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SCARBOROUGH—Deering’s sixth-ranked boys’ soccer team did everything an underdog is supposed to do in the first half of Tuesday evening’s Class A South quarterfinal against third-seeded Scarborough at the Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex.
The Rams controlled possession, had set piece opportunity after set piece opportunity and had the Red Storm on their heels, but instead of being rewarded, in the blink of an eye, Deering faced a halftime deficit.
And the Rams, the reigning regional champions, couldn’t answer.
After Deering went 0-for-8 on first half corner kicks, with just 3:07 to go before halftime, Scarborough transitioned as only it can and junior Khalil Ghosheh sent the ball across to junior Denver Bachman, whose shot was finished in front of the goal by senior Matthew Booth for a 1-0 advantage.
The Rams didn’t have anywhere near as much possession and chances were few in the second half and with 23:20 to go in regulation, Bachman set up junior Finn Coburn for some insurance and the Red Storm went on to a 2-0 victory.
Scarborough, which couldn’t escape the quarterfinal round a year ago, improved to 13-1-1, ended Deering’s regional title reign and its season at 8-7-1 and in the process, advanced to the semifinals, either at No. 2 Falmouth (11-2-1) or at home versus Biddeford (10-5) Friday or Saturday.
“Deering’s a good team,” said longtime Red Storm coach Mark Diaz. “They have a lot of talent. I thought they played really well today, so this is a big win for us.”
Changing of the guard?
A year ago, Deering found the postseason magic and got all the way to the state game for the first time before losing in overtime in Lewiston.
This fall, the Rams weren’t as fortunate, going just 7-6-1 in the regular season, good for the No. 6 seed, before surviving No. 11 Marshwood in overtime (1-0) in Saturday’s preliminary round.
Scarborough, meanwhile, was knocked out of the playoffs by Portland in the quarterfinals a year ago, but has returned to form this season, losing only at Falmouth and tying Portland while winning its other 11 games. The Red Storm had a bye into the quarterfinals.
Tuesday, on a chilly (50-degree) evening, Scarborough had to fight off Deering’s myriad chances in the first half before getting the jump.
Scarborough nearly scored first in the fourth minute, but an apparent goal by Bachman was waved off due to an offsides call.
After senior Ibrahim Jabril missed just high, the Rams went on the attack and midway through the half and earned four straight corner kicks, but had nothing to show for them.
With 11:10 left in the half, senior captain Ethan Fisher fired a rocket from 30-yards out that was saved by Red Storm senior goalkeeper Seamus Corry.
Deering had other corner kick chances as well, but couldn’t convert and then, with 3:07 on the clock, Ghosheh crossed the ball over to Bachman, who made a nice move around a defender and with junior goalkeeper Jack Borland coming out to challenge, Bachman sent the ball past him.
It might have gone in regardless, but Booth was there to finish for a 1-0 lead.
“I can give all the credit to the defense,” Bachman said. “They cleared everything and got the ball up to me and made the chance happen. Khalil crossed it in, I spun my guy and I put it in a dangerous area and Booth was there. I was shooting, but I’m glad he was there. That was huge to go into halftime with the lead.”
“We just want to wait for opportunities,” Diaz said. “I like how we were patient tonight. That goal was huge. It calmed us down a little bit. We started to play a little more relaxed. We hurried a little bit tonight, which I expected. There were nerves and there’s some young guys.”
Despite a 4-1 edge in shots and an 8-0 advantage on corner kicks, Deering was behind at the break.
“That’s been our story,” lamented Rams coach Joel Costigan. “Our guys played phenomenally well, but scoring continues to be a drought for us. Diaz commented on our play and that means a lot, but we had to score.”
Deering hoped to answer in the second half, but it wasn’t to be.
The Rams got one more corner kick three minutes into the second half and Sargent sent the ball to junior Antonio Soriano Lujan, but his shot went wide.
After Corry came out to catch a long free kick from Sargent with senior Augusto Daniel bearing down, the Red Storm went on the attack and were eventually rewarded with an insurance goal.
After Ghosheh missed just wide, sophomore Connor Casey crossed the ball to Bachman, who headed it just wide.
Then, with 23:20 remaining, Scarborough earned a free kick and Bachman served the ball in from about 40-yards away and Coburn ran on to it and sent it past Borland for a 2-0 advantage.
“I saw the goalie kind of creeping out,” said Coburn. “(Denver) played a beautiful ball into the 6-yard area. The keeper went for it and I tried to skim it over him and it worked out pretty well.”
“We talked at halftime and (Finn) told me to put it near post and he was there,” Bachman said.
“Once we settled down, we played really well,” added Diaz. “That goal was really nice. You hope you get one of those. It worked out for us tonight.”
Deering found itself very much on the ropes.
“I think it was just cleaning up stuff in the back and on set pieces,” Costigan said. “It’s the same problem we’ve had all season. It’s about limiting mistakes in big moments.”
After Bachman missed just wide in a bid to end all doubt, senior Luke Newell broke up a potential Bachman breakaway.
The Rams had a couple chances to get back in the game, but off a cross from Fisher, junior Cristiano Afonso’s header was saved by Corry and with 14:24, off another nice Fisher cross, Afonso’s shot was denied.
With 3:14 left, Corry saved a shot from Sargent and Scarborough was able to run out the clock from there and advance, 2-0.
Corry made three saves and the Red Storm’s defense, as usual, was excellent throughout.
“We defended really well,” Coburn said. “We marked up in the box really well. We’re gritty in the box and showed who we are as a team. We’re really good at defending and transitioning. It’s an all-around team effort.”
“We didn’t give up a ton of quality opportunities, so I’m really happy with our back line and our center-mids,” said Diaz. “They defended well against some really talented, athletic players.”
Not this year
Deering, which had a 6-3 edge in shots on frame, got one save from Borland and took nine corner kicks to Scarborough’s one, never could find the scoring magic to go on a run like it did so memorably a year ago.
“We controlled possession and had more scoring opportunities in the first half, but Scarborough played excellent defense,” Costigan said. “I’m super-proud of the guys tonight. It was wax and wane. It’s been a project since the summer. The coaches and captains spoke at the end of the game and told everyone to keep their heads high.”
The Rams lose captains Fisher, Newell and Sargent, as well as 10 other seniors, who played a huge role in leading the program to unmatched heights.
“Peter and Ethan have been here four years and they’ve been the heart of our team,” said Costigan. “They’ll be hard to replace.”
Deering will have plenty of talent back, however, and look for the 2025 Rams to make another run this time next year.
“We have some eager young players and we’ll just look for the underclassmen to come back next year and focus from the get-go and make sure we leave everything on the field,” Costigan said.
Mystery foe
The Red Storm will find out Wednesday who they will see in the semifinals when Falmouth hosts Biddeford.
Scarborough’s lone loss this year came Sept. 21 at Falmouth (3-2). Since then, the Red Storm have gone 9-0-1 and have won eight straight. Scarborough is 2-1 all-time versus the Navigators in the postseason, with a 2-1 victory in the 2022 quarterfinals the most recent. The Red Storm did not face Biddeford this fall and the teams have no playoff history.
“Last time we played (Falmouth), we played great, but they generated more offense,” Bachman said. “I think with our defense, we can hold them if we play them again.”
“This feels great and now, have to prepare,” said Coburn. “We don’t care who we play next. We’ll be ready.”
“We have to start better than we did today and I think we will,” added Diaz. “I always feel like the first (playoff game), everyone is up tight. Usually the second game, you see better quality soccer. Hopefully we can do that. This feels good, but we have a lot of more work to do. We’ll see what happens.”
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