South Portland boys stay hot, down Scarborough in home opener

SOUTH PORTLAND—South Portland’s boys’ lacrosse team will tell you there’s no place like home.

Even if the Red Riots haven’t spent much time at Martin Memorial Field this spring.

Box score

South Portland 12 Scarborough 3

S- 1 0 0 2- 3
SP- 4 3 1 4- 12

First quarter
9:58 SP B. Mehlhorn (C. Soucy)
7:01 SP B. Mehlhorn (unassisted)
3:01 SP Folley (B. Mehlhorn)
2:06 S Pedersen (Witas) (MAN-UP)
1:23 SP C. Soucy (Senter)

Second quarter
11:11 SP House (B. Mehlhorn)
7:56 SP House (unassisted)
5:14 SP O’Donnell (unassisted) (MAN-DOWN)

Third quarter
8:35 SP J. Soucy (B. Mehlhorn)

Fourth quarter
10:24 SP Folley (unassisted)
9:22 SP B. Mehlhorn (unassisted)
7:50 SP C. Soucy (B. Mehlhorn)
3:57 SP J. Soucy (Demers)
1:41 S Sheppard (unassisted)
5.7 S Pedersen (Witas) (MAN-UP)

Goals:
S- Pedersen 2, Sheppard
SP- B. Mehlhorn 3, Folley, House, C. Soucy, J. Soucy 2, O’Donnell

Assists:
S- Witas 2
SP- B. Mehlhorn 4, Demers, Senter, C. Soucy

Faceoffs (Scarborough, 11-7)
S- Grondin 8 of 13, Merrill 3 of 5
SP- J. Soucy 5 of 12, F. O’Donnell 2 of 5, T. O’Donnell 0 of 1

Ground balls:
S- 36
SP- 27

Turnovers:
S- 34
SP- 17

Shots:
S- 20
SP- 44

Shots on cage:
S- 12
SP- 30

Saves:
S (Kerbel) 18
SP (Kieu) 7 (Fitzgibbon) 2

Saturday afternoon, South Portland played its first regular season home game and protected its home field in style by earning an overdue victory over longtime rival and nemesis Scarborough.

A pair of quick goals from sophomore Beckett Mehlhorn put the Red Riots ahead to stay and they opened up a 4-1 lead after one period before making it 7-1 at halftime.

Red Storm junior goalie Ben Kerbel did all he could to keep Scarborough within hailing distance, allowing just one goal on nine shots in the third quarter, but South Portland finally broke it open in the final stanza and went on to a 12-3 victory.

Mehlhorn led the way with three goals and four assists and four other players scored twice to spark a balanced attack, as the Red Riots won their fourth straight game, improved to 4-1 on the season and in the process, dropped the Red Storm to 1-4.

“It’s nice to play on this field and we take pride in being great on our grass,” said South Portland coach Dan Hanley. “It’s a rivalry game. I had never beaten them. The guys are always fired up for this one. The score wasn’t close, but it was still competitive and the guys played hard.”

Balance and excellence

South Portland jumped right into the fire to start the season and after falling at two-time reigning Class A champion Cape Elizabeth in the opener, 10-6, the Red Riots found their stride and won at Thornton Academy in a playoff rematch (5-4) before winning at Massabesic (18-0) and at North Yarmouth Academy (13-9) Monday, in a game originally scheduled for South Portland, but moved to Yarmouth due to poor field conditions.

Scarborough started with losses at Marshwood (9-4) and Brunswick (13-7) and at home to Windham (14-5) before getting on track Wednesday with a 15-5 victory at Deering.

Last season, the Red Storm won at home, 9-6, improving to 20-5 all-time against the Red Riots (see sidebar, below).

Saturday, Scarborough hoped to beat South Portland again, but instead, the Red Riots beat their neighbor and rival for the first time since May 29, 2019.

South Portland senior Finn O’Donnell prepares to scoop up a ground ball in front of Scarborough sophomore Wyatt Grondin off the opening faceoff as Red Riots senior Joey Soucy looks on. South Portland would prevail, 12-3. Hoffer photos.

South Portland went on top to stay just two minutes in, as after a Red Storm turnover, sophomore Carmine Soucy, making his first start at attack, set up Mehlhorn for a shot which Kerbel couldn’t stop.

After Red Riots senior goalie Ben Kieu preserved the lead by denying junior Olin Pedersen, Mehlhorn struck again, unassisted, and with 7:01 to go in the opening stanza, South Portland was up by two.

After Kieu saved a shot from junior Dillon MacLeod, Mehlhorn set up senior Drew Folley for another goal to extend the lead with 3:01 left.

Scarborough finally broke through 55 seconds later, scoring a man-up goal, as Pedersen finished from junior Drew Witas, but with 1:23 to go, again after a turnover, Soucy took a pass from junior Jamen Senter and finished and the Red Riots had a 4-1 advantage after 12 minutes.

It took only 49 seconds into the second period for South Portland to strike again, as Mehlhorn set up sophomore Ian House for a goal.

After Kerbel saved a shot from Soucy, House pounced on the rebound and finished for a 6-1 lead with 7:56 on the first half clock.

The Red Storm then had a chance to answer as they went man-up, but instead, the Red Riots struck, as senior defenseman Finn O’Donnell raced in and scored unassisted with 5:14 remaining.

