PORTLAND -- Both teams faced and overcame adversity Wednesday afternoon at Boulos Stadium.
The host Cheverus Stags awakened from a listless first half, while the visiting Gorham Rams had to contend with conceding the tying goal and losing a key player.
Ultimately, it was Gorham that persevered the most, getting a late goal to secure a key win with the regular season winding toward its end.
The Rams controlled play the entirety of the first half, but didn't have anything to show for it until senior captain Ashley Connolly buried a 30-yard blast with 1:39 to go before the break.
The Stags then came to life in the second half and drew even with 25:28 left in regulation, when senior captain Annie Vigue delivered a beautiful pass to senior captain Sophia Monfa, who buried her shot to tie the score, 1-1.
Gorham, which lost senior captain Sarah Rosingana to injury at the start of the second half, didn't buckle and off a corner kick with 6:56 to play, saw junior Logan Doughty serve up a perfect ball to Connolly, who headed it home for the g0-ahead goal.
Advertisement
The Rams then held off a Cheverus flurry just before the horn and prevailed, 2-1.
Gorham improved to 10-1-1, took over the top spot in the Class A South Heal Points standings for the time being and in the process, dropped the Stags to 9-2-2.
"It's an important win," said longtime Rams coach Jeanne Zarrilli. "To come here and win on a windy day. (Cheverus is) a tough team."
Showtime
Cheverus and Gorham were scheduled to meet Sept. 26, but bad weather pushed the game back.
Both squads have been near the top of the standings all season and expect to make deep playoff runs.
Advertisement
The Rams opened with a 1-1 tie at two-time reigning Class A champion Scarborough in a regional final rematch, then defeated Bonny Eagle (6-1), Portland (4-2), South Portland (2-1) and Marshwood (5-3). After a wild 4-3 loss to Windham, Gorham bounced back to beat Thornton Academy (4-0), Noble (3-1), Falmouth (2-0), Biddeford (8-0) and Sanford (4-0).
The Stags, meanwhile, started by beating host Marshwood (5-1) and host Biddeford (5-0) before settling for a 1-1 draw at Falmouth. Cheverus then blanked visiting Portland (9-0), won at Westbrook (7-1) and beat both visiting Deering and host Kennebunk by 3-0 scores. After settling for a 1-1 home draw against Scarborough, the Stags rolled at Massabesic, 7-0, then suffered their first loss, 3-1, at Windham. Cheverus then bounced back to beat visiting Bonny Eagle (4-1) and edge host Thornton Academy Monday, 1-0.
Last year, Gorham beat visiting Cheverus, 2-0.
Wednesday, on a sunny but chilly 54 degree afternoon, the Stags looked to beat the Rams for the first time since the 2019 Class A South semifinals (1-0, on penalty kicks) and for the first time in the regular season since Sept. 19, 2019 (5-2 at home), but instead Gorham made it five straight victories in the series.
By a whisker.
Cheverus sophomore Addison Rush and Gorham junior Logan Doughty fight for possession as Stags senior captain Annie Vigue looks on during the Rams' 2-1 win Wednesday. Hoffer photos.
Gorham earned two corner kicks in the game's first two minutes, but had nothing to show for it.
Advertisement
Senior Piper Forgues then threatened to put the Rams in front, but Cheverus senior goalkeeper Evelyn Rush made the save.
After Connolly shot wide, Rush beat Connolly to a feed from senior Bailey Hatch.
Later in the half, Connolly set up Doughty for a shot that Rush saved, then Connolly fired a shot on the run that sailed just high.
The Stags, who barely possessed the ball beyond midfield in the first half, had their lone chance in the 36th minute, but a feed from sophomore Addison Jordan to Monfa was broken up by Gorham freshman goalkeeper Lydia Spear.
Then, with 1:39 on the clock, the Rams broke through, as the ball bounced to Connolly and she delivered a perfect strike with her left foot from 30 yards out. The ball bent just inside the left post and while Rush was able to deflect it, she couldn't keep it out and Gorham was on top, 1-0.
"It wasn't really frustrating because we were in their half the whole time," Connolly said. "I knew if we kept going, we'd eventually get one. We got to the point where we had to get one to keep our momentum going. I got a lot of chances where I got space and I kept crossing and passing it. That one, I just wanted to rip it and hoped it would work out. I saw it spin into the corner and I was like, 'Thank God.'"
Advertisement
"Ashley's just a player who never stops fighting,"Zarrilli said. "If she can do it for her team, she will. She'll play whatever position and execute whatever she needs to execute. We missed at least three far post goals in the first half. We'll go back and talk about that. We just need to clean up those goals."
