Deering’s Kristal Gonzalez, left, Janella Seno Ridge, Dianne Dervis, Avery Donovan, Maddy Broda and Elizabeth Sevigny celebrate a set victory in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Bonny Eagle in a Class A quarterfinal. The Rams produced their first postseason win and advanced to host South Portland in Wednesday’s semifinals.

Portland’s Zach Elowitch stretches for extra yardage during the Bulldogs’ 34-17 loss at South Portland in Saturday’s “Battle of the Bridge.” Two-time defending Class A North champion Portland will go to Oxford Hills for the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.

Cheverus goalie Kat Kane makes one of her 15 saves in last week’s 1-0 loss to Westbrook in a Class A South quarterfinal. 

(Ed. Note: For the complete Cheverus-Westbrook field hockey game story, with photos, see theforecaster.net)

While there have been some heartbreaking losses, most of the postseason action to date has produced positive results.

As October dwindles, nothing is going to get easier, but local squads are looking forward to the challenge.

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Here’s a glimpse at what you might have missed and what’s still to come:

Field hockey

Cheverus was the lone local field hockey team to qualify for the playoffs, but the Stags’ stay was painfully short.

Cheverus, the No. 3 seed in Class A South, hosted No. 6 Westbrook in the quarterfinals last Wednesday and could generate almost no offense, producing just one shot in 60 minutes. Luckily for the Stags, standout senior goalie Kat Kane made 15 saves, but the Blue Blazes did manage to score on the 14th of their 18th penalty corners and went on to a 1-0 victory.

Cheverus finished 11-4.

“This is the best team I’ve ever been on,” Kane said. “We have great coaches and my teammates are amazing. I love this team. I’m just sad it has to end.”

“There was no magic, we just didn’t play well,” said Stags coach Sally Cloutier. “It just didn’t work. (Westbrook) played a great game and defended us well. 

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Cheverus figures to be a power again in 2018, as freshman Lucia Pompeo and seniors-to-be Bella Booth and Sophia Pompeo will lead the way.

“It will be a big transition, but we’ll be alright,” Cloutier said. “We return a lot of talent. Hopefully this motivates them.”

Boys’ soccer

All four local boys’ soccer teams made the playoffs and all four were still alive heading into the quarterfinal round.

Portland earned the No. 4 seed in Class A South after finishing 10-3-1, capping the regular season with a come-from-behind, 2-1 home victory over Thornton Academy last Monday. Zekariya Shaib and Alex Millones had the Bulldogs’ goals. Portland earned a bye into the quarterfinals, where it will host No. 5 Scarborough (11-4) Wednesday. On Oct. 12, in the regular season meeting, the Red Storm won at home, 1-0. Scarborough is 4-1 all-time in the postseason against the Bulldogs, with a 4-0 win in the 2013 Western A Final the most recent.

If Portland advanced, it would go to top-ranked South Portland (13-0-1) or host No. 8 Thornton Academy (9-5-1) in this weekend’s semifinal round. The Bulldogs lost, 1-0, at home to the Red Riots Oct. 10 and beat the Golden Trojans in last week’s finale. Portland is 1-0 in the playoffs against Thornton Academy (a 2-0 win in the 2005 preliminary round) and has no postseason history with South Portland.

Cheverus earned the No. 6 seed in Class A South after closing with a 2-0 home win over Biddeford (Luc Dionne and Ian Haines had the goals). The Stags then improved to 9-5-1 Saturday with a 4-2 home win over No. 11 Bonny Eagle in a preliminary round playoff game. Dionne had two goals and Haines and Michael Nason one apiece. 

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Cheverus advanced to take on third-ranked Gorham (11-2-1), the defending regional champion, in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round. Oct. 12, the host Rams held off the Stags, 1-0. The teams have split four prior playoff meetings, with a 2-1 Cheverus victory in the 2015 Class A South quarterfinals the most recent. An upset Wednesday would either send the Stags to No. 2 Falmouth (12-2) or would set up a home showdown versus No. 7 Deering (10-4-1) in the semifinals this weekend. Cheverus lost, 1-0, at the Yachtsmen back on Sept. 5. The teams have no postseason history. The Stags beat the host Rams by a 1-0 score Sept. 28.

Deering wound up seventh in the region after closing with a 2-1 win at Marshwood (Keto Tchiputo and Bill Turahimbawe had the goals). Saturday, the Rams eliminated No. 10 Westbrook in the preliminary round of the Class A South playoffs, 3-0. One week after losing at home to the Blue Blazes, Deering took care of business, as Caleb Delano scored twice and Turahimbawe had the other goal.

