(Ed. Note: For the complete Deering-Portland boys’ soccer and Deering-Portland girls’ soccer game stories, please visit theforecaster.net)

The first full week of the fall sports season is now behind us and not surprisingly, local athletes have made have strong initial statements.

Here’s a glimpse:

Boys’ soccer

Cheverus’ boys’ soccer team entered the week undefeated. The Stags, who opened with a 3-1 home victory over Sanford, improved to 3-0 last week by downing visiting Biddeford (7-0) and host Bonny Eagle (3-0). In the win over the Tigers, Nate Smith and Isaac Yeboah both finished with two goals, while Jake Dixon, MacKenzie Hoglund and Elijah Yeboah all scored once. Against the Scots, Jamie Biegel, Colin Grove and Elijah Yeboah had the goals. Cheverus hosted Noble Tuesday, goes to Scarborough Saturday and returns home next Tuesday to face defending Class A champion Windham.

Portland lost in its opener, 3-0, at home to Noble last Tuesday. Thursday, the Bulldogs went to Deering and got in the win column. Senior Tim Rovnak proved to be the best player on the field, pouncing on a Rams’ mistake and finishing for a first half goal, then icing the contest with a header off a corner kick in the 72nd minute to give Portland a 2-0 victory, allowing the Bulldogs to balance their record at 1-1.

“It doesn’t get much better,” said Rovnak. “Two great teams. It’s bragging rights. You have to love it. This gives us a lot of confidence going forward.”

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“The boys came out ready to play,” said Portland coach Rocky Frenzilli. “It’s always a great rivalry. I’m really happy for the boys. They stuck together and played really, really well. The kids are young and growing. I’m just happy they had an opportunity to play in an atmosphere like this and get a win. They deserved it. It makes for a nice Friday practice after a Thursday night like this.”

The Bulldogs hosted Scarborough Tuesday, go to Gorham Thursday and visit Biddeford Tuesday of next week.

Deering fell to 0-1-1 with the loss.

“While it’s disappointing, it wasn’t any surprise how (Portland) played,” Rams coach Joel Costigan said. “We planned appropriately. We can still use this as momentum and motivation. Our struggles continue to be balls in the box and scoring goals. We see our potential, which is the frustrating part. We know we can go deep in the playoffs. It’s our year to make what we will of it.”

The Rams returned to the field Monday against dangerous Gorham. Thursday brings a trip to Noble. Tuesday of next week, Deering visits South Portland.

Waynflete returned to the field Monday against visiting Wells after a 10-day break. The Flyers won their opener, 7-0, at Wells on Aug. 31. Waynflete visits rival North Yarmouth Academy Thursday. The Flyers welcome Freeport Saturday and go to Sacopee Tuesday of next week.

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Girls’ soccer

Deering’s girls’ soccer team might be on the verge of doing something special this season. After reaching the Western A quarterfinals, where they lost on penalty kicks, a year ago, the Rams opened with a 2-0 home win over Massabesic and a 4-0 home triumph over Westbrook (Alexis Elowitch, Simone Lauture, Edie Pallozzi and Cole Spike) scored. Last Thursday, Deering welcomed rival Portland and fell behind early. The Rams were still down with just over 17 minutes to play before Elowitch headed home a corner kick from Samantha Sivovlos to tie the score. Elowitch then set up Spike for the go-ahead goal and fed Meaghan Wells for an insurance tally as Deering prevailed, 3-1.

“I was a little bit nervous, but we had to want it more,” Spike said. “I think it showed in the second half. Alexis had a nice finish to pave the way. We knocked a few more in. I’m ecstatic. I think it was heart and determination to prove ourselves. We know what we’re capable of. The past couple years, we’ve had a really good team, but we weren’t always able to stay in the game. If we have that mental capacity, I think this will be the year we can execute.”

“We have a lot of history with Portland,” said Elowitch. “It’s always a close game. No matter how good the other team is, you have to win the city. No matter how a game’s going, you can’t let up. We had to fight, keep playing our game and finish strong and I think we did that today.”

“It came down to our adjustments at halftime,” Deering coach Kevin Olson added. “We had to keep our composure and talk. The girls had to adjust. They executed better. They stayed more composed and possessed better. There’s no panic with this group. We know what we’re capable of. I learned what we’re made of. (The girls) showed me they don’t stop playing and they play with heart. They wanted it.”

The Rams have a big test at Gorham Wednesday and host Noble Friday.

Portland, which snapped an 18-game winless streak with a 4-1 victory at Noble the day before (Ashley Frank, Chessa Hoekstra, Monica Reno and Oriana Smith scored), went up, 1-0, at Deering on an early goal from Sophie Hulbert, but couldn’t hold on.

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“We had a gameplan and we stuck with it,” said first-year Portland coach Arthur Mosen. “It worked for 65 minutes or so. It’s definitely something to build on. Not many people expected we’d give Deering that big of a test today. It’s fair to say things are going in the right direction. The girls have a lot to prove this season. A lot are new. Everybody’s really sticking together to make sure we reach our goal of a playoff spot. We hope to get there at the end.”

The Bulldogs return to the pitch Friday when they go to two-time reigning Western A champion Scarborough. Saturday, Portland is home with Gorham. Tuesday, the Bulldogs host Biddeford.

Cheverus has enjoyed great success in the early going. After a 6-0 win at McAuley to start the season, the Stags rolled at Biddeford (8-2) and at home versus Bonny Eagle (7-2). Abby Maker had four goals in each win. Abby Goodrich and Sadie Lyons added two goals each against the Tigers. Darby Rawcliffe had two scores and Danielle Kane one in the win over the Scots. Cheverus looked to stay unbeaten Wednesday at Noble. The schedule then gets daunting as two-time defending Western A champion Scarborough pays a visit Friday and the Stags go to preseason favorite Windham Tuesday.

