BOX SCORE

Scarborough 9 South Portland 6

SP- 3 1 1 1- 6
S- 1 4 1 3- 9

First period
9:25 SP Demers (Adams)
7:27 S Carlista (Fogarty)
3:18 SP Demers (B. Mehlhorn)
39.9 SP L. Mehlhorn (unassisted)

Second period
9:58 S Delaware (unassisted)
8:33 SP Demers (B. Mehlhorn)
7:21 S Park (unassisted)
4:07 S Park (unassisted)
41.7 S F. Pedersen (Delaware) (MAN-UP)

Third period
3:42 SP Angell (unassisted)
2:48 S Delaware (unassisted)

Fourth period
8:36 S O. Pedersen (Delaware)
8:28 S Rumelhart (unassisted)
3:40 S F. Pedersen (Flaker)
3:28 SP Dreifus (unassisted)

Goals:
SP- Demers 3, Angell, Dreifus, L. Mehlhorn
S- Delaware, Park, F. Pedersen 2, Carlista, O. Pedersen, Rumelhart 1

Assists:
SP- B. Mehlhorn 2, Adams 1
S- Delaware, Flaker, Fogarty 1

Faceoffs (Scarborough, 10-9)
SP- Frank 8 of 15, Udomsay 1 of 3, Angell 0 of 1
S- Rumelhart 8 of 14, Carlista 2 of 5

Ground balls:
SP- 25
S- 36

Turnovers:
SP- 26
S- 18

Shots:
SP- 20
S- 42

Shots on cage:
SP- 11
S- 22

Saves:
SP (Kieu) 13
S (Kerbel) 5

SCARBOROUGH—South Portland’s boys’ lacrosse team has made great strides this spring.

But the Red Riots aren’t quite good enough to beat rival Scarborough.

Not yet anyway.

Thursday evening at the Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex, South Portland got off to a promising start, as junior Brady Demers scored twice and junior Lucas Mehlhorn added a goal to produce a 3-1 lead after one quarter.

After the Red Storm drew within one on a goal from senior Tae Delaware, Demers scored his third goal, but Scarborough dominated the rest of the first half, as senior Sam Rumelhart stepped into the faceoff circle and controlled possession and senior Jeremiah Park scored two goals before senior Finn Pedersen scored man-up in the final minute to produce a 5-4 halftime advantage.

The Red Riots tied the game in the third quarter, on a goal from junior Brady Angell, but with 2:48 to go in the frame, Delaware finished a highlight reel goal to give the Red Storm the lead for good.

Scarborough then put it away in the fourth period behind goals from sophomore Olin Pedersen, Rumelhart and Finn Pedersen and went on to a 9-6 victory.

The Red Storm improved to 4-0 while handing South Portland its first loss in three outings.

“Playing these guys on our turf and knowing they beat TA, we knew it would be a good game and it was,” said Rumelhart.

Resurgent rivals

For over a decade, Scarborough and/or South Portland made a run at the Class A state title.

The Red Riots got to at least the semifinals in 12 of 14 seasons between 2006-19, winning two regional titles and the program’s lone state championship in 2014.

The Red Storm, meanwhile, won six Class A championships between 2006-16, then lost in overtime to Brunswick in the 2017 state game.

Tough times then arrived for both squads before their climbed their way back.

Scarborough won a total of just seven games in 2018 and 2019, but last season, went 10-4, getting to the Class A South semifinals before losing, 9-7, to Berwick Academy.

The Red Storm opened their 2022 campaign with victories over visiting Marshwood (10-3), host Windham (13-8) and host Deering (22-1).

South Portland fell to 2-12 last season, largely because of a daunting schedule. The Red Riots managed to win a playoff game, then were eliminated by Berwick Academy, 16-3, in the Class A South quarterfinals.

South Portland then got off to a fast start this spring with a 16-3 home win over Bonny Eagle and a huge 11-10 overtime victory over visiting Thornton Academy.

Last season, the Red Storm handily won both meetings, 18-7 at home and 14-7 on the road.

Thursday, the Red Riots looked for their first win over Scarborough since May 29, 2019, but instead, the Red Storm made it three in a row and improved to 19-5 all-time in the series (see sidebar, for previous results).

South Portland started fast, as Demers finished a feed from senior Cullen Adams, beating Scarborough sophomore goalie Benjamin Kerbel, with 9:25 to go in the opening stanza.

Red Riots junior goalie Ben Kieu kept the Red Storm off the board initially, saving shots from Finn Pedersen and senior Quinn Fogarty, but with 7:27 on the clock, Fogarty found Carlista for the tying tally.

South Portland went back on top with 3:18 remaining, as freshman Beckett Mehlhorn set up Demers for the goal.

After Kieu preserved the lead by saving a shot from Finn Pedersen, Lucas Mehlhorn finished with 39.9 seconds to go for a 3-1 advantage.

Scarborough then settled down in the second quarter and turned the game in its favor.

Delaware scored his first goal, unassisted, two minutes into the period, but 8:33 to go before halftime, Beckett Mehlhorn found Demers for a 4-2 lead.