The Rams advanced to meet second-ranked Falmouth in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round. The Yachtsmen won the regular season meeting on a late penalty kick, 2-1, Sept. 26 at home. The teams have no postseason history.

If Deering gets to the semifinals for the first time in three years, it will go to No. 3 Gorham or visit sixth-ranked Cheverus this weekend. Gorham has beaten Deering in seven of eight prior playoff encounters (with a 1-0 victory in the 2013 Western A quarterfinals the most recent). The Stags hold a 4-2 all-time postseason edge over the Rams, but Deering took the most recent game (2-1, 4-3 on penalty kicks, in the 2012 Western A preliminary round.

In Class C South, Waynflete finished with a 1-0 loss at York, but still garnered the No. 4 seed at 9-3-2. The Flyers host fifth-ranked Mt. Abram (10-2-2) in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round (see theforecaster.net for game story). The teams don’t play in the regular season. Waynflete captured both prior playoff encounters: 1-0 in the 2008 Western C Final and 4-0 in the 2010 Western C quarterfinals.

If the Flyers reach this weekend’s semifinals, they’ll either go to No. 1 Maranacook (13-1) or host No. 8 Carrabec (8-7). Waynflete didn’t meet either team this fall. The Flyers lost, 4-1, to the Black Bears in the 2014 Western C semifinals and are 2-0 against the Cobras in the playoffs, winning, 3-1 in the 1985 preliminary round and 1-0 (9-7 on PKs, which had to be completed over two different days due to an official’s error in implementing them) in the 2015 quarterfinal round.

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The regional finals will be Wednesday of next week on the fields of the higher remaining seeds. The Class A state final is Saturday, Nov. 4 at Hampden Academy. The Class C Final is the same day at Deering High School.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, two teams were still standing at press time.

Defending Class C South champion Waynflete finished the regular season 6-6-2 after a 5-0 home loss to York last Tuesday. The Flyers wound up fifth in the region and went to fourth-ranked St. Dom’s (7-6-1) in the quarterfinals Tuesday (see theforecaster.net for game story, weather permitting). The teams don’t meet in the regular season. They had played six previous times in the playoffs with Waynflete winning on five occasions, including a 5-0 victory two years ago in the semifinals, the most recent encounter.

If the Flyers advanced to the semifinals this weekend, they’d go to top-ranked Monmouth (13-1) or host No. 8 Maranacook (7-4-4). Waynflete doesn’t play either team in the regular season. The Flyers are 4-1 all-time against the Mustangs, with a 2-1 overtime victory in last year’s semifinals the most recent. Waynflete has no postseason history with the Black Bears.

In Class A South, Cheverus culminated its stellar 12-2 regular season with a 1-0 win at Noble last Tuesday (Emma Gallant had the goal). Despite a dozen victories, the Stags only managed to finish fifth in the region and had to host No. 12 Sanford in a preliminary round playoff game Friday. They won, 4-0, as Lauren Jordan scored twice and Gallant and Kate Sessler also tickled the twine.

Cheverus went to No. 4 Gorham (10-2-2) for the quarterfinal round Tuesday evening (see theforecaster.net for game story, weather permitting). The teams didn’t play in the regular season. The Rams held a 4-0 all-time postseason edge, but the teams hadn’t met since the 2009 Western A quarterfinals (a 1-0 Gorham victory in two overtimes).

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If Cheverus was able to move on to the semifinals for the first time since 2010, it would go to No. 1 Scarborough (13-0-1) or host No. 8 Windham (8-5-2) Friday or Saturday. The Stags lost, 3-0, at the Red Storm Oct. 3 and didn’t face the Eagles this fall. Cheverus has dropped all three prior playoff games against Scarborough (a 2-0 setback in the 2011 Western A quarterfinals is the most recent) and is 2-2 all-time against Windham (a 3-1 setback in last year’s quarterfinals is the most recent).

The regional finals will be Wednesday of next week on the fields of the higher remaining seeds. The Class A state final is Saturday, Nov. 4 at Hampden Academy. The Class C Final is the same day at Deering High School.

Deering, Maine Girls’ Academy and Portland weren’t able to qualify for the playoffs.

The Bulldogs wound up 13th in Class A South, but only 12 teams made the cut. Portland did close with a 1-0 double-overtime win at Biddeford to finish 4-7-3. Isabella More had the decisive goal.

The Rams finished 2-9-3 and 14th in the region after closing with a 3-2 setback at South Portland (Mia Sargent had both goals and Gianna Charest made 15 saves).

