Cheverus goalkeeper Katie Boynton cradles the ball on the ground next to a prone Thornton Academy attacker during the Stags’ 2-0 home win Friday. 

Cheverus goalie Kat Kane and teammate Anna Smith celebrate after one of the Stags’ eight goals in last week’s 8-0 home win over Portland.

(Ed. Note: For the complete Cheverus-Thornton Academy girls’ soccer and Cheverus-Portland field hockey game stories, with additional photos, see theforecaster.net)

The temperature continues to drop and the days get ever shorter, but the fun is just beginning if you’re a high school sports fan as the fall season is just heating up. 

Here’s a look at where things stand as September gives way to October:

Boys’ soccer

Deering’s boys’ soccer team made it six straight victories last Tuesday, winning, 2-0, at Bonny Eagle, then played visiting preseason favorite Gorham even for 90 minutes before settling for a scoreless draw. Pedro Lusogandio and Iessa Ramadan had the goals in the victory. The Rams (6-0-1 and third behind Thornton Academy and Falmouth in the Class A South Heal Points standings at press time) were at Windham Tuesday, visit Noble Friday and play host to Marshwood Tuesday of next week.

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Portland beat host Massabesic, 4-1, then rallied to tie visiting Westbrook, 3-3, last week. Peter Gribizis had two goals, while Wes Bryan and Quinn Clarke both had one in the victory. The Bulldogs rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 against the Blue Blazes. Clarke scored the first goal, while Manny Yugu and Alex Frank struck late (Frank on a penalty kick to tie it in the final minute). Portland (5-1-1 and fifth in Class A South) was at South Portland Tuesday (see theforecaster.net for game story), hosts Scarborough Friday and is home with Bonny Eagle Tuesday of next week.

Cheverus went 2-1 last week, sandwiching wins at Windham (4-1) and at home over Biddeford (3-0) around a 2-0 setback at Thornton Academy. Luc Dionne, Nolan Doherty, James Shimansky and Chris St. John all scored against the Eagles. Shimansky, Owen Burke and Michael Nason had the goals in the win over the Tigers. The Stags (4-4 and 12th in Class A South) hosted Scarborough Tuesday (see theforecaster.net for game story), visit Bonny Eagle Thursday and welcome Gorham Tuesday of next week.

Defending Class C South champion Waynflete dropped its second game in a row last Thursday, falling, 1-0, at home to rival North Yarmouth Academy. The Flyers (3-2-1 and ninth in the Heals) were home with two-time defending Class B champion Yarmouth Tuesday, visit St. Dom’s Thursday, play at Freeport Saturday and travel to Traip Academy Tuesday of next week.

Girls’ soccer

Cheverus’ girls’ soccer squad continues to surge. Last week, the Stags extended their unbeaten streak to six by tying visiting Windham, 3-3, and blanking visiting Thornton Academy, 2-0, to improve to 5-1-1, their best start in five years. Emma Gallant, Katie Gordon and Emily Turner scored against the Eagles, but Cheverus let a 3-1 second half lead slip away. Cheverus did hold on against the Golden Trojans, as Lauren Jordan scored early and Gordon iced it with a late tally.

“The (Windham) game was a setback because we could have beaten them, but we didn’t get the result we wanted,” Gordon said. “Today, we came out with a lot of fire for sure. We weren’t going to walk off the field without a win.” 

The Stags (second behind Gorham in the Class A South Heal Points standings at press time) have a pivotal showdown at Scarborough Wednesday (see theforecaster.net for game story), then host Bonny Eagle Friday.

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“I’m not surprised we’re playing this well,” Jordan said. “I look forward to all the games. I haven’t played in high school so they’re all the same to me.” 

“I want the girls to get to the next level,” Cheverus coach Craig Roberts said. “We need to play an entire 80 minutes and we haven’t done that yet. All the teams we have left are tough. We can’t have letdowns. We could win the rest of our games, or lose the rest of our games. We can’t get too high or too low.”

