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Portland and Scarborough settle for a draw

Portland and Scarborough settle for a draw

SCARBOROUGH — If you were looking for an example of where Class A South boys soccer stands at the halfway point of the 2024 season, all you had to do was tune in to Saturday’s showdown at the Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex between the host Scarborough Red Storm and their rival, the Portland Bulldogs .

That’s because there were 90 minutes of hard-fought action, with no separation between the teams.

That’s a given this fall.

The Red Storm struck first when junior Khalil Ghosheh scored with 8:44 left in the first half, but the Bulldogs tied it in the final minute before halftime when junior captain Baptista Muanda sank a shot.

Portland had ample opportunity to claim victory in regulation time but failed to finish, and despite some great chances, Scarborough failed to score in either of the two five-minute “sudden victory” overtime periods, and the teams ultimately settled at one Happy with 1-1 draw.

Both teams are now 5-1-1 this season and the fun is just beginning.

“I absolutely think it’s a fair result,” said veteran Bulldogs coach Rocco Frenzilli, who is stuck at 299 career wins. “You want to win, but at the same time you don’t want to lose. I felt like neither team deserved to lose today. It was an even game. We went back and forth. We punched each other in the mouth and got back up.”

“It was a good game, exactly what we expected,” said longtime Red Storm coach Mark Diaz, who has 327 wins in his 26 seasons. “Two great teams, a playoff atmosphere. I’m pretty happy with our performance today. We would like to get the (healing points), but it was only the first round and we will respond to it.”

Too close to call

Portland has made a habit of playing more than 80 minutes in the early stages, outlasting visiting rival Deering 1-0 in overtime in the opening game and then beating South Portland in overtime (1-0) and in the double OT over by visiting Falmouth (2-1). The Bulldogs then took care of Bonny Eagle (7-1) and host Massabesic (8-0) in regulation time before losing to Gorham 2-1.

Scarborough, meanwhile, won their first four games, three of them away. After picking up a 2-1 win in South Portland, the Red Storm defeated host Marshwood (2-1), then beat strong visiting team Gorham (3-0) and then rolled out at Thornton Academy (8-1). . The Red Storm fell from the ranks of the undefeated with a 3-2 setback at Falmouth and got back on track with an 8-0 home win over Sanford on Wednesday.

A year ago, the Bulldogs won 3-0 in the regular season at Scarborough and then earned a 1-0 overtime win in the quarterfinals.

On Saturday, on a seasonably warm afternoon (the kickoff temperature was 70 degrees and it only got warmer from there), both teams had plenty of opportunities to claim victory, but ultimately there would be no resolution.

Portland senior Paulo Joao and Scarborough senior Matthew Booth battle for possession early in the teams’ 1-1 tie on Saturday. Hoffer photos.

The Red Storm got their first chance of the game in the first minute when Ghosheh passed a ball through the legs of a defender to senior Cooper Mallar, but Mallar’s attempt was blocked by Bulldogs senior goalkeeper Marco Cifuentes-Robles.

After senior Paulo Joao narrowly missed the goal for Portland, Scarborough got a few looks, but Bulldogs senior captain Ronan Mas blocked a shot from Mallar in the box after a loss of possession, then Ghosheh’s header went off a throw from junior Carter Blanche just past the goal.

Portland then tried to go ahead, but a Mas free kick that landed in the box was cleared. After freeing himself after a Red Storm defender slipped on the turf, senior David Mawangu was saved by Scarborough senior goalkeeper Seamus Corry.

With 20 minutes to go in the half, the Red Storm had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Ghosheh was released in the penalty area, but Cifuentes-Robles dived and made a great save with his right hand, setting up a Scarborough corner that went to goal Success led That doesn’t lead to a shot.

After junior Denver Bachman sent a free kick over the wall but missed, senior Ibrahim Jabril missed the ball high and Mallar’s shot from the run was blocked by Cifuentes-Robles.

The Bulldogs then returned to the attack, but junior Loic Ramanzani narrowly missed the goal, senior Eliezer Mambueni got a shot from Muanda and missed high, then a cross from senior Isaac Rodrigues-Nkanza landed in the box but went untouched.

Then, with 8:44 left in the first half, the Red Storm got the lead when a ball was inbounded that bounced off senior Matthew Booth to Ghosheh and this time Ghosheh was unstoppable as he ripped off a shot from Cifuentes-Robles got a goal but couldn’t stay out of the net and Scarborough took a 1-0 lead.

“It was a really nice goal,” Diaz said.

After Bachman’s free-kick attempt to double the lead was rejected, Portland pressed for an equalizer and a cross from senior Mateta Antonio set up Joao for a great delivery, but Corry parried it away from close range.

