Rams fall to Red Storm 3-1

KENNEBUNK — If the swirling wind wasn’t a foreshadowing for how the boys soccer game between Kennebunk and Scarborough would be played Tuesday night, the first few minutes of the game gave it away. Scarborough used its speed, a friendly wind and some moxie to defeat the Rams 3-1 at Memorial Field in Kennebunk.

There were constant gusts from the outset of the game, and in the first half, that favored the Red Storm. As the wind blew, so did the ball, as Scarborough held an advantage in time of possession. Kennebunk goalie John Burns had to make an athletic save on an Austin Downing shot 10 minutes in to keep it scoreless, and the Rams were helped out by an offside call on Sam Cekada midway through the half.

Scarborough broke through with 13:15 left in the half, as Downing scored on a pass from Trevor Sparda. The Red Storm doubled its lead less than four minutes later when Chris Cowie fed Sparda for a goal. Burns kept the tally from changing with 1:30 to go in the half when he stopped Wyatt Omsberg on a breakaway.

“We missed our marking a few times in the first half,” said Kennebunk head coach Nathan Bean. “And against a team the caliber of Scarborough, you miss your mark and then they’re going to make you pay ”“ and they did.”

The game was chippy in the first half, and that only grew in the second, as Kennebunk tried to get back into the game. Burns said after the game that the emotions were starting to get to them near the end of the first half, but they stayed focused on the task at hand. Bean called it “a challenge.”

The Rams nearly cut the deficit to one just about five minutes into the second half, as Griffin Drigotas’ pass across the goal mouth just missed a cutting Robby Burns, John Burns’ brother.

John Burns came up big again for Kennebunk with 18 minutes left, stopping Dan Ornstein from point-blank range, and then found a way to get up and block Ornstein’s rebound attempt. Burns stopped Ornstein a third time two minutes later, as he kept the Rams in the game.

“For better or for worse, I kind of come to take that for granted,” Bean said of John Burns’ ability in goal. “It would have been a different story without him in the net.”

John Burns was more critical of his performance, noting that he failed when taking the final score into account.

“In the end, it’s all about the scoreboard,” he said. “I do my best, and I try to keep everything out, but letting three in, you’re never going to win.”

Scarborough scored the back-breaker with just over 13 minutes to go, as Downing netted his second goal off a long throw-in from Sparda. John Burns had no chance, as Downing was planted right in front of the goal, and just simply connected with the throw that made its way through traffic and found his foot.

Kennebunk’s lone goal came on a penalty kick from Lucas Butterfield with 3:45 to go after Butterfield was pulled down inside the 18.

After the game, Bean said that his team was simply outplayed by a better opponent.

“We got beat. They played a better game of soccer than us tonight,” he said. “Our emotion was there, I think our effort was there. We didn’t connect enough passes, we didn’t combine, we didn’t keep the ball enough, and against a good team like that, it’s going to hurt you sooner or later.”

John Burns echoed those thoughts, and said that the team never quit.

“It’s too bad that we had to lose on our home field. It was a tough game, and (we) fought hard until the end, and it was just a matter of a couple of mental breakdowns.”

Bean said he was ready to move on after the loss, but doesn’t think this will be the last the Rams see of the Red Storm.

“We certainly gave our effort, we left it on the field, and we’ve got some work left to do. But, we’ll see them again in a month, I hope.”

And as Bean sees it, maybe the outcome will be different next time.

“They’re not going to beat us 10 times out of 10,” said Bean. “No way.”

— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323.