WINDHAM — Robbie Lentine scored two goals and added two assists as second-seeded Windham earned its ninth straight win – a 5-0 victory over No. 7 Cape Elizabeth in a Western Class A boys’ soccer quarterfinal Wednesday night.
The Eagles (13-2), who have never won a regional title in boys’ soccer, will host No. 6 Cheverus on Saturday in the semifinals. The Stags advanced with a 2-0 win over Portland, the defending regional champion.
Additional Photos
Cheverus was the last team to beat the Eagles, 2-0 on Sept. 17 at Windham.
While Lentine was the focal point of a well-oiled attack, the Eagles spread the wealth, as three other players scored.
Windham took a quick 2-0 lead on goals by players who hadn’t scored this season.
Mitch Hodge scored on a header 12:12 into the game. The assist went to Erik Gumaer, who headed the ball to Hodge.
Two minutes later, Devin Pelletier scored his first of the season to make it 2-0. Lentine sent a pass in front of the goal that Pelletier knocked home.
“Getting a 2-0 lead early was huge,” said Lentine, a senior. “It gave us an edge and a lot of confidence.”
Lentine had the first two goals of the second half, his 18th and 19th of the season.
Marc Reynolds closed out the scoring on a nice setup by Lentine. Lentine threaded the ball through a couple defenders to Reynolds, who one-timed it past the goalie.
Cape Elizabeth (8-5-3) picked up its offense in the second half and had a few chances to avoid the shutout.
Some of the Capers shots just missed. Others never got through the strong Eagles’ defense, led by goalie Dana King, who was outstanding.
During their winning streak, the Eagles have victories over Scarborough, South Portland, Deering, Marshwood and now Cape Elizabeth.
“We’ve really come together as a team,” said Lentine. “We work hard in practice every day. When we play an all-around game like we did tonight, it’s tough for anyone to beat us.”
Lentine said last year’s loss to Kennebunk in the preliminary round has served as motivation this season.
“It was heartbreaking,” said Lentine. “We don’t want to experience that again. Our goal all season has been to get to the states.”
With 14 seniors, the Eagles are a veteran team, seemingly jelling at the right time.
“It was a strong effort from top to bottom,” said Windham Coach Colin Minte. “We needed to get off to a fast start against Cape and we did. They have some good players. Tim Lavallee is outstanding.”
Asked to pinpoint the reasons for his team’s turnaround, Minte said: “Being my first year, I think it took a while for the players to learn what I wanted them to do tactically.”
They’ve got it down now and are looking forward to the rematch with Cheverus.
“The players are excited about facing Cheverus again,” said Minte.
Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at:
tchard@pressherald.com
Twitter: TomChardPPH
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.