Local soccer, field hockey, cross country, volleyball and golf teams were very busy over the past week and each school had something to get excited about.

Here’s a glimpse at what you might have missed:

Boys’ soccer

Scarborough’s boys’ soccer team was atop the Western Class A Heal Points standings with a 4-0-1 mark after Saturday’s impressive 4-0 victory at previously unbeaten Cheverus. Juniors Austin Downing, Dan Ornstein and John Wheeler and sophomore Sam Cedaka had the goals.

The Red Storm hosted Kennebunk Wednesday in a rematch of last year’s shocking playoff loss. Friday, Scarborough is at Bonny Eagle. Tuesday of next week, the Red Storm host Deering.

South Portland improved to 3-1-1 and ninth in the Heals after a costly 2-0 win at Deering Tuesday night. The Red Riots lost senior Dan Grazewski to a season-ending leg injury midway through the first half after Grazewski collided with the Rams’ goalkeeper in a play that resulted in a penalty kick for South Portland. Senior Nem Kaurin booted it home and set up junior Damjan Draskovic’s second half goal to ice the victory.

“I was a little nervous,” said Kaurin. “I kept my cool and the goalie almost had it, but I was lucky to get it in.”

“I thought we had possession of the game before then, but we couldn’t crack the back of the net,” Red Riots coach Bryan Hoy added. “If we get a PK opportunity and Nem gets up there, he doesn’t miss. He’s been on varsity for four years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him miss a penalty kick. He did a great job putting it away.

“We did rally. It’s a really close group. We’ll definitely miss Dan. I don’t know how long he’ll be out, but it’ll be quite awhile. Other guys will step up. One of the things we focus on is how we play soccer, not on what the other team’s doing.”

South Portland hosts Windham Thursday and Sanford Saturday. A trip to Kennebunk looms Tuesday. The Red Riots also have tests remaining against the likes of Cheverus, Portland and Gorham (the team which eliminated them from last year’s playoffs).

“We’re coming along, but we still have work to do,” Kaurin said. “I think we’re one of the top teams in the league. We have critical games coming up. Last year, we just missed (homefield advantage) It would be really big this year. It’s what we’re aiming for.”

“We’re getting there,” said Hoy. “We still have a ways to go, but I think we can compete with the top teams. We have a lot left on our schedule. We still have a lot of teams that will win some games. I don’t really pay attention to the Heal Points until about 10 games in. I’m pleased with how we’re progressing. The guys keep coming and giving me 100 percent effort every day and that’s all I can ask for.”

Cape Elizabeth dropped a hard-fought 2-1 home decision to rival Falmouth last Wednesday despite a goal from senior Tim Lavallee.

“It was a good game,” Capers coach Ben Raymond said. “Both teams played well at times. It’s still early in the season. I think we’ll both be very different later on when we see each other. They have some talented kids and we’re still obviously trying to put things together too. I think we’re doing well. We’re figuring out who’s playing well. We need to possess more and be better in both boxes. It’s a great place to start.”

Cape Elizabeth bounced back Friday with a 3-1 win at Greely (Lavallee and seniors James Barlow and Macklin Sweeney had the goals). Tuesday, the Capers improved to 3-1-1 (third in the Western A Heals) after a 2-0 win at home over Fryeburg behind goals from Lavallee and freshman Noah Haversat.

Cape Elizabeth went to York Thursday, visits Gray-New Gloucester Saturday, welcomes Freeport Friday and plays at Lake Region Wednesday.

In Western D, Greater Portland Christian School was 2-4 and eighth in the Heals at press time. The Lions romped, 9-1, over High View last Friday (Ryan Waugh had a hat trick), defeated Islesboro, 7-1, Saturday (Adam Simpson scored five times), then lost, 7-1, to Buckfield (despite a Waugh goal). GPCS hosts Islesboro Friday.

Girls’ soccer

Cape Elizabeth’s girls’ soccer team continues to dazzle.

The Capers battled host Falmouth, the defending Class B state champion, to a 1-1 draw last Wednesday (sophomore sensation Melanie Vangel had the Capers’ goal), then beat previously undefeated visiting Greely, 2-0 (as Vangel had two more goals) and host Fryeburg, 5-2 (junior Talley Perkins had two goals, Vangel and sophomores Lizzie Raftice and Addie Wood the others) to improve to 5-0-1 and first in the Western A Heals. Cape Elizabeth was home against York Thursday, visits Freeport Monday and hosts Lake Region Wednesday.

Scarborough bounced back from its first loss in two years with wins over South Portland (3-0), Portland (6-0) and Kennebunk (7-1). The Red Storm also tied visiting Cheverus, 1-1. Against the Bulldogs, Meghan Tyson scored three times and Haley Carignan added a goal and two assists.

In the win over the Rams, Tyson and Jessica Meader each had two goals. Kaitlin Reynolds had the goal in the draw. Scarborough (fourth in Western A) welcomes dangerous Thornton Academy Saturday and goes to Deering Wednesday.

South Portland was a 3-0 winner at Westbrook last Thursday, edged host Sanford in a 5-4 overtime thriller Saturday and settled for a 0-0 home draw with McAuley Tuesday. Junior Jenacee Bradbury had two goals and sophomore Emma Dennison had the other in the win over the Blue Blazes.

Against the Redskins, Bradbury had two goals, junior Ericka Lightner one and senior Emily Masters a pair, including the winner on a PK in overtime. Senior goalkeeper Domonique Smith made eight saves in the tie. South Portland (2-2-1 and seventh in Western A) was at Windham Thursday, hosts Deering Saturday and welcomes Kennebunk Tuesday.