Portland improved to 4-1-2 and sixth in Class A South after wins last week over visiting Massabesic (6-0) and Westbrook (3-0). Against the Mustangs, Kate Johnson scored three times, while Inez Braceras, Morgan Kierstead and Annika More had one apiece. Johnson, More and Gracie Lagrange all scored in the victory over the Blue Blazes. The Bulldogs host South Portland Wednesday (see theforecaster.net for game story) and have a key test at Scarborough Saturday.

Deering has dropped three in a row and fell to 3-4 after losing to visiting Bonny Eagle (2-1) and at Gorham (3-0) last week. Mia Sargent scored against the Scots. The Rams (12th in Class A South) are home with Windham Wednesday and host Noble Friday.

Maine Girls’ Academy gave new coach Dillon Bates his first win, 6-1, at Biddeford, then lost at Scarborough, 5-0, and settled for a 1-1 tie at home versus South Portland. Catherine Reid and had two goals and three assists against the Tigers, while Serena Mower added two goals and Zoe Mazur and Claire Reid had one apiece. Catherine Reid had the goal and goalkeeper Carly Beaulieu made nine saves in the tie.

“It’s pretty hard to express the importance of getting our first win in over two years,” Bates said. “There is a new energy around the team and even in the school community. I think that has us fired up and hungry to compete for more. I have the smallest school in Class A and the smallest team, just 16 girls, but there is no group I would rather take the field with. We have started to jell a bit as a team, and we go out and play hard every single game. It’s a blast.”

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The Lions (1-5-1 and 15th in Class A South) go to Massabesic Wednesday, visit Windham Saturday and return home Tuesday of next week to battle Noble.

“The benefit of coming from where we were (0-14 in 2015) is that we go into every game as the underdog,” Bates said. “We’re getting used to playing from that spot. We have a lot of work to do, without a doubt, but if we can continue to improve every day and continue to work hard, we’ll have a season we can be proud of.”

Defending Class C South champion Waynflete was 4-2 and sixth in the Heals at press time after 2-1 wins at St. Dom’s and at home over Fryeburg Academy last week. Amelia Bertaska scored both goals against the Saints. In the win over the Raiders, Ava Farrar sent the game to overtime with a second half goal and Bertaska scored there to win it. The Flyers were home with Old Orchard Beach Tuesday, host St. Dom’s Thursday, welcome Freeport Saturday and play host to Traip Academy Tuesday of next week.

Field hockey

Cheverus’ field hockey team went 2-1 last week, prevailing at Noble (5-1) and at home against Portland (8-0) and losing at powerhouse Marshwood (4-0). Against the Knights, Hannah Abbott had a hat trick, while Bella Booth and Sophia Pompeo both rattled the cage once. Pompeo and Caroline Ford then each produced three goals in the win over the Bulldogs, while Abbott and Booth both had one goal.

“I’ve never scored three goals in a game and before this season, I”d never scored one,” Ford said. “I cleared my head and got my stick on the ball. The past few games, I had trouble with that. I was on my way to a hat trick and wanted to get it. I was thrilled.”

“We just focus on moving forward,” Pompeo said. “We talk about what we need to work on and the next game we do what we worked on in practice. It’s awesome when that works out.”

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“It was a good game for us,” added Stags first-year coach Sally Cloutier. “Things just worked and flowed well. We’ve been working on finishing in the circle and we did that today. I’m proud of the girls. They were excited and came to win. Portland’s always a big game for us.” 

After welcoming undefeated Massabesic Tuesday, Cheverus (6-3 and ranked sixth in the Class A South Heal Points standings at press time), goes to Deering Thursday, hosts Gorham Monday and Bonny Eagle Wednesday of next week, then closes the regular season at Biddeford Oct. 7.

Deering fell to 1-8 last week with losses at Massabesic (9-0), at home to Noble (4-1) and at Gorham. The Rams (13th in Class A South) hosted Marshwood Tuesday, welcome Cheverus Thursday, then play at Biddeford and Bonny Eagle and at home versus Windham to conclude the season.

Portland dropped to 2-7 after losses last week at home to Bonny Eagle (3-2), at Cheverus (8-0) and at home to Windham (2-1). Jenni Nguyen and Nettie Walsh scored against the Scots. Sophia Nolan scored in the loss to the Eagles.

