It may be early in the season for a big game, but that’s exactly the right term to use to describe today’s girls’ soccer game between Scarborough and Cheverus.
The two are the last two unbeaten teams in Western Class A. Scarborough is 5-0, while Cheverus is 5-0-1.
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If the winner of today’s game remains unbeaten for the rest of the regular season, it should end up with home-field advantage throughout the regional tournament.
“(Home-field advantage) is a big thing for us,” Scarborough Coach Mike Farley said. “We’d much rather play on turf because it suits our style of play. We like to play the ball faster on the ground, and turf really lends itself well to our style of play. When we go play on some of these grass fields, sometimes we don’t play as well.”
With 12 seniors on the roster, the visiting Red Storm seem to have the edge in experience, but the young Stags boast lots of talent and speed.
“They play a style of soccer that’s hard to compete with because they do such a good job of playing longer balls, really getting you under pressure and causing mistakes at the defensive end of the field,” Farley said.
“We’re ridiculously young,” Cheverus Coach Dan LaValle said. “Almost half my team are freshmen and sophomores.”
Freshmen Sadie Lyons and Abby Maker, and sophomore Hannah Noonan rotate through the two striker slots at the head of Cheverus’ 4-4-2 alignment.
The Stags’ two best players,
Darby Rawcliffe, an attacking midfielder, and Leeann Morrison, a more defensive-minded midfielder, control the middle of the field.
Graduation claimed Ashley Giddinge and Alex Kane, who played pivotal roles on a defense that allowed just eight goals last season, but midfielder Ali Thomas has moved back in the formation and has solidified the defense.
Central midfielders Cortney Hughes and Margaret Palmer, both outstanding two-way performers, are the key players in Scarborough’s veteran lineup.
Offensively, the Red Storm are led by forwards Tory Armishaw, a converted back who leads the team in scoring with six goals and two assists, and Haley Carignan, who has five goals.
DEFENDING CLASS A champion Brunswick is one of the two remaining unbeaten teams in Eastern Class B.
The Dragons, the top-ranked team in the region’s most current Heal Point standings, are 6-0, while Bangor, which is ranked third, is 5-0-1.
The two squads are in different divisions within the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference.
IN WESTERN CLASS B, York and Yarmouth are on a collision course to be unbeaten going into their Sept. 30 matchup in Yarmouth.
But each team has some tough games on its schedule before playing each other.
York, the defending state champion, was 6-0 after beating Wells 2-1 Wednesday. Before they head up I-95 to play the Clippers, the Wildcats also have games at home against Freeport and Falmouth.
Yarmouth, 5-0 going into a game at Cape Elizabeth today, has games against Fryeburg Academy and crosstown rival North Yarmouth Academy before facing York.
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:
pbetit@pressherald.com
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