In Western D, GPCS is 0-4 and sixth in the Heals after 6-0 losses last week to Buckfield and Rangeley.

Field hockey

Scarborough’s perennially strong field hockey team entered Thursday’s home showdown with Cheverus (a playoff rematch) with a 6-0-1 mark (good for second behind Sanford in the Western A Heals). The Red Storm rallied to tie the visiting Redskins, 2-2, last Wednesday as Kelsey Howard and Rachel Wallace scored in the second half. After a 2-1 win at Marshwood Friday, Scarborough dominated visiting South Portland, 9-0, as Lindsay Dobecki and Grace Whelan each had two goals. After hosting Cheverus, the Red Storm welcome Gorham Saturday and go to Thornton Academy Tuesday.

South Portland was a 2-1 home loser to Kennebunk last Wednesday (junior Elizabeth Albert had the Red Riots’ goal), then got its first win of the year Friday, 1-0, over visiting Gorham on senior Brianna Bower’s overtime goal. South Portland (1-6 and 14th in Western A) was at McAuley Thursday, hosts Cheverus Monday and goes to Biddeford Wednesday.

In Western B, Cape Elizabeth was 2-3-1 and 11th in the Heals after beating visiting Wells (2-1) and falling at Traip (1-0) in recent action. In the victory, junior Jane Coffrin and sophomore Hannah Newhall scored. The Capers hosted Lake Region Wednesday, welcome Fryeburg Saturday and Greely Tuesday.

Cross country

Scarborough’s cross country teams hosted Marshwood and Portland in a meet last week and both squads came in first. The boys (ranked first in the latest coaches’ poll) were led by Nick Morris, who was the fastest individual in 17 minutes, 00.10 seconds. The girls were paced by first-place finisher Maggie Smith (21:41.10).

South Portland joined Kennebunk at Gorham and the Red Riots won both meets. The boys (fifth in the coaches’ poll) saw Darryl Wilkinson place second individually (17:08). The girls were paced by Nyajock Pan, the winner in 20:18.

Cape Elizabeth joined Merriconeag and Poland at York. The Capers were second to the hosts in the boys’ meet and third in the girls’. Thomas Bottomley led the boys with a fifth-place showing (16:04). The girls (eighth in the coaches’ poll) were led by Victoria Brigham (fifth, 19:45).

This weekend, Cape Elizabeth hosts Fryeburg, NYA and York, South Portland is home against Noble, and Windham and Scarborough join Biddeford and Deering at Sanford.

Volleyball

Scarborough’s volleyball team has been going toe-to-toe with the state’s premier programs and is holding its own. Last Tuesday, the Red Storm went to Falmouth, a state match finalist each of the past two seasons, and won in four games (25-16, 25-18, 20-25, 25-20). Two nights later, Scarborough hosted perennial powerhouse Greely, a team the Red Storm had never beaten. Despite a valiant effort, Scarborough wasn’t able to get the better of the Rangers, losing in four close games (20-25, 26-28, 25-13, 19-25).

“(The Rangers) were definitely the better team tonight,” coach Jon Roberts said. “They’re strong and their level of experience came into play, but it was a great match. I think we learned a lot from it. We know what we need to work on and we’ll move forward. I was proud we came back and got game three. It would have been nice to force it to five. They came out in game four and attacked and we sort of played like we didn’t want to lose instead of going out and being aggressive, which is our normal way of playing. I think we’re right where we need to be. I’m very happy with our play. Our defense and passing have improved from last year. I think we have all the pieces, we just need to put it together.”

Brittany Bona had 13 kills and 13 digs, Emily Robbins had a whopping 22 assists and Mary Cleary finished with eight kills in the loss.

Scarborough bounced back Monday and won at defending Class A champion Biddeford, 3-1 (24-26, 25-18, 25-16, 25-13). Bona had 22 kills, nine digs and five aces. Robbins finished with 32 assists and Rachel Webber added 10 kills. The Red Storm hosted Falmouth Thursday and go to Gorham Tuesday.

Cape Elizabeth has won two of its last three matches to improve to 2-5 (ninth in the Heals). The Capers sandwiched a 3-2 victory at Kennebunk and a 3-1 triumph at NYA around a 3-0 home loss to Gorham. Cape Elizabeth was at Lake Region Thursday and visits Greely Tuesday.

Golf

Scarborough’s golf team is 5-0 after recent wins over Deering (8.5-4.5), Falmouth (12.5-0.5) and Portland (11-2). After going to Deering Wednesday, the Red Storm host South Portland Friday. The regular season concludes next week with matches versus Portland Monday, Cheverus Tuesday and Falmouth Wednesday.

South Portland fell to 0-5 after recent losses to Deering (13-0) and Falmouth (11-2). The Red Riots sought their first victory in back-to-back matches with Cheverus Wednesday and Thursday. South Portland goes to Scarborough Friday and closes the year with home matches against Portland Tuesday and Deering Wednesday.

Cape Elizabeth took a 5-2 mark into Wednesday’s match at Lake Region. The Capers close next week against York.

The girls’ state qualifying match is Sept. 28 at Willowdale Golf Course in Scarborough. The boys’ state qualifying matches are Oct. 3.

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

Sidebar Elements

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Scarborough’s Mary Cleary goes for a kill during last Thursday’s home showdown with perennial powerhouse Greely. The Red Storm lost to the Rangers in four close games.

Scarborough senior standout Brittany Bona sends the ball back over the net. Despite Bona’s usual strong effort, the Red Storm suffered their first loss of the season.