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SCARBOROUGH — The fog rolled in first. The Scarborough girls soccer team stormed in next.
With speed, sharp passes and steadfast defense for a full 80 minutes Wednesday night, Scarborough shut down Gorham, 3-0.
Three players scored and junior Vera DiSotto stopped six shots in the second half as the Red Storm (4-1) claimed their third shutout victory of the season. Junior midfielder Maggie Booth notched a goal and an assist.
“When I got the job, one of the things I heard was that kind of like Yankees-Red Sox, Ohio State-Michigan, Gorham-Scarborough is kind of a rivalry where it’s always gonna be a battle, regardless of where the teams are in terms of their rosters,” first-year Scarborough coach Craig Roberts said. “And I think that was true tonight.”
Sawyer VonderHaar, a senior, made eight saves for the Rams (4-2).
Consistent chances pay off
• The Class A South rivals traded midfield throw-ins for the first seven minutes, before Scarborough finally established possession in the attacking third. The hosts earned corner kicks in the 11th and 20th minutes but couldn’t convert, as a header sailed high and VonderHaar stopped a possible own goal. The third time was the charm, though, when senior forward Paige Garlock knocked in Booth’s corner kick to the near post in the 31st minute.
• Down two starters to begin the game, Gorham lost another starter, freshman defender Lauren Chadburn, to injury shortly before halftime. Coach Jeanne Zarrilli said her team was playing on its heel, as the Rams did not take a shot until the 43rd minute.
“Scarborough has a really good air game, and they’re really fast, and they kind of took us out of our game in the first half,” Zarrilli said. “I think we’re more of a passing team.”
Good shots, even better saves
• Gorham was able to find passing lanes after the break, but the Rams could not find the back of the net. DiSotto made four key saves between the 56th and 66th minutes, including a last-second parry over the crossbar on a free kick and two diving fingertip saves.
“I came over on the bench (during halftime) and I was like, ‘I haven’t even punted it yet,’” DiSotto said. “I was freaking out a little bit … You just have to stay in a concentrated mentality the whole time until you’re able to make saves like that.”
• Scarborough eventually gave DiSotto some breathing room, as senior midfielder Maya Taylor doubled the lead in the 62nd minute, heading a Gwen Martin throw-in that bounced off a Gorham defender. Booth added another goal in the 77th minute off an initial cross from Abby Roberts and a short pass from Charlotte Kerkela.