scarborough blanked visiting Cheverus, 3-0, Sept. 20.
The Red Storm are 7-0 all-time versus the Stags in the playoffs, with last year’s 2-1 semifinal round victory the most recent.
“I think we have the passion to win,” said Djuranovic. “We just need to keep a good mentality and put all of our effort in the games. Last year when we played (Cheverus), they were super-defensive. They did a good job of parking the bus. This year, we just need to come in knowing they’ll do that and figure out a way to get around it.”
“I think as long as we play together, that’s all that matters,” Borelli said. “We need to have the same intensity we had tonight. We understand they’ll fight back just as hard. We want to win it again very badly.”
“Cheverus will play us tough and we’ll have to attack and get after them for 80 minutes,” Farley added. “We know they always come in organized. I’m glad it’s here on turf and we can make the game fast.
“The girls are really focused. Everyone is raising their level of the game.”
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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