The Bulldogs (14th in Class A South) welcome Thornton Academy Thursday and play at Westbrook Monday. A home game versus Scarborough is followed by trips to South Portland and Sanford to close the year.

“We need to probably win four of five and hope for some help along the way,” Portland coach Beth Arsenault said. “We didn’t have any illusions that it would be a year of anything other than what it is, rebuilding. It would be great to make the playoffs and it would be good to get a couple more wins under our belt. We only have three seniors, so we’ll return a lot of kids and we want to leave the season on a good note.” 

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The Maine Girls’ Academy/Waynflete co-op team lost at Poland (10-0), at home to Traip Academy (4-0) and at Traip (4-0) to fall to 0-6. The Flying Lions (14th in Class B South) were home against Wells Monday, visit Sacopee Valley Wednesday, travel to Wells Thursday, host Old Orchard Beach Friday and go to North Yarmouth Academy Tuesday of next week.

Volleyball

Deering’s volleyball team’s win streak hit five last week with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-8) home victory over Cheverus, but last Thursday, the Rams fell to 5-2 after a 3-1 (21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 18-25) loss at South Portland. Deering (12th in the Class A Heal Points standings at press time) was home with defending Class A champion Scarborough Tuesday, hosts Kennebunk Thursday and goes to Marshwood Tuesday of next week.

Cheverus dropped a 3-0 (17-25, 15-25, 8-25) decision at Deering, then improved to 3-4 with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-6) home win over Marshwood. The Stags (eighth in Class A) hosted Portland Monday, visit Lake Region Wednesday and go to Brunswick Tuesday of next week.

Portland has been very competitive this fall, but hasn’t had the wins to show for it. Last week, the Bulldogs fell to 2-5 after losing, 3-1 (16-25, 11-25, 25-20, 20-25), at home to South Portland and 3-2 (19-25, 25-23, 25-21, 9-25, 5-15) at home against Windham. Portland (19th in Class A) was at Cheverus Monday, hosts Marshwood Thursday and goes to Kennebunk Tuesday of next week.

Cross country

Deering’s boys’ cross country team continued its dominant season last weekend by coming in first at a four-team meet at Biddeford. Alex Troxell was second individually in 17 minutes, 22 seconds. The Rams girls were third behind Biddeford and Windham. Nicole Whipkey was second individually in 20:37.

Cheverus joined Gorham and Massabesic at Thornton Academy. The boys’ team was second to the hosts as Steve Larkin finished third individually (18:02). The girls placed third behind Gorham and Thornton Academy. Ashley Turner came in fourth in 21:40.

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Maine Girls’ Academy ran with Noble and Scarborough at South Portland and the Lions placed fourth. Sanni Hackett was 13th in 21:29. 

Portland joined Bonny Eagle and Marshwood at Westbrook. The boys finished third as a team behind the Blue Blazes and Scots, but Joe Harrington had the second-best individual time (16:29.17). The Bulldogs girls finished fourth and were led by Raven Bradenday, who was 14th in 22:27.13.

Waynflete took part in a four-team meet in Wells. The Flyers boys were second to the hosts as Henry Spritz finished second in 17:46. Waynflete’s girls’ team was also second to Wells and produced the top individual in Abby Pipkin (21:33).

Next up is the Festival of Champions Saturday in Belfast.

Golf

Cheverus’ golf team continues to lead the way locally. The Stags defeated Scarborough, 7.5-5.5, then lost for the second time this season to Falmouth, 9-4, to fall to 6-2. Cheverus was at South Portland Tuesday, then wraps up the season Thursday at Deering.

Portland evened its mark at 4-4 with wins last week over South Portland (9-4) and Deering (10.5-2.5). The Bulldogs hosted Falmouth Tuesday and welcome Scarborough in the finale Thursday.

Deering fell to 0-8 after losses last week to Falmouth (13-0) and Portland (10.5-2.5). The Rams were at Scarborough Tuesday and closes at home versus Cheverus Thursday.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports


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