South Portland sophomore Molly Walker chases down a loose ball as Scarborough junior Lucy Bogdanovich looks on during the Red Storm’s 2-0 win Monday.

South Portland’s Shannon Murphy blocks a shot during the Red Riots’ 3-0 loss at Yarmouth Tuesday.

(Ed. Note: For the complete Scarborough-Cheverus, Scarborough-Portland and South Portland-Portland girls’ soccer, Scarborough-South Portland field hockey and Scarborough-Falmouth and South Portland-Yarmouth volleyball game stories, see theforecaster.net)

The postseason is set to begin with the golf championships this weekend and other sports aren’t far behind. The short but sweet regular season is quickly slipping away and games take on more and more importance by the day.

Here’s a look at where things stand now that the calendar has flipped to October:

Boys’ soccer

Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ soccer team enjoyed a 1-0 win at Gray-New Gloucester last Thursday and Tuesday, extended its streak to four with a 2-0 home victory over York. David Hare’s late rebound goal was the difference against the Patriots. In the win over the Wildcats, Nicolai Sabbatini and Connor Thoreck both scored. The Capers (now 8-2-1 and second behind two-time defending champion Yarmouth in the Class B South Heal Points standings) have a showdown at Falmouth Friday, welcome Freeport Tuesday, then close the regular season at York Thursday of next week.

In Class A South, South Portland is peaking at the right time. The Red Riots won last week at Westbrook (4-1) and Windham (5-0) and Tuesday, captured their fifth game in succession, 2-0, at Thornton Academy. Charlie Cronin had two goals and Princiel Kuniecki and Cooper Mehlhorn each added one against the Blue Blazes. In the win over the Eagles, Khalid Suja scored twice and Cronin, Aleks Kaurin and Sadiki Stewart had one goal apiece. Cronin and Mehlhorn tickled the twine against the Golden Trojans. South Portland (7-3 and fifth in Class A South) was home with Cheverus Thursday, goes to Marshwood Saturday and hosts Massabesic Tuesday before closing at Noble on Oct. 18.

Defending Class A South champion Scarborough suffered a 2-1 loss at Portland Friday. Justin Perry scored the goal as the Red Storm have lost three games in a regular season for the first time since 2002. Scarborough bounced back Tuesday with a decisive 6-0 home victory over Westbrook, as Noah Stracqualursi had three goals, Perry added two and Eric Murray also scored. The Red Storm (6-3 and seventh in Class A South) were at Thornton Academy Thursday, host Noble Saturday and Marshwood Tuesday, then visit Massabesic Thursday of next week before closing at home versus Windham Oct. 18.

In Class D South, Greater Portland Christian School was 3-6-1 and 13th in the Heals (only 10 teams make the playoffs) following a 5-0 home loss to Seacoast Christian and a 5-2 victory at Highview Christian. Jeremiah Hammond and Ethan Spaulding both scored twice in the victory and Kade Garrison added a goal. The Lions were at A.R. Gould Thursday, host Buckfield Saturday and Chop Point next Thursday, then close at home versus Pine Tree Academy Oct. 18.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, Scarborough, as is almost always the case, is hitting its stride as the playoffs near. Last week, the Red Storm held off visiting Cheverus (3-1) and Portland (3-0) to improve to 6-1-2 and ascend to the top spot in the Class A Heal Points standings at press time.

Against the Stags, in the 150th victory of coach Mike Farley’s tenure with the program (see story), Scarborough trailed, 1-0, until 29 minutes remained, when Gaby Panagakos scored.

“Coach told us to keep calm,” Panagakos said. “We had to keep the pressure up. The ball came right to me and I just shot.”

Leah Dickman put the Red Storm ahead, converting a Panagakos corner kick with 2:18 left.

“We talked about stepping it up on offense because our defense was holding their own,” Dickman said. “We knew we had to finish. I hate overtime. It’s not fun. I’m sick of ties. I really just wanted to win.”

Lauren Sabatino added a goal in the final minute to account for the final score.

“In the second half, we put our stamp on the game,” Farley said. “We acted like we wanted it. We went out and played with passion.”