Park then started to heat up and finished unassisted with 7:21 on the clock.

Park scored unassisted again with 4:07 remaining and the game was tied.

After a South Portland penalty, the Red Storm went on top with 41.7 seconds showing, as Delaware found Finn Pedersen for a 5-4 lead which carried into the half.

In the first 24 minutes, Scarborough enjoyed a big edge in shots and forced 19 Red Riots’ turnovers. Six saves from Kieu kept the visitors close.

The Red Riots looked to rally early in the third quarter, but Demers’ bounce shot rang off the crossbar.

After Kerbel saved another Demers shot, South Portland did draw even when Angell collected a loose ball off a turnover, raced in and finished to make it 5-5 with 3:42 on the clock.

But the Red Storm needed just 54 seconds to retake the lead for good, as Delaware got the ball behind the cage, came around the crease, then flipped the ball over his shoulder past Kieu.

“We got some great looks,” said Red Storm coach Zach Barrett. “They have a great goalie who made some great saves on us today. Mediocre shots weren’t going to do it. We had to work hard for better shots. It was just being disciplined to get great opportunities and we capitalized.”

It was still anyone’s game when the fourth period began.

After Finn Pedersen hit the crossbar, junior Jack Dreifus hit the post at the other end.

Rumelhart hit the post with just over 9 minutes left, then Beckett Mehlhorn had a chance to tie it, but Kerbel made the save.

Then, with 8:36 remaining, in transition, Delaware set up Olin Pedersen for a little breathing room.

Rumelhart then won the ensuing faceoff, raced in and beat Kieu to suddenly make it a three-goal game, 8-5.

“(Carlista) taught me,” said Rumelhart. “He’s been playing more offense, so they let me take (faceoffs) and I’ve been getting better. That my first (goal) ever, so I was excited. It always looked so cool to do that, so to do it was great.”

South Portland second-year coach Dan Hanley called timeout, but it didn’t help, as senior Jayden Flaker, best known for his football and track brilliance, ran into the offensive zone, then fed Finn Pedersen for the dagger goal with 3:40 left.

After Demers hit the post, the Red Riots scored a final goal, as Dreifus finished unassisted, but Scarborough was able to run out the clock and celebrate its 9-6 victory.

“We had a couple defensive mishaps early and left guys open on the crease,” Rumelhart said. “Once we cleaned that up, they didn’t get any great opportunities.”

The Red Storm placed six different players in the scoring column, as Delaware, Park and Finn Pedersen all had two goals and Carlista, Olin Pedersen and Rumelhart all tickled the twine once.

Delaware, Flaker and Fogarty each had one assist.

Kerbel made five saves.

Rumelhart had a game-high nine ground balls and won eight of 14 faceoff opportunities, helping Scarborough hold a 10-9 edge in that category.

“(Sam’s) got great hands and he’s got an eye for the ball,” Rumelhart said. “He’s a competitor and he wants to be the guy in there fighting. He didn’t always win it clean, but then he’d go win the ball.”

The Red Storm had a 36-25 advantage on ground balls, enjoyed a 42-20 edge in shots (22-11 on cage) and overcame 18 turnovers.

South Portland was paced by Demers, who had three goals. Angell, Dreifus and Lucas Mehlhorn all scored once.

Beckett Mehlhorn finished with two assists and Adams had one.

Kieu came up big with 13 saves.

“I thought Ben played great today and kept us in it,” said Hanley.

Adams had a team-high six ground balls.

The Red Riots turned the ball over 26 times.

“It was just too many mistakes in the clearing game,” Hanley said. “We needed goals quickly and we settled for some outside shots. It’s a learning experience for our guys. We have to be able to handle the ball with composure and develop some poise. We made a lot of mental mistakes. Even when we were winning faceoffs, they won the ground ball or caused turnovers.”

On to May

South Portland hopes to bounce back next Wednesday, at Deering. The Red Riots return home May 7 to face reigning Class C champion Waynflete.

“I love our team,” Hanley said. “We’re pretty much the same core group from last year and we have some great additions. There are more good things to come for us. It’s good to deal with adversity and recognize we won’t win every single game.”

Scarborough looks to stay perfect next Wednesday, when it goes to Bonny Eagle. The Red Storm will then get a chance to measure themselves against defending Class A state champion Cape Elizabeth, May 9, at home.

“I think we’re pretty strong,” Rumelhart said. “We have some things to clean up. Offensively, we need to work the ball around and get good looks. Defensively, we’re pretty strong. We got some good track kids and having them is awesome. I think we’re better than we were last year. We’re looking forward to playing Cape for sure.”

“I think it’s early,” Barrett said. “We still have a lot to figure out. We gave (South Portland) a lot of opportunities that we shouldn’t have, but we’re still learning. We have a lot of guys without much experience. A game like this is huge for them to know they can dig themselves out of a hole. The biggest games are still to come for sure. We have Cape in a little over a week and it doesn’t get any bigger than that.”

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

Copy the Story Link