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WATERBORO—Of course it went to overtime.
It had to.
Tuesday afternoon’s Class A South boys’ soccer final at Massabesic High School between third-ranked Scarborough and fourth-seeded Portland figured to come down to the wire.
And after a regular season of extreme parity, two playoff rounds where nothing came easily and 96 minutes of scoreless play, in the blink of an eye, the game’s first and only goal came suddenly.
And stunningly.
Neither squad could generate a good chance in the first half and in the second half, with just 7:50 to go, Bulldogs junior Pedro Bunga nearly played the hero for the second straight game, only to be robbed by Red Storm senior goalkeeper Seamus Corry.
The contest would go to a first 15-minute, “sudden victory” overtime, where again, Portland appeared to have its chance in eliminate Scarborough in extra time for the second consecutive season, but again, Corry worked his magic. diving to rob senior Isaac Rodrigues-Nkanza.
That necessitated a second extra session and after earning a corner kick, the Red Storm ended matters just 1:08 in, as junior Denver Bachman served up a perfect ball and junior EJ Herrick soared and headed it home for the biggest goal of his life, giving his team a palpitating 1-0 victory.
Scarborough won its 10th game in a row, improved to 15-1-1, ended Portland’s memorable season at 13-3-1 and in the process, advanced to the Class A state final for the fourth time in program history, where it will seek an elusive Gold Ball against Camden Hills (15-1-1) Saturday at 10 a.m., at Morse High School in Bath.
“No one picked us this year,” said longtime Red Storm coach Mark Diaz. “This group in particular is a lot of smart players who gets along well. It’s a fun group to be around. It’s as unselfish a team as we’ve had. I’ve got five or six guys with five or more goals. That’s the kind of team we have. They just want to win and they don’t care who gets the credit.”
Too close to call
Both teams had been triumphant nearly every time they’d taken the pitch this fall (see sidebar, for previous stories).
Portland, a regional finalist in 2023, opened with three straight overtime victories to set the tone and while it tied Scarborough and lost to Gorham and Windham, it was widely considered a legitimate title threat.
The Bulldogs had to go to penalty kicks to survive No. 5 Gorham in the quarterfinals, then rode a late goal from Bunga, who was playing his first game on offense, to Saturday’s 2-1 upset victory at top-ranked Windham in the semifinals.
Scarborough, which was ousted in the quarterfinals a year ago, had a record that was blemished only by a draw against Portland and a loss to Falmouth, but the Red Storm were surging going into the playoffs with seven straight victories.
Scarborough blanked No. 6 Deering, the reigning Class A South champion, in the quarterfinals, then survived No. 2 Falmouth in an epic semifinal Saturday night, 2-1, a win which wasn’t secured until Corry dove to stop a PK with 0.4 on the clock.
In the teams’ regular season meet Sept. 28 in Scarborough, junior Khalil Ghosheh scored to put the Red Storm in front, but Bulldogs junior Baptista Muanda answered just before halftime and neither squad found the net from there.
Entering play, the squads had met seven previous times in the playoffs with Scarborough holding a 4-3 lead (see sidebar, for results). The most recent encounter was last year’s 1-0 Portland victory in overtime in the Class A South quarterfinals on a goal from then-junior Paulo Joao.
“That loss to them last year made us a lot tougher,” said Diaz. “We had a lot of young guys on that team. We talked about getting better to get this point.”
Tuesday, on a pleasant early-November day (temperature at kickoff was 64 degrees), the Bulldogs and Red Storm battled into extra time again and this time, it was Scarborough that celebrated at the end.
There wasn’t much in the way of chances in the first 40 minutes.
Two minutes in, Rodrigues-Nkanza fired a shot from the side that Corry snared.
After Bachman missed wide on a free kick, Corry saved another bid from Rodrigues-Nkanza.
With 9:50 remaining, the Red Storm earned the first corner kick for either side and Bachman served a nice ball in, but it was headed away.
With 1:24 to go, Portland senior Osvaldo Silva missed wide and the contest went to the break scoreless.
The second half would be scoreless as well, but there were better opportunities.
After Corry saved a long shot from senior Felisberto Mamuisi, Scarborough managed its first shot with 34:50 to play, as Ghosheh set up Bachman, but his bid was denied by Portland senior Marco Cifuentes Robles.
After Bulldogs senior Mateta Antonio cleared a dangerous throw from Red Storm junior Carter Blanche, senior Matt Fallona missed just high off another Blanche throw.
With 24;24 to play, Portland got a great chance, as Rodrigues-Nkanza was fouled and senior captain Ronan Mas lined up a free kick from 20-yards out. Mas, who has buried numerous big kicks this fall, made solid contact, but sent the ball just high.
With 20:59 remaining, Scarborough almost struck on a corner, as Bachman found junior Finn Coburn, but Coburn headed the ball just high.
After Corry saved an Antonio shot from the side, Rodrigues-Nkanza missed high.
Then, with 7:50 on the clock, Mas had a shot blocked, but the rebound came to Bunga, who nearly scored, only to have Corry dive and make the stop.
“Seamus is obviously a really good goalie,” Bachman said. “He shows up every day. We can lean on him. He’s always there.”