The win over the Bulldogs came more easily, as Dickman scored in the 17th minute and Josie Couture added a beautiful left-footed blast in the 35th for a 2-0 halftime lead. Panagakos then scored in the second half and Scarborough prevailed 3-0.

“I think it was one of our better efforts,” Couture said. “We worked really well the entire game, not just the second half. They had the same record as we did, so we knew we couldn’t take them lightly.”

“I think that was the most complete 80 minutes we’ve had offensively,” said Farley. “If we play like that for 80 minutes, we’ll be tough to beat. I think Portland saw our best game. For whatever reason, today was the day we turned it on.”

The Red Storm were at Westbrook Wednesday, host Thornton Academy Saturday and play at Marshwood Tuesday. Scarborough then closes with a home game versus Marshwood Oct. 15 and a trip to Windham three days later.

South Portland dropped a 2-1 decision at Portland last week, then downed visiting Westbrook, 3-0, to improve to 3-5-1 and 14th in Class A South (where only 12 teams qualify for the playoffs).

Against the Bulldogs, Callie O’Brien scored late, but it wasn’t enough.

“I thought it was back and forth the whole way,” Red Riots coach Jeff Selser said. “Portland’s a strong team, but I’m really proud of how beautifully my team played. I thought we had more chances. We were evenly matched. Our record doesn’t show how good a team we are. We played a lot of tough teams early. We’re coming on strong and we’ve worked on fixing what’s let us down. I think we’re showing we’re more competitive than we’ve been.”

In the win, Sophie Chase, Meghan Graff and Emma Jones had the goals. 

South Portland was home with Thornton Academy Wednesday, goes to Cheverus Friday (see theforecaster.net for game story) and travels to Massabesic Wednesday of next week. Home games versus Windham Oct. 15 and Noble Oct. 18 close the regular season slate.

In Class B South, Cape Elizabeth held off visiting Gray-New Gloucester, 3-2, last Thursday, then settled for a 1-1 draw at York Tuesday. In the win, Karli Chapin had a goal and Prezli Piscopo scored twice, including the winner with five minutes to play. Mariah Deschino had the goal against the Wildcats. The Capers (5-4-1 and fourth in Class B South) host Falmouth Saturday night (see theforecaster.net for game story), go to Freeport Tuesday, welcome York Thursday, then close the regular season Oct. 18 at Gray-New Gloucester.

In Class D South, GPCS fell to 1-8-1 and 10th (seven teams make the playoffs) following an 11-1 loss to Searsport and a 3-1 loss to Highview Christian. Natalie Smith scored against Highview. The Lions were home with Vinalhaven Thursday, play host to Buckfield Saturday and close at home versus Pine Tree Academy Oct. 18.

Field hockey

Scarborough’s field hockey team’s win streak hit nine after recent victories over visiting Biddeford (3-0) and host South Portland (2-0). Against the Tigers, Kristen Levesque, Lucy Malia and Lauren Topchik all scored. An early defensive save from Lucy Bogdanovich bailed out the Red Storm against the Red Riots and Sydney Rusak and Ashley Levesque scored second half goals to extend the streak.

“We had a tough time getting our energy up, but Coach gave us a talk at the half and that got us going,” Rusak said. 

“We have to keep focusing in practice and do the little things,” said Bogdanovich. “It comes down to the little things, because every team is good this year.”

“(The wins) don’t have to be pretty, as long as we finish,” added Scarborough coach Kerry Mariello. “Hopefully the girls know this wasn’t their best game and it’s just a one-time thing.”

Scarborough (9-2 and second to Falmouth in the Class A South Heal Points standings at press time) was at Portland Wednesday, hosts Sanford Saturday and closes the regular season at Noble Tuesday.

South Portland preceded its loss to Scarborough with a 4-1 win at Sanford. Lydia Henderson had two goals, while Lydia Grant and Amelia Papi had one apiece. Sara Axelrod, Sophia Cummings and Molly Walker all had assists.

Against the Red Storm, the Red Riots played even much of the game and had some chances, but couldn’t finish.

“We know we can hang with the big teams,” South Portland coach Leslie Dyer said. “We’re still working on our confidence and we’re cleaning up the little things, but it was exciting to be 0-0 at halftime and we had our opportunities.”  