Scarborough then had an even better chance to score with 4:02 left, when Kieu was sent off for two minutes (locked in) after a cross-check to the head penalty and sophomore backup Danny Fitzgibbon was sent into the breach.

But in a further sign that it was going to be South Portland’s day, Fitzgibbon saved shots from freshman Griffin Swinburne and junior Sebastian Furr as the Red Riots were able to kill the penalty.

“Danny is a beast,” said O’Donnell. “Our defense stepped up and had good communication and he got us through that.”

“That was really something,” said Hanley. “He made some awesome saves. That’s kind of the story of this game for us. We had guys who had played lesser roles really step up.”

Late in the half, senior Lucas Mehlhorn hit the crossbar, but South Portland held a 7-1 lead at the break.

South Portland sophomore Beckett Mehlhorn looks to get around Scarborough sophomore defender Cooper Trafford.

The Red Riots tried to run away and hide when the second half commenced, but instead, Kerbel dazzled, stopping eight different shots, many from difficult angles.

South Portland did get an eighth goal with 8:35 on the clock, as Beckett Mehlhorn set up senior Joey Soucy for a goal.

Kieu did his part as well, denying junior Caleb Wendell, freshman Kyle Gambardella on a rebound, then robbing Witas too and the Red Riots took an 8-1 lead to the fourth period.

There, South Portland returned to its scoring ways, as 96 seconds in, Folley scored unassisted, with 9:22 remaining, Mehlhorn scored his third goal, with 7:50 left, Mehlhorn set up Folley for a goal, then with 3:57 to go, Joey Soucy finished a feed from senior Brady Demers for a commanding 12-1 advantage.

Scarborough played hard to the end and was rewarded with two more goals, as senior Jordan Sheppard scored unassisted with 1:46 left and Witas set up Pedersen man-up with 5.7 seconds remaining.

The Red Riots then ran out the clock and celebrated their 12-3 victory.

South Portland congratulates senior goalie Ben Kieu at the final horn.

“Last year, they beat us, so our mentality was to get our revenge,” said Beckett Mehlhorn. “Ever since (Cape), we’ve wanted to show we’re one of the best teams in the state.”

“It feels awesome to send them home sad,” O’Donnell said. “All the boys were really excited to play. We knew it would be a battle and it was, but we played our game and we won.”

“We just continued to hammer away,” added Hanley. “We had to be patient and get quality shots. It was patience more than anything. We have a really good defense and they push the offensive guys every day in practice. They shoot on a really good goalie every day. Iron sharpening iron has helped them find their stride.”

Beckett Mehlhorn paced a potent and balanced offense with three goals and four assists.

Folley, House, Carmine Soucy and Joey Soucy all added two goals, while O’Donnell scored once.

“We have so many good players on offense, so there will always be matchups we need to attack,” Beckett Mehlhorn said.

“Drew Folley really stepped up,” said Hanley. “Carmine Soucy started at attack for the first time and played really well. As a head coach, I’m pleased to see we were balanced and it wasn’t just our top few guys.”

Demers, Senter and Carmine Soucy also had assists.

Kieu made seven saves and Fitzgibbon stopped both shots he faced.

O’Donnell and senior Brady Angell each collected a team-high four ground balls.

South Portland enjoyed a 44-20 shots advantage (30-12 on cage) and overcame 17 turnovers.

Scarborough’s offense featured two goals from Pedersen, one from Sheppard and two assists from Witas.

Kerbel impressed with 18 saves.

“Ben keeps us in games,” said Scarborough coach Zach Barrett. “We just have to keep him engaged and not feeling like he’s getting shelled with no help.”

The Red Storm won 11 of 18 faceoffs and had a 36-27 edge in ground balls (sophomore Wyatt Grondin had a game-high seven), but turned the ball over a whopping 34 times.

“This year is about growing and learning and developing,” Barrett said. “I don’t know how many times we’ll have to make the mistakes to learn from them. We know we’re making them and the guys are getting frustrated, but I hope we learn from them and grow from them. We’ve been able to have the ball and clear the ball all year, but we haven’t been able to put the pressure on the goaltenders we want to. It comes down to not having the skill level we’ve had in the past. We have mind lapses, like being offsides, not being aware of our surroundings. Little things add up. Overall, I’m happy we can run with teams like (South Portland), we just can’t score with teams like that.”

On to May

Scarborough returns home next week to take on Bonny Eagle Wednesday before hosting Cape Elizabeth Saturday.

“At this point, we really hope to get into the playoffs,” Barrett said. “It would be a good experience for the younger guys. There are games we have to win to make that happen, Portland, Massabesic, Bonny Eagle. We hope we can pull one out against Gorham.”

South Portland remains home Wednesday to battle Deering. The Red Riots then visit two-time reigning Class C champion Waynflete Saturday.

“We have to keep conditioning and be ready for every team,” said O’Donnell. “We’re going to get the best game out of everybody because we’re a good team now.”

“Faceoffs and clearing area big areas where we can get better and we have to get some guys healthy,” Hanley said. “We have to continue to work on moving the ball with pace and playing unselfish lacrosse. When we do that, we’re a dangerous team.

“We’re viewed as a top team in the state and we know we’re going to get everyone’s best game. That’s an adjustment for the group from two years ago that was the underdog every game. We’re learning to focus on us more than just focusing on the opponent.”