(Ed. Note: For the complete Cape Elizabeth-Falmouth and Scarborough-Noble boys’ soccer and Cape Elizabeth-Greely and South Portland-McAuley girls’ soccer game stories, please visit theforecaster.net).

As the calendar flips from summer to fall, local athletes are roughly midway through their seasons. Some trends have emerged and many questions remain as big showdowns await.

Here’s a glimpse:

Boys’ soccer

Scarborough’s boys’ soccer team, the defending Class A state champion, has returned to form, bouncing back from its surprising home loss to Portland with three straight victories by a composite score of 14-0. After winning at Marshwood, 4-0, last Tuesday, the Red Storm won at home over Sanford last Thursday, 4-0, as Wyatt Omsberg scored two goals and Sam Ware and Jerry Kenney also tickled the twine.

Tuesday, Scarborough welcomed undefeated Noble and made a quick and emphatic statement, putting it away by halftime as Sam Cekada provided the only goal the hosts would need, just over five minutes in, and before the break, Noah Stracqualursi, Jordan Luong and Austin Doody tickled the twine for a commanding 4-0 advantage. In the second half, Josh Morrissey and Sam Warren added goals and Scarborough went on to a most impressive 6-0 victory.

“It was good to see guys off the bench getting goals,” Cekada said. “Everyone played well. That was good to see.”

“I think we came out strong and had good passes,” Morrissey said. “We worked hard and were able to finish. We were pumped up to play. We all wanted to win.”

“This was big for us,” said Red Storm coach Mark Diaz. “We knew how well (Noble had) been playing. They’re worth a lot of (Heal) Points. They’ve beaten some good teams. The guys were up for it tonight. They reacted the right way. We talked about a quick start. The effort was there.”

Scarborough goes to Cheverus Saturday. After hosting Massabesic Tuesday of next week, the Red Storm (4-1 and fifth in the Western A Heal Points standings at press time) will be tested by a pair of Rams, at Gorham and at Deering.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Cekada said. “We’ll keep getting better and be a strong team going into the playoffs.”

“Cheverus will be tough,” Diaz said. “The guys know they have to bring their ‘A’ game every time.”

South Portland was eighth in Western A at press time with a 3-3 record following a 4-1 loss at Noble Saturday and a 2-1 home victory over Windham Tuesday. Andrew Whipple had the goal in the loss. Robert Graff had both goals against the Eagles. The Red Riots were at Deering Thursday and play at Biddeford Tuesday.

In Western B, Cape Elizabeth settled for a 0-0 tie at two-time defending Class B champion Falmouth last Wednesday.

“We really would have liked to put one in the net, but it’s a good result,” said Capers goalkeeper Austin Andrews. “The defense did a great job.”

“It’s not a loss,” Cape Elizabeth coach Ben Raymond said. “It’s going to be worth a bunch of points in the long run. Our goal is to keep accumulating points. It’s not as many as a win, but it’s a lot more than a loss.”

The Capers fell at home to Greely, 2-1, Saturday (Eddie Galvin had the goal), then improved to 2-1-2 (sixth in Western B) Tuesday with an 11-0 home win over Lake Region, as nine different players scored, led by Aaron Dobiesky and Gabriel Torres with two goals apiece. Cape Elizabeth goes to Yarmouth Friday, visits Kennebunk Monday and plays host to Falmouth Wednesday.

In Western D, Greater Portland Christian School was seventh in the Heals at 4-2 after recent wins over Acadia Christian (12-0) and Islesboro (5-0). Against Acadia, Ethan Spaudling scored a school-record eight goals. Spaulding added two goals against Islesboro, breaking the school’s freshman season scoring record with 13. The Lions welcome Highview Christian Friday and go to Chop Point Tuesday.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, defending Class A champion Scarborough bounced back from its surprising tie versus Biddeford with a 3-0 home win over Marshwood and a 6-0 triumph at Sanford. Against the Hawks, Katherine Kirk, Marisa Risbara and Hadlee Yescott scored. Yescott erupted for four goals and Kirk added two against the Spartans. The Red Storm (4-0-1 and second to Falmouth in the Western A Heals) was at Noble Wednesday, hosts McAuley Saturday and visits Massabesic Wednesday of next week.

South Portland was 0-5 and 18th in Western A heading into a game Wednesday at Windham after recent losses at Westbrook (2-0) and at home to McAuley (3-2). Abby Young and Sam Munson scored against the Lions. The Red Riots hosts Deering Saturday and plays at Biddeford Wednesday of next week.

Cape Elizabeth suffered its first loss last Wednesday, 2-0, to visiting three-time defending Class B champion Falmouth. The Capers bounced back, however, with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Greely in a playoff rematch Saturday. Cape Elizabeth got an early goal from Kathryn Clark.

“We didn’t get the first goal against Falmouth and we got rattled a little bit, so I thought the first goal tonight was extremely important,” Clark said. “It got us going.”

Kate Breed set up Addie Wood for a goal moments later. Greely got one back in the second half and the Capers held on down the stretch.