Down the stretch, senior Ibrahim Jabriil missed high for Scarborough and Rodriges-Nkanza attempted a shot that went wide and it was on to overtime.
The Bulldogs earned a free kick from the side four minutes in, but Muanda’s strike was cleared.
After the Red Storm couldn’t convert on a corner kick, as Rodrigues-Nkanza cleared the ball, Portland had its best chance to end the game with 4:13 on the clock.
Off a long pass from Joao, Rodrigues-Nkanza had a great look up top, but Corry dove and made another highlight-reel, season-extending save.
“That was just reaction,” Corry said. “I knew I didn’t want to give a rebound there, so I just smothered it. I trust the guys in front of me and they trust me when they time comes. I love these guys like brothers. Our defense was incredible. I didn’t have to do much. There’s always pressure, but I have the best defense in the state and when the time comes, I know I can make the save.”
“(Seamus is) outstanding,” Herrick said. “He’s the reason we’re here.”
“(Seamus is) locked in and he’s focused,” Diaz added. “He’s become a leader. We only have one senior in the back and he’s helped settle us down and give us confidence.”
The Bulldogs couldn’t generate a shot on a late corner kick and the contest went to a second OT.
Where Scarborough was finally able to bring the game to its conclusion.
The Red Storm pressured early and when the ball bounced off a Portland defender and over the end line, Scarborough was given a corner kick.
Again, Bachman served the ball in perfectly and this time, Herrick came soaring into the picture and into destiny, heading the ball downward, where it bounced off the turf and past the hapless Cifuentes Robles and his defense into the net with 13:52 on the clock.
“I usually go to the same spot every time,” Herrick said. “I wait for my moment. I saw the ball go over the defenders and I was waiting for it. I knew it was going in. I was excited. We knew we’d get one. We just had to keep working.”
“I was just hammering it that spot and EJ was in the right place,” said Bachman. “It was a great header.”
“That was just a great ball in by Denver,” Diaz added. “It was tough to defend. There’s a lot of bodies in there. Portland has some big guys. It was tough to see what’s going on, but (EJ) got in there and finished.”
At 6:07 p.m., the Red Storm rushed the field to celebrate their 1-0 victory and the Class A South title.
“I couldn’t be happier,” said Herrick. “I’m absolutely thrilled. Losing to them last year makes it sweeter. We had a chip on our shoulders.”
“I couldn’t even think,” said Corry. “My shirt went off, arm band, gloves. It was a great moment. We’ve just banded together. It’s grit and resilience. We’ve had injuries, but guys have stepped up.”
“I saw it go in and I paused for a second to drink it in,” Bachman said. “These past two games have been unreal. It’s an amazing feeling to have. I think it really starts with our defense. They shut down a really good Portland team.”
“I’m just happy it was a good, clean goal,” added Diaz. “Win or lose, you want it to be a good goal and not a mistake. We’ll take it. The kids deserve the credit. It’s great to see the smiles on their faces.
“Some of our throw-ins, we did a decent job, but credit Portland, they did a really good handling them. We did a really good job limiting them too. When you play that many minutes and give up two good chances, that’s a good day at the office.”
Scarborough got six big saves from Corry and had a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.
Disbelief
Portland had a 6-2 advantage in shots on frame and got a save from Cifuentes Robles.
The Bulldogs had chances to extend their unforgettable season, but agony was the end result.
“You’re looking over my shoulder at obvious disappointment and who can blame them?” said longtime Portland coach Rocco Frenzilli. “The higher the climb, the harder the fall. For what these kids put into this season, to have that happen to them, you expect to see (disappointment). These kids had their sights set on the ultimate prize. Unfortunately, it just didn’t happen for them.
“We didn’t have that many chances. They got their chance, they buried it and that was it. I’ve always said dead balls will kill you and you can’t give a team as good as they are that chance and we did. It was a deep ball. They had guys flooding the area. Somebody must have found an opening and headed it down and it bounced up into the goal, Marco didn’t have a chance whatsoever.
“These kids have shown character, love, commitment, responsibility, all the attributes you want as a coach. They’ve been together all year and worked hard. There can be only one team (at the end) and unfortunately this year, it’s not us.”
Gold Ball awaits
Scarborough will travel to Bath Saturday seeking the championship.
The Red Storm’s last Gold Ball came in 2013. They lost late to Brunswick in the 2022 final and are 10-4 all-time in the big game.
Scarborough and Camden Hills (which dethroned reigning state champion in penalty kicks in the Class A North Final Tuesday) have no playoff history, but Scarborough did beat Camden-Rockport in the 1973 Class A state final (2-1, in double-overtime).
The Red Storm are ready for one final date with destiny.
“We have to stay focused,” Corry said. “This is great and after today, we’ll lock in. A lot of these players were on the team two years ago and we lost. We don’t want it to happen again. We’ll go out and have fun.”
“I think we just have to prepare and if we do that, we can compete with any team,” said Bachman.
“We’ve fought all season and we’re excited,” Herrick said. “We’ve been through so much adversity this year. We’re so mentally strong. I think we’re ready.”
“We have to play better than we did today,” added Diaz. “Offensively, we didn’t play great. We’ll work on that the rest of the week. I just want to win for these kids. We’ll miss each other, so we’re going to make this last as long as we can.”
