BOX SCORE

South Portland 10 Kennebunk 4

K- 0 0 2 2- 4
SP- 2 5 0 3- 10

First period
5:55 SP L. Mehlhorn (unassisted)
3:48 SP Dreifus (Demers)

Second period
11:27 SP B. Mehlhorn (unassisted)
7:32 SP L. Mehlhorn (unassisted)
5:30 SP Demers (Dreifus)
4:30 SP Adams (unassisted)
45.7 SP Dreifus (unassisted)

Third period
10:44 K Stauss (Moore)
6:41 K Moore (unassisted)

Fourth period
11:02 K Soule (unassisted)
8:37 SP Adams (unassisted)
7:24 SP B. Mehlhorn (Dreifus)
4:40 K Stauss (unassisted)
1:03 SP L. Mehlhorn (unassisted)

Goals:
K- Stauss 2, Moore, Soule 1
SP- L. Mehlhorn 3, Adams, Dreifus, B. Mehlhorn 2, Demers 1

Assists:
K- Moore 1
SP- Dreifus 2, Demers 1

Faceoffs (Kennebunk, 11-6)
K- Kennedy 9 of 15, Johnson 2 of 2
SP- Frank 1 of 8, Udomsay 4 of 8, O’Donnell 1 of 1

Ground balls:
K- 29
SP- 34

Turnovers:
K- 28
SP- 19

Shots:
K- 27
SP- 44

Shots on cage:
K- 19
SP- 23

SOUTH PORTLAND—From one victory to 10 wins to the sky’s the limit.

That’s the story of the 2022 South Portland boys’ lacrosse team.

Tuesday evening at Martin Memorial Field, the Red Riots, who won just once last spring, capped a tremendous bounce-back campaign against visiting Kennebunk, riding their recipe of strong offense combined with stellar junior goalie Ben Kieu to produce a victory.

South Portland got first quarter goals from juniors Lucas Mehlhorn and Jack Dreifus and with Kieu holding the Rams at bay, the Red Riots got second period tallies from freshman Beckett Mehlhorn, Lucas Mehlhorn, junior Brady Demers, senior Cullen Adams and Dreifus to hold a commanding 7-0 lead at the half.

But Kennebunk would respond, getting third quarter goals from seniors Henry Stauss and Matt Moore and a tally from senior Eli Soule 58 seconds into the fourth period, but Adams ended a long scoring drought, Beckett Mehlhorn and Lucas Mehlhorn both added one goal and South Portland went on to a 10-4 victory.

Lucas Mehlhorn led a balanced attack with three goals, Kieu made 15 saves and the Red Riots capped their regular season with a mark of 10-2, ended the Rams’ regular campaign at 6-6 in the process.

“We knew that we had a strong core group and that we returned a lot of guys,” said South Portland second-year coach Dan Hanley. “We talked about raising the standard for the program. We’ve come a long way, but there’s a long way to go as well.”

A year of growth and resurgence

Hanley was planning to take over the Red Riots in 2020, but the COVID pandemic wiped away that season.

Then, last spring, due in large part to a grueling schedule, South Portland won just once in the regular season and once more in the playoffs before losing to Berwick Academy in the quarterfinals to wind up 2-12.

This year has been a totally different and more triumphant story.

The Red Riots got off to a fast start with a 16-3 home win over Bonny Eagle and a huge 11-10 overtime victory over visiting Thornton Academy. After falling at Scarborough (9-6), South Portland rolled over host Deering (18-3), visiting Waynflete (13-1), visiting Massabesic (24-1) and host Windham (15-5), then earned a huge 9-5 win at Falmouth before handling visiting Portland, 16-6. The six-game win streak came to a sudden halt Friday in Cape Elizabeth with a 15-5 loss to the reigning Class A champions, but Monday, the Red Riots bounced back and held off host Gorham, 8-6.

“We’ve just gotten so much better,” said Lucas Mehlhorn. “We had one senior last year. Everyone came back. We’ve got the best goalie in the state and we have good players.”

Kennebunk, meanwhile, started with losses at Cape Elizabeth (21-4) and at home to Falmouth (16-2), then broke through with an 11-10 victory at Noble. After losing at Gorham (10-9) and at home to Marshwood (14-4), the Rams rattled off five straight wins: 9-4 over visiting Lewiston, 12-8 at Marshwood, 19-0 over visiting Westbrook, 14-5 at Bonny Eagle and 8-7 over visiting Biddeford. Last Friday, Kennebunk’s run ended with a 17-2 home loss to Thornton Academy.

Last year, the Rams beat the visiting Red Riots, 10-4.

Tuesday, on a chilly evening (53 degrees at the start), South Portland first honored a senior class that restored the program to upper echelon status, then defeated Kennebunk for the first time since 2018.

The Rams had the game’s first good looks, but Kieu denied Soule twice.

