Thornton Academy boys soccer blitzes Falmouth to win its first A South title
[
**Our Communities. Our Teams. Our Future.
**We’re proud to make high school sports coverage free for everyone, because these moments matter. At Maine State Credit Union, we’re here for the people and places that make Maine strong. Let’s go! Learn more at mainestatecu.org.
Thornton Academy seniors from left, Sabri Ninziza, Griffin Ayres and Precieux Mbolela bring the championship plaque to their teammates after the Trojans’ 5-1 win over Falmouth iin the Class A South final on Tuesday in Scarborough. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
View 8 photos
SCARBOROUGH — The Thornton Academy boys soccer team has made a habit this season of overcoming deficits. That wasn’t necessary Tuesday in the school’s first appearance in a regional boys soccer final.
The Trojans showed what they’re capable of once they get an early lead, scoring four times in the first half and adding a fifth in the second half as they ended Falmouth’s run of upsets with a 5-1 victory in the Class A South final at Scarborough High.
Top-seeded Thornton will go for its first state title Saturday in Kennebunk against North champion Brunswick (16-1).
Eleventh-seeded Falmouth, which won just four games in the regular season, finishes with a 7-9-2 record after previously earning postseason road victories over No. 6 Portland, No. 3 Gorham and No. 2 Scarborough.
“I think nine or 10 games, we’ve gone down in games and then had to come back,” said Thornton coach George Sherry. “It’s been kind of a pattern, and it was just nice to not be in that pattern tonight.”
RAPID-FIRE GOALS
Thornton, ranked second in the Varsity Maine poll, scored first just 2:26 into the game when Santiago Macias Olivar popped free and booted a scuffed low roller that eluded Falmouth keeper Wyatt Binnette.
Advertisement
David Moyemade made it 2-0 six minutes later with a high-quality goal. Attacking from the right side, Moyemade dribbled through at least three defenders, then banged a hard shot off the inside of the left post. The goal was such a beauty that it was surprising to learn it was Moyemade’s first of the season.
“Yes, my first goal. I’m glad it was in the final,” Moyemade said. “This time, I don’t know — I had my chance and I took it.”
Edoardo De Mozzi, a first-year senior from Milan, Italy, was next to showcase his skills, accelerating across the goal area and then leaping up for a perfectly timed header off Matthias Sunderland’s corner kick in the 24th minute.
Related
Brunswick boys soccer defeats Camden Hills in A North final
“Football has brought us all together,” Moyemade said. “We’re making history together. That’s all that matters.”
Before the half was over, sophomore forward Andre Campbell kneed in a corner kick from Melvin Moyemade. Less than two minutes into the second half, De Mozzi made it 5-0 with a hard left-footed strike from the top of the box.
NOT FALMOUTH’S NIGHT
“We ran into a buzzsaw,” said Falmouth coach David Halligan. “We had our bubble burst early. They’re bigger, faster, stronger.”
Advertisement
Falmouth was trying to reach its 13th state final in Halligan’s 40 years as the head coach. (His teams have won each of those 12 state title games). It would have been perhaps the most improbable achievement in Halligan’s long and successful coaching career.
Falmouth needed to win its final regular-season game against Bonny Eagle just to get into the 12-team tourney.
“We’re awfully proud of our guys. We came from 11th. We came from almost not making the tournament,” Halligan said.
Falmouth did play better in the second half, and Penn Giard scored on a corner kick with 22:27 left to play. Falmouth outshot Thornton 6-2 after halftime and forced the Thornton back line, led by center backs (and captains) Griffin Ayers and Precieux Mbolela, to do some good work clearing balls out of dangerous situations.
“At halftime, we said, we don’t care about the score, let’s compete in the second half, and they did,” Halligan said. “But by that time the horses were out of the barn.”
Thornton Academy coach George Sherry celebrates with his team while holding the championship plaque after the Trojans beat Falmouth 5-1 in the Class A South final on Tuesday in Scarborough. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
BUILDING A TEAM
Sherry has been a teacher at Saco Middle School for 29 years and involved in the town’s soccer programs. He was a co-head coach for the Waynflete girls when they won the 2023 state title and coached Thornton’s girls team in 2024 before taking over the boys program.
“I’ve known a lot of these kids since middle school, and just hoping to continue to build it,” Sherry said. “I’ve been running a camp at TA the last couple of years and just trying to get more and more interest.”
Copy the Story Link
Tagged: falmouth navigators, thornton golden trojans
Steve Craig reports primarily about Maine’s active high school sports scene and, more recently, the Portland Hearts of Pine men's professional soccer team. His first newspaper job was covering Maine. More by Steve Craig