The Red Riots (4-7 and 10th in Class A South, where 11 teams qualify for the playoffs) were at Noble Wednesday, host Portland Friday and close at home versus Massabesic Tuesday.

Cape Elizabeth’s skid hit five games with recent losses at Kennebunk (5-0), at home against two-time defending Class B champion York (6-1) and at Freeport (2-1). Katie Zajkowski had the goal against the Wildcats. Taylor Young scored in the loss to the Falcons. The Capers (4-8 and ninth in Class B South, where 10 teams qualify) were at Falmouth Thursday and close at Greely Monday (see theforecaster.net for game story).

Volleyball

Scarborough’s volleyball team is playing like the defending Class A champion it is. Last week, the Red Storm downed visiting Falmouth in four sets (25-13, 25-9, 24-26, 25-16), then made it 10 straight victories with a sweep at Cape Elizabeth (25-12, 25-17, 25-8). Against the Yachtsmen, Kacey Foerster had 13 kills and nine service points, Jordyn Cowan added nine kills and Libby Chadbourne had 18 assists.

“This was really exciting,” said Foerster. “We’re a family, so we came together when we needed to and got it done.”

“This was a good test for us,” Scarborough coach Jon Roberts said. “(Falmouth’s) an amazing defensive team. They’re definitely the best defense we’ve seen. That ball kept coming back over.”

Cowan had eight more kills against the Capers as the Red Storm improved to 10-1 and second behind Greely in the Class A Heal Points standings. Scarborough was at Massabesic Thursday, hosts Biddeford next Thursday, then closes at Cony Oct. 18.

South Portland was 5-5 and 12th in Class A at press time following 3-0 losses at Biddeford (16-25, 16-25, 19-25) and Yarmouth (11-25, 9-25, 14-25). After going to Windham Thursday, the Red Riots are home with Bonny Eagle Tuesday, at Kennebunk Thursday of next week, then close at home against Falmouth Oct. 18.

Cape Elizabeth was 6-4 and 10th at press time after a three-set win at York (25-12, 25-15, 25-8) and a three-set home loss to Scarborough (19-25, 17-25, 8-25). The Capers hosted Yarmouth Thursday, go to Biddeford Tuesday, host Deering Oct. 15 and close at home versus Massabesic Oct. 18.

Cross country

Local cross country teams made the trip to Belfast Saturday to compete in the annual Festival of Champions.

Scarborough’s boys were second to Falmouth in the 61-team field, while Cape Elizabeth came in 18th and South Portland was 26th. The Red Storm were led by Shamus Malia, who placed 12th individually in 16 minutes, 34.42 seconds. The Red Riots were paced by Xander Keiter (23rd, 16:45.98). The fastest Caper was Jack Bassett (67th, 17:37.03).

In the girls’ race, which consisted of 58 schools and was won by Cumberland, Rhode Island, Cape Elizabeth came in seventh, Scarborough was 17th and South Portland finished 43rd. Individually, the Red Storm’s Bethany Sholl came in 11th (19:30.06). The Capers were led by Kelsey Kennedy (28th, 20:06.72). The top Red Riot was Thaovy Duong (150th, 21:57.63). 

This weekend, Scarborough joins Marshwood and Thornton Academy at Deering, South Portland runs with Gorham and Sanford at Portland and in its regular season finale, Cape Elizabeth hosts Kennebunk, Old Orchard Beach, Traip Academy, Wells and York.

Golf

The golf regular season has concluded and the team state match is Saturday at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro.

Scarborough (which finished the regular season 8-2) will take part after shooting a team score of 330 and placing sixth at the SMAA qualifier Monday. South Portland (2-8 in the regular season) shot a 366 and finished 10th, but only six teams made the cut.

Cape Elizabeth automatically qualified out of the Western Maine Conference, due to winning the conference title with a 10-0 record.

The girls’ individual state meet qualifier was held last week. Cape Elizabeth’s Lauren Schonewolf (86) and Mia Spencer (102), Greater Portland Christian’s Ava Morse (110) and Scarborough’s Elizabeth Lacognata (91) all qualified.

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

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