The Red Riots were then frustrated by Rams freshman goalie Moose Keys, who stopped a pair of bids by Adams and another by Lucas Mehlhorn.

Finally, with 5:55 to go in the first quarter, Lucas Mehlhorn scored unassisted and South Portland was on top to stay.

The Red Riots’ defense then set up the offense, as senior Brady Frank intercepted a pass and fed Demers, who set up Dreifus on the doorstep with 3:48 remaining to make it 2-0.

Kieu would keep it that way, denying junior Jack Cataldi and Soule.

South Portland then opened it up in the second period.

After Keys saved a shot by Demers, Beckett Mehlhorn pounced on a loose ball and finished for a 3-0 lead 33 seconds into the new stanza.

Stauss then hit the post for Kennebunk and Kieu denied a shot from Cataldi.

With 7:32 to play in the half, Lucas Mehlhorn got to a loose ball and tickled the twine.

With 5:30 remaining, Dreifus set up Demers to make it 5-0.

Adams scored his first goal, unassisted, exactly a minute later and after Kieu saved shots from Moore and sophomore Gray Compton, Dreifus scored what would be the Red Riots’ last goal for a long time with 45.7 seconds on the clock.

Kieu made a late save on Soule and South Portland took a seemingly safe 7-0 advantage to the half.

But the Red Riots wouldn’t score in the third quarter and the Rams showed some life.

With 10:44 to go, in transition, Moore fed Stauss for a shot which Kieu couldn’t stop and a 25-plus-minute drought was over for the visitors.

Moore then cut the deficit to 7-2 with an unassisted goal with 6:41 left.

Kieu didn’t let Kennebunk get any closer, saving a shot from freshman Benjamin Urban before robbing both Soule and Compton.

Adams nearly ended the South Portland scoring drought seconds into the fourth period, but his shot hit the crossbar.

The Rams then pulled within four with 11:02 left, as Soule scored unassisted.

That’s as close as they would get, however, as with 8:37 to go, Adams, spun around a defender, then fired a shot past Keys to end a 16 minute, 8 second drought and make it 8-3.

The Red Riots then struck again with 7:24 remaining, as Dreifus set up Beckett Mehlhorn for a goal.

Kennebunk answered with 4:40 to play, as Stauss weaved through the defense, then scored unassisted.

The Rams were stymied from there, as Kieu made a key save on a shot from Moore before Lucas Mehlhorn iced it with an unassisted goal with 1:03 left and South Portland closed out its 10-4 victory.

“Our offense was just clicking,” Lucas Mehlhorn said. “We got a little slow at the start of the second half and we made some dumb decisions. We were losing possession, but we called timeout and made adjustments.”

“Last year, we celebrated losses because we fought with competitive teams,” Hanley said. “Today, we came out hot, then we let them back in it, so we feel like we left something on the table and there’s definitely room for improvement. That’s part of the process of trying to become a championship-caliber team.”

Lucas Mehlhorn scored a game-high three goals. Adams, Dreifus and Beckett Mehlhorn all had two goals while Demers scored once.

Dreifus added two assists and Demers had one.

Kieu impressed again with 15 timely saves.

“Ben works so hard,” Lucas Mehlhorn said. “He’s just amazing. He just makes us all better.”

“Ben’s our anchor,” Hanley said. “I think he’s the best goalie in the state. He’s played like an All-American all season. Our poles have done a great job too. (Junior) Brady Angell’s the leader of that group. He had a ton of caused turnovers. (Senior Jack) Brownstein, (junior) Finn (O’Donnell), (senior) Blake (Kierstead), they’re all stepping up and it’s fun to watch when they’re clicking together.”

The Red Riots finished with a 34-29 edge in ground balls (Angell led the team with seven), enjoyed a 44-27 shots advantage (23-19 on cage) and overcame 19 turnovers.

Kennebunk’s offense featured two goals from Stauss and one apiece from Moore and Soule.

Moore also had an assist and led all players in ground balls with eight.

Keys made 13 saves.

The Rams won 11 of 17 faceoffs, but turned the ball over 28 times.

Playoff time

Kennebunk (currently ranked ninth in the Class B statewide Heal Points standings) will likely be on the road for the playoffs and will start with a preliminary round game early next week.

South Portland is third in Class A South at press time and will finish either third or fourth, meaning it will host a quarterfinal round contest next week.

“We’re just working hard,” Lucas Mehlhorn said. “We still have to sharpen up our stick-work. We’ll continue to work on that. I think we have a good shot. We have the pieces and we’re a family. We can make something happen.”

“We know this region’s tough and if you want to win a championship, you have to beat the best teams,” Hanley said. “Whatever it takes to get there, we’ll be ready. We’ve come a long way.

“We have a great coaching staff that helps the guys get ready every single day. We’re just looking forward to making a run and stretching the season as long as we can because I love coaching these guys.”

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

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