The Lions wound up 0-14 and 18th in Class A South after finishing with a 6-0 setback at Marshwood.

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Volleyball

Deering’s volleyball team continued to make history in recent days and found itself two wins from a first-ever state title at press time.

The Rams clinched the top seed in Class A by closing the regular season with a straight set (25-10, 25-22, 25-6) home win over Brunswick last Tuesday. Maddy Broda had 28 assists and Dianne Dervis added 11 kills. Deering earned its first-ever postseason victory and improved to 14-1 Saturday with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-18) home win over No. 9 Bonny Eagle. Broda had 26 assists and Avery Donovan finished with 13 kills.

The Rams host No. 5 South Portland (9-6) in the state semifinals Wednesday evening (see theforecaster.net for match story). Back on Sept. 12, Deering beat the visiting Red Riots in three games. The teams have no playoff history.

If the Rams reach the state final, they will play on their home court Friday at 7 p.m. against either No. 2 Scarborough (13-2) or No. 3 Biddeford (12-3). Deering opened the year with a dramatic five-set win at the Red Storm Sept. 1 and suffered its lone loss, 3-1, at home to the Tigers Oct. 10. The Rams haven’t faced either team before in the postseason.

Portland made the playoffs for the first time, closing the regular season with a straight set (25-16, 25-16, 25-18) victory over visiting Cheverus behind seven kills from Ashley Chadbourne. Saturday, the sixth-ranked Bulldogs went to Biddeford for the quarterfinals and lost in three sets (15-25, 10-25, 14-25) to end the year 8-7. Abby Krieckhaus had six kills in a losing effort.

Cheverus missed the playoffs, finishing 2-12 and 11th in Class A (only nine teams in the region qualified). The Stags closed with a 3-0 (16-25, 16-25, 18-25) loss at Portland despite 10 kills from Julia Pomerleau.

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Football

The final weekend of the football regular season didn’t result in any victories for local squads.

Portland wound up 2-6 after falling at rival South Portland in the “Battle of the Bridge,” 34-17. The Bulldogs fell behind, 13-0, before getting a 30-yard field goal from Quinn Clarke before the half. After the Red Riots went up, 20-3, Portland got a 10-yard scoring pass from Terion Moss to Nico Leavitt. South Portland made it 27-10 after three periods before Moss hooked up with Vinnie Pasquali for an 8-yard TD in the fourth quarter. That’s as close as the Bulldogs would get, as the Red Riots scored again and went on to the victory to improve to 55-44 (with seven ties) in the all-time series. 

Portland is the No. 6 seed in Class A North and will go to No. 3 Oxford Hills (4-4) for the quarterfinals Friday. In the season opener, Sept. 2, the Bulldogs lost at home to the Vikings, 20-14. Portland took the only prior playoff encounter, 55-7, in last year’s semifinal round.

Cheverus finished 3-5 and fifth in the region after closing with a 13-7 loss at Oxford Hills. The Stags played without Max Coffin, the region’s top rusher, but went ahead, 7-0, in the second quarter on Teigan Lindstedt’s 1-yard run. The Vikings tied the game by halftime, then won it on a TD pass in the fourth period. Cheverus tried to rally late, but Oxford Hills intercepted Perrin Conant’s pass in the end zone on the final play. 

Cheverus is at No. 4 Windham (4-4) in Friday’s quarterfinal round. The Stags opened the year at the Eagles and lost, 24-0, Sept. 1. The teams have played five previous times in the playoffs, including each of the past three seasons. Windham holds a 4-1 edge, including last fall’s 9-7 victory in the semifinals.

Deering finished 1-7 with a 25-22 loss at Massabesic, but still wound up with the sixth and final playoff spot in Class A South. The Rams trailed, 7-0, at halftime, but went on top, 8-7, after three quarters behind a 1-yard Jack Lynch touchdown run and a two-point conversion rush from Dru Tillman. After falling behind again, Lynch’s 2-yard TD scamper and another Tillman conversion rush made it 16-13, but the Mustangs went up, 19-16. Lynch then connected with Keegan Stanton on a 88-yard touchdown bomb for a three-point lead before Massabesic scored on a 57-yard TD pass in the waning seconds to prevail.

Deering has the daunting task of going to No. 3 Bonny Eagle (7-1), the defending regional champion, for the quarterfinals Friday. On Oct. 13, the Scots beat the host Rams, 51-0. The teams have met seven previous times in the postseason. Bonny Eagle holds a 4-3 edge by virtue of a 20-19 victory in the 2015 Class A South semifinals, the most recent meeting.

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


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