“This was huge,” Breed said. “We needed it. At halftime, we talked about holding on. It was hard to see them score, but it happens. We just had to defend.”

“We talked about not letting them back in the game,” first-year Cape Elizabeth coach Craig Fannan added. “For most of the second half, we looked fairly comfortable, but as the game goes on, they’ll throw bodies forward and they got the next goal to create a nervous 10 minutes at the end.”

Tuesday, the Capers improved to 4-1 and first in Western B after a 4-0 victory at Lake Region. Breed had two goals. Cape Elizabeth hosts red-hot Yarmouth Friday, welcomes Kennebunk Monday and has another shot at Falmouth Wednesday of next week, on the road.

“We want to get Falmouth back,” Breed said. “We just have practice the way we play and work really hard. We want to go far.”

In Western D, GPCS was 0-3 and seventh in the standings after Friday’s 6-5 loss to Highview Christian. The Lions host Highview Christian Friday.

Field hockey

Scarborough’s field hockey team extended its regular season win streak to 30 games and its regular season undefeated streak to 40 Tuesday at Thornton Academy, but just barely. The Red Storm, coming off a 2-0 win at Windham last Wednesday (Abby Walker and Kristen Murray had the goals) and a 5-0 home victory over Portland (Murray, Walker, Maggie Carbin, Maddy Dobecki and Rachael Wallace had the goals), trailed the Golden Trojans, 1-0, at halftime, but got the tying tally from Murray, then the winner from Wallace with 55 seconds to go. Scarborough (now 7-0 and first in the Western A Heals) was home with Westbrook Thursday (please see theforecaster.net for game story), hosts South Portland Saturday and goes to Biddeford Wednesday.

South Portland was 1-5 and 14th after a 3-0 home loss to Sanford last Wednesday and a 3-2 home loss to Windham Tuesday. Hannah Gato and Olivia Indorf had the goals against the Eagles. The Red Riots hosted Thornton Academy Thursday, visit Scarborough Saturday, play host to Noble Monday and go to Westbrook Wednesday.

In Western B, Cape Elizabeth were 5-2 and fifth in the Heals at the midway point after a 2-0 home win over Freeport and a 1-0 setback at Kennebunk. In the win, Kelsey Allan and Taylor Herrera scored. The Capers had a home test versus Yarmouth Wednesday (see theforecaster.net for game story), play at Lake Region Friday and get a shot at revenge when they host Kennebunk Tuesday.

Cross country

On the trails last weekend, Scarborough hosted a meet against Cheverus, Sanford and Westbrook. The boys came in first, as Jacob Terry (17:06.9), Jacob Bloom (17:41.9) and Sean McGovern (17:43.2) went 1-2-3. The Red Storm girls came in third behind Cheverus and Sanford. Laura Volan (fifth, 21:45.5) was the top finisher.

South Portland hosted Bonny Eagle, Deering and Massabesic. The boys were third behind the Mustangs and Rams, as Saad Zacharia (fourth, 15:10) had the best time. The girls placed third as well, behind the Scots and Mustangs. Shannon Conley was the top individual (16:50). Casey Loring was close behind in third (17:08).

Cape Elizabeth joined Fryeburg and Waynflete at North Yarmouth Academy. Both Capers squads placed first. The boys featured Liam Simpson (16:25.5) and Kyle Kennedy (16:52.1)  going 1-2. The girls were led by Sam Feenstra (third, 21:37.3).

This weekend, Cape Elizabeth joins Merriconeag and Poland at Gray-New Gloucester, Scarborough (along with Deering and Thornton Academy) runs at Marshwood and South Portland, with Gorham and Portland, competes at Sanford.

Golf

Scarborough’s golf team suffered its first loss last Wednesday, 11-2, to powerhouse Falmouth, but bounced back and improved to 5-1 Monday with a 9.5-3.5 win over Cheverus. South Portland took a 1-6 mark into a match versus Scarborough Wednesday. Friday, the Red Riots host Cheverus, the team they beat back on Sept. 11. Cape Elizabeth completed a perfect regular season with wins over Lake Region, Fryeburg and Waynflete.

Volleyball

Scarborough’s volleyball team sat third behind Falmouth and Mt. Desert Island in the Class A Heals despite a perfect record at press time. The Red Storm was coming off a 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-21) win at Biddeford last week to improve to 5-0. Scarborough was home with Lake Region Wednesday, goes to South Portland Friday, then has a showdown at Greely Tuesday.

Cape Elizabeth continues to impress with its play. The Capers made it five straight victories last week with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-16) home win over Cony, then made Falmouth sweat in a four-set loss (25-22, 21-25, 25-27, 20-25). Cape Elizabeth (5-1 and fourth in Class A) had a test at Biddeford Wednesday, plays at Thornton Academy Friday, then hosts Cheverus Thursday of next week.

South Portland fell to 0-7 and 15th after recent losses to host Gorham, 3-0 (15-25, 5-25, 24-26), visiting Biddeford, 3-0 (13-25, 11-25, 14-25), and host Cony (3-1). The Red Riots sought their first-ever varsity win Friday when they hosted Scarborough. Falmouth pays a visit Tuesday.

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