WATERBORO — EJ Herrick said he was saving his goal-scoring prowess for the playoffs.

It’s paying off for Scarborough High’s boys’ soccer team.

For the second straight game Herrick, a junior midfielder, scored the winning goal. This time, he headed home a Denver Bachman corner kick at 1:08 of the second overtime, handing Portland (13-3-1) a 1-0 loss in the Class A South final at Massabesic High.

The victory sends third-seeded Scarborough (15-1-1) to the state championship game at 10 a.m. Saturday against Camden Hills at Bath’s McMann Field.

“I’m a goal scorer,” Herrick said, while admitting that is output for the season has been meager. “It’s like four. I save it for the playoffs.”

In a 2-1 semifinal win against Falmouth, Herrick headed home the eventual winner on a long free kick from Bachman in the 56th minute.

“He’s been one of the unsung heroes,” Scarborough Coach Mark Diaz said of Herrick. “He plays a lot of minutes and he’ll play just about any position for us. He’s been clutch.”

In a game in which the defenses for both teams were keeping chances to a minimum, there was a sense the outcome would be decided by a set piece.

Bachman said when he took the corner kick, his goal was to hit it to an area about 6 yards in front of the goal.

“Basically it was doing what we’ve been doing all year,” Bachman said. “All of our guys were in dangerous spots. It was my job to put in the right place. EJ was there and it was a great header.”

“A lot of our goals come from set plays because we’re really gritty in the box and we fight for loose balls, and that’s how hit happened,” Bachman added.

As the ball traveled into the box, Scarborough’s Finn Coburn went up for a header attempt. The ball flew over Coburn’s head but came down to Herrick just a few yards further back.

“I got to my spot. I always go there, and I buried it,” Herrick said. “I had so much confidence in myself that I would bury that. It was coming right for me.”

Scarborough will face Camden Hills in the state final. The Windjammers, ranked No. 1 in the Varsity Maine top 10, beat Lewiston in penalty kicks in the North final.

Scarborough’s last state title came in 2013. The Red Storm lost to Brunswick in the 2022 state final.

“My freshman year, we went to the state final and lost a close one to Brunswick, but hopefully this year it will be a little bit different,” Bachman said.

For fourth-seeded Portland, the disappointment was evident. Captain Ronan Mas accepted a second straight regional runner-up plaque without a smile, while other players openly wept. A year ago in the regional final, Portland lost 1-0 to city rival Deering,

Portland carried a 9-5 shot advantage into the second overtime. Scarborough goalie Seamus Corry made six saves, including diving stops on low shots by Bunga Pedro with about eight minutes to play in regulation and Isaac Rodrigues-Nkanza with four minutes left in the first overtime.

“You’re looking at obvious disappointment, and who can blame them?” said Portland Coach Rocco Frenzilli. “These kids had their sights set on the ultimate prize, and there’s no reason why they couldn’t get it. Just unfortunately, it didn’t happen. A team as good as that, you can’t give them any type of set piece, and we did and that was it. But these guys have shown character, just passion, love, commitment, responsibility, all the attributes you want as a coach.”