However, the Bulldogs would be rewarded in the final minute when Muanda hit the ball into the goal from a corner kick and after it was thrown back to him, Muanda dribbled in and ripped a ball with his left foot that sailed just past the far post and past a rebounding Corry into the net to make it 1-1 with just 51.9 seconds on the clock.

“In my head I knew I had to shoot,” Muanda said. “I didn’t see the goal, I just shot. I tried to get far into the corner.”

“When (Baptista) hit the ball, we had a great look at the angle,” Frenzilli said. “The only thing I thought about was that their goalkeeper might have started his dive just in time to get his hands on him, but he caught him in the side wall. It was a great boost for us.”

“They got a corner and he hit a nice left-footed shot into the side netting,” Scarborough junior Finn Coburn said. “You have to give them that. It was a beautiful shot.”

“It broke after the corner,” Diaz said. “We need to look at this and fix it.”

Scarborough had a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal in the first half and Portland took three corners while the Red Storm had two corners, but the game was even and that didn’t change in the second half, despite some good ones Opportunities for both teams.

Portland junior Bunga Pedro passes the ball while Scarborough junior Denver Bachman approaches.

Early on, senior Matt Fallona narrowly missed for the Red Storm, while Joao fired a high shot for the Bulldogs.

With 17:38 to play, Rodrigues-Nkanza got free, but his low shot was parried by Corry.

Five minutes later, Joao weaved through the defense and reached the top of the penalty area before narrowly missing.

At 10:48 minutes, Corry parried a shot from Mawangu.

With 9:41 to play, Portland had its best chance of victory when Rodrigues-Nkanza crossed the ball forward to Joao, who looked to take a look into the open goal, but his header went just wide.

In the final moments, a cross from Rodrigues-Nkanza was punched in by Corry and a long free kick from Mas was deflected and tied up by Corry. At the other end, Cifuentes-Robles saved a header from junior EJ Herrick and the clock melted away in regulation time.

In the first OT, a long-range shot from Herrick was parried by Cifuentes-Robles and after a Muanda cross was just out of Joao’s reach, Scarborough took consecutive corners in the final seconds, but a punch from Cifuentes-Robles tied the game stuck.

Then, in the second overtime, the Red Storm had multiple chances to win it.

But they came up short.

First, Cifuentes-Robles beat Herrick with a Ghosheh pass in the penalty area.

After Muanda narrowly missed the ball high for Portland, the ball was deflected to Mallar at the other end in the penalty area, but he missed high.

Scarborough then took a corner kick in the final minute, but a header from junior Finn Coburn off a serve from sophomore Connor Casey went just wide and the game ended 1-1.

“The team played really, really well, but it was tough,” Muanda said. “We wanted to win, but we couldn’t. I feel like the team was tired at the end.”

“I was very happy with how the boys played,” said Frenzilli. “They wanted a different result but I’m sure Scarborough wanted a different result too. They are very good and you have to pay if you have hiccups. We had a lot of hiccups. We have to let them earn their attention, but that’s all we can give them because they are a talented team. I’m happy with the boys’ performance. We could have easily given up after the first goal, but we fought back.”

Cifuentes-Robles made nine saves for the Bulldogs.

“Marco played great,” said Frenzilli. Both goalkeepers had a great performance and did what they had to do to keep their teams in the game.”

Scarborough finished the game with a 10-9 advantage in shots on goal, repelled eight saves from Corry and had a 6-5 advantage in corner kicks.

“It was a tough game against a tough team,” Coburn said. “It was competitive. Both teams had chances. We fought hard. Our defense was strong. I’m happy with the way we played. We were just a bit unlucky. On the last move I missed the header just wide of the goal. We’ll go ahead and get them in the next game. We hope to see them again in the playoffs and if we do, it will be another great game.”

Time to shine

Portland (third in the Class A South Heal Points standings as of press time) is at home next week, playing Sanford on Wednesday and Kennebunk on Saturday. The Bulldogs still have road tests against Windham and Deering.

“We are a strong team,” said Muanda. “I think we are improving significantly in every single game. We want to give our best for the playoffs.”

“Playoffs are going to be crazy,” Frenzilli said. “I would like to get some home cooking if we can get it, but at this point we still have half of our season left. We still have some strong teams ahead of us.”

Scarborough’s path doesn’t get any easier with unbeaten Windham visiting on Tuesday. The Red Storm (fifth in the region) then heads to Bonny Eagle on Saturday next week.

“We just have to keep working and when we get a chance we have to put it in the net,” Coburn said.

“I am proud of the conference that allows me to coach,” Diaz said. “It’s a great conference, the best in the state, and it’s not even close to this big. Every night is a fight. It’s like the (Southeastern Conference) in (college) football. Whoever comes out will deserve it.”

Sports editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at [email protected].