Scorcha FC Takes Down Mid-Cape United In Cape Soccer Quarterfinals

HARWICH – Two early goals in quick succession off somewhat fortuitous chances proved to be the difference in No. 4 seed Scorcha FC’s 4-2 win against No. 5 seed Mid-Cape United last Sunday in the quarterfinals of the Cape Cod Soccer League postseason tournament at Jimmy McPhee Field.

First, Scorcha’s Ryan Gordon essentially walked in a score following a misplay by Mid-Cape goalkeeper Freddie Rosen in front of the net about 10 minutes into the Davis Cup opening round match. Just a couple minutes later, Gordon scored again, striking the ball left past a diving Rosen.

The goals were brought on by pressure, which came from Scorcha’s game plan of pressing Mid-Cape high up the field, according to player-coach Odane Scale. 

“We knew they'll play out of the back, but if you're pressing them right, they'll make a mistake, and that's kind of what we pounced on,” Scale said.

For Mid-Cape player-coach Geoff Champagne, the two early goals were “mental mistakes.”

Later in the first half, Mid-Cape’s Jahmai Dixon scored after a free kick to close the gap, but not long after, a header by Jerome Haughton off a corner kick put Scorcha back up 3-1. In the second half, Scorcha’s Rushawn Plummer and Mid-Cape’s Luke Hartigan scored.

“They stayed composed. We stayed composed,” Champagne said. “There were a few cards, but nothing too crazy. It was a very good match.”

The match had somewhat of a similar flow to the previous meeting between the two sides in early July. Scorcha had jumped to an early 2-0 lead, but Mid-Cape clawed back to make a game of it and even gain a fleeting 3-2 advantage before Scorcha stormed back to win comfortably.

“This team, once we get behind, if we don't come back quick, it's hard to stay in it,” Champagne said.

Mid-Cape (5-8-1) had 18 of 26 players return from last season’s “total rebuild,” according to Champagne. Three games into this year, Mid-Cape was in last place, but the team, heading into the postseason on a two-win streak, eventually finished middle of the pack, which Champagne said “speaks to the resilience of the squad and everybody staying with it.”

“It wasn't a bad season overall,” he said. “I think it was truly successful, especially knowing where we came from last year.”

Scorcha (6-6-2) was slated to next face top-seeded Nauset Storm (8-1-5) in the semifinals Wednesday. Scale said Scorcha had to be “more compact defensively” and more alert to loose balls and balls in the team’s box on set pieces. 

On the offensive side, there wasn’t much reason for Scorcha to tinker around. They scored 40 goals during the regular season, the most in the league (Nauset, the next closest team, scored 32). As part of a three-game win streak entering the tournament, Scorcha had scored six and then eight goals in its last two games.

“Just keep our game plan of just attacking, attacking, attacking, because that's what we're good at,” Scale said. “That's our team overall.”