"What concerns me is we gave too much respect to their attacking players," said Cheverus coach Craig Roberts. "We didn't do basic defensive principles. We gave them too much time and space. Other teams don't do that to us and I don't understand why we do. We almost got out of the first half, but she hit a great shot. We didn't win a 50-50 ball. We talk about when you don't win the first ball, you have to tuck under and win the second ball and we didn't do that, then we let her get into a prime shooting position and she's a goal scorer and she knows what to do."
After being held without a shot in the first half, Cheverus returned to form in the second half.
Cheverus junior Kate Prestes boots the ball away from Gorham senior Julia Reed.
First, Forgues nearly doubled the lead three minutes in, when she floated in a shot from the side that sailed over Rush, but off the crossbar.
The Stags then pushed for the equalizer and Vigue fired a low shot which Spear bobbled then saved.
On the play, Rosingana went down and stayed down and was ultimately carted off.
Advertisement
After Vigue missed just wide, then was denied by Spear, Gorham countered and Connolly delivered a perfect cross, but it was just beyond the reach of junior Rylynn McInnis.
Then, with 25:28 to go, in a flash, Cheverus tied the score, as Vigue delivered a perfect streak to a breaking Monfa and with Spear slipping coming out of the goal, Monfa was able to bury her shot into the open net to make it 1-1.
"It was a much better effort and focus in the second half," Roberts said. "I think we believed in ourselves a little bit more. We started playing the way we can. Annie's pass to 'Monf' was beautiful. Against top teams, you can't get all the way into the final third and play a perfect pass or get a perfect shot. You have to attack early when you have an opportunity and we did that better in the second half."
The Stags, riding momentum, then looked for the lead, but senior captain Finley Brown was denied by Spear, a Vigue free kick sailed through the box untouched, then with 15:50 to go, Vigue fired a shot that was deflected, took a wacky bounce and Spear had to tip just over the crossbar.
At the other end, after a long Connolly shot was denied by Rush and Rush beat Connolly to a ball in the box, Gorham earned a corner kick and with 6:56 on the clock, off a serve from Doughty, Connolly, waiting near the far post, headed it past Rush and into the net for a 2-1 Rams' advantage.
"I knew Logan had long hits on corners, so I stayed back more and I got it in which was very good for us," said Connolly. "I was just trying to get my head on it. It felt good."
Advertisement
"Normally, Piper takes our corners, but Logan's been really good," Zarrilli said. "It was a last minute switch and we adjusted."
"I said back in August that there's a lot of parity in the league and it would come down to free kicks," Roberts said. "That should have never happened. We shouldn't have conceded a free kick there. A corner kick is dangerous. We gave it up too easily."
The Stags refused to go quietly and after a cross from Vigue was cleared by Gorham senior Lindy Moreland, junior Alaina Holmes had a shot blocked in the box, Doughty cleared a Cheverus corner kick and Spear saved a shot from Monfa with Holmes awaiting a rebound which never came, the Stags earned a corner kick with 15 seconds to go and the ball was knocked around until the horn finally sounded and the Rams held on to win, 2-1.
"They fought to the end," said Connolly. "It was such a big relief to pull it out. The last 10 seconds was the biggest back-and-forth. When we heard the final horn sound, it was such a weight off our shoulders. It was a really big game. At the beginning of the season, we had a lot of games where we went down, so we were used to that and we knew we just had to keep going."
"I would say it was a tale of two halves," Zarrilli said. "We had the first half, then they came out guns ablazing and we were on our heels a little bit. That flurry at the end, I'm proud we stepped up and did what we had to do."
Gorham finished with a 7-6 edge in shots on frame, got five saves from Spear and had a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Advertisement
Cheverus got five saves from Rush, but couldn't salvage a result.
"That was really encouraging at the end," said Roberts. "We have players who can make the runs and make passes, so that's something we can build on for sure."
Time to get serious
Gorham plays at Deering Thursday, then has a huge test in the finale, hosting Scarborough Tuesday of next week.
"We just have to keep going and keep our energy up," said Connolly. "We want to finish first or second so we can have two home playoff games."
"It's been a great season," said Zarrilli. "I think any of the top teams can win on any given day. It depends on who comes to play and what the matchups are. I think we're in the mix. We're here to fight. We'd love to break through."
Cheverus (third at press time in Class A South) has just one game remaining, at home versus South Portland Tuesday of next week.
"Ideally, we stay in the top four," Roberts said. "We should have a home game, but it would be nice to be as high up as possible and get some rest. I think it's a mentality thing, a grit and an edge thing. Defensively, we have to buckle down a little bit more. We've worked a lot on offense, so we'll have to turn our attention to defense the next few weeks. We're a good team and the idea was to make the playoffs. We'll do that. Now, we have to correct correctable mistakes to give us the best chance to win."
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at [email protected]. Copy the Story Link
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
filed under: cheverus stags, gorham rams, soccer Related Stories Latest Articles