McAuley is still looking for its first win. The Lions dropped to 0-2 Thursday after a 7-2 home loss to Sanford. Delaney Regan and Ayla Tartre had goals. McAuley went to Windham Monday, plays at Thornton Academy Friday and welcomes South Portland Tuesday of next week.

Waynflete (1-0), which last played Aug. 31, returned to action Tuesday at home versus Poland. Thursday, the Flyers welcome NYA. Saturday, Waynflete is at Freeport. Tuesday of next week, the Flyers visit Sacopee.

Field hockey

Cheverus’ field hockey team has been so dominant in its first four outings it has yet to surrender a goal. After opening with home wins over Thornton Academy (4-0) and Deering (5-0), the Stags won at Windham (2-0) and blanked visiting Biddeford (3-0) last week. Against the Eagles, Staci Swallow had both goals. It took the offense awhile to get going versus the Tigers, but on the 11th penalty corner of the first half, Swallow tipped home a shot to make it 1-0. Alex Logan and Emily Rodrigue added second half tallies.

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Stags coach Amy McMullin knows the team still has work to do.

“I was happy with the effort, but I thought by now, we’d have it figured out a little bit more,” she said. “We are making progress. I hate to rely on being a second half team. We’re overthinking it and making the game more complex than it is. We’ll focus on getting more scorers.”

Cheverus was home with Bonny Eagle Tuesday, visits Massabesic Thursday, Portland Friday and reigning regional champion Marshwood Monday. If that stretch isn’t challenging enough, the Stags are back home next Wednesday versus Scarborough.

“We have a tough stretch, so I’m hoping we can figure it out quickly,” said McMullin.

Deering fell to 1-2 with a 1-0 loss at Biddeford last Wednesday. The Rams were home with Kennebunk Tuesday, visit McAuley Thursday and welcome Sanford Saturday.

The Lions fell to 0-4 after losses last week to visiting Marshwood (11-0) and at Thornton Academy (13-0). McAuley hosted Windham Tuesday, welcomes Deering Thursday and Noble Saturday. Monday brings a trip to Sanford.

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After reaching the regional final in 2011, Portland has started slowly this fall, dropping to 0-3 last week with a 2-0 loss at South Portland. In that one, the Bulldogs had their share of opportunities, but couldn’t finish.

“I wish we brought out the effort we had against Marshwood, because we probably would have won,” said Portland coach Beth Arsenault. “The difference in this game was that South Portland was confident and we’re not. We’re just not sure of ourselves and we haven’t played a game yet with a full team. We’ll get there. It’s a tough start. We know what we can do. Once the younger kids get some confidence behind them and play the way they’re capable of as far as taking some chances on the field, we’ll see a different outcome.”

The Bulldogs were at Scarborough Tuesday, visit Gorham Thursday and play host to Cheverus Friday.

Waynflete returned to action Monday at Sacopee after a 10-day break. The Flyers (1-1) welcome Yarmouth Wednesday and NYA Friday. Tuesday, Waynflete goes to Gray-New Gloucester.

Cross country

The cross country regular season began Friday.

Cheverus joined Sanford at Gorham. The three-time defending Class A state champion girls’ team was first and the boys tied for first. Brady Foshay won the boys’ meet (18 minutes, 18 seconds). Kiera Murray was first in the girls’ competition (19:50).

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Deering was at Kennebunk, with Marshwood and Westbrook. Both teams came in second.

McAuley hosted Biddeford and Windham and came in second. Adele Werner placed sixth individually (22:36).

Portland (along with Noble and Thornton Academy) went to Bonny Eagle. The boys were a close second to the Golden Trojans as Ben Allen came in first individually. The girls were third behind the Scots and Golden Trojans. Abby Popenoe was eighth individually (23:03).

This Friday, Cheverus (along with Biddeford and Noble) goes to Westbrook, Deering joins Massabesic and Windham at Thornton Academy, McAuley (with Bonny Eagle) goes to Sanford, Portland (with Scarborough) runs at Marshwood and Waynflete returns to action at Wells (with Greely, Sacopee and Traip).

Golf

The Portland golf team surprisingly had the best record in the city as the week began. The Bulldogs, who fell to Cheverus in the opener, 10.5-2.5, bounced back with decisive wins at South Portland (11-2) and Deering (8.5-3.5). After hosting defending Class A champion Falmouth Monday, Portland welcomes Scarborough Wednesday and goes to Cheverus Monday.

The Stags fell to 1-1 after a 9-4 home loss to Falmouth. Cheverus was at South Portland Monday, visits Deering Wednesday and hosts Portland Monday.

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Deering won its opener against South Portland, then lost to visiting Cheverus, 8.5-3.5. The Rams were at Scarborough Monday, host Cheverus Wednesday and South Portland Thursday.

Waynflete begins its season Wednesday at Freeport. Thursday, the Flyers go to Yarmouth. They host Fryeburg Tuesday.

Volleyball

Cheverus’ first year volleyball program lost to visiting Falmouth, 3-0, in its initial match last week, then got in the win column for the first time, 3-1, at North Yarmouth Academy last Thursday. After playing at Scarborough, a state finalist last fall, on Monday, the Stags visit Cony Wednesday and Falmouth Friday.

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

Sidebar Elements


Portland senior goalkeeper Mishale Nabi dives to rob Deering junior Edie Pallozzi during the second half of the teams’ game last week. The Rams rallied for a 3-1 win.

Portland senior Ibrahim Dahir boots the ball away from Deering freshman Christian Castaneda during last week’s contest. The Bulldogs won, 2-0.


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