BRUNSWICK — The high school boys’ soccer playoffs are set to begin today with preliminary action, while Brunswick, Mt. Ararat and Freeport have already punched its tickets to the quarterfinals.

Here is a look at the postseason picture:

Class A North

Defending State Class A champion Lewiston is the No. 1 seed in the region after a 12-0-2 regular season. The Blue Devils host No. 8 Oxford Hills in a quarterfinal next week.

Jack Rioux’s Mt. Ararat Eagles finished 11-2-1 for the second seed and will entertain No. 7 Hampden Academy (8-6) on Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Rioux’s squad fell to Lewiston, 2-0, in the second game of the season before reeling off an impressive winning streak, with key victories over Bangor, Brunswick and Mt. Blue before a 1-1 deadlock with Lewiston.

Though his Eagles had a regular season to remember, including a 5-0 win over Hampden, Rioux feels Mt. Ararat needs to keep improving as the postseason begins.

“We need to remain focused and continue to do what has worked for us this season,” said Rioux. “To be successful in the postseason, it will come down to the little things. One mistake can cost you big time at this point in the season.”

Offensively, the Eagles are paced by Travis Nadeau, who returned from a season-ending knee injury last year to post 12 goals and seven assists. Ethan Rac (eight goals, five assists) and Max Spelke (2-10) are other scoring leaders, with 13 Eagles having put points on the board.

Defensively, Mt. Ararat has surrendered just six goals, led by James Singleton’s nine shutouts.

“This season has been a total team effort,” Rioux said. “Our defense has always given us a chance to win, with only one team scoring more than one goal on us in a game. Our senior class has really set the tone for us this season and has been outstanding leaders.”

At Brunswick, a slow start (0-3-2) left the Dragons in scramble mode, but Mark Roma’s young squad put it together, finishing on a 7-2 run to claim the No. 4 seed.

Brunswick draws No. 5 Mt. Blue on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The teams played to a 2-2 deadlock in the season opener in early September.

“The boys have really come together as a unit,” said Roma. “They have fully adopted the mantra of prioritizing their commitment order to ‘1—Team 2—Teammate 3—Self.’ Early on I asked them to have the faith that they could be this good because they all couldn’t see it yet, but now they know, and with that belief has come this full commitment to the team and each other.”

Everett Horch picked up 11 goals during the season, with Emmet Taub and Lane Foushee adding four apiece. Jack McDiarmid took over the goaltending duties in the third game and has a 0.9 goals against average.

Roma has a team that seems to make teams pay for mistakes.

“Going forward we are going to need to capitalize when we have chances,” said Roma. “Early on we were wasting opportunities, whether it was to score goals or close out opponents, and that can’t happen when we enter the second season.”

In the other Class A North quarterfinal, No. 3 Bangor hosts sixth-seeded Edward Little.

Class B South

First year Freeport coach Bob Strong entered the season with a team that had been on the cusp of making a run.

Then came a 9-3-2 regular season, a campaign that was sparked by an early-season 1-1 Western Maine Conference tie with Yarmouth (12-0-2), ending the Clippers’ long winning streak.

There were some bumps in the road, including a tough loss to York, but a regular-season closing win over Cape Elizabeth gave the Falcons the No. 2 seed.

Freeport will host the preliminary winner of the No. 10 Morse (4-7-2) at No. 7 Leavitt (4-6-4) contest on Tuesday in a quarterfinal.

The Shipbuilders and Hornets met twice during the regular season, with both contests ending in 2-2 deadlocks.

Game No. 3 is set for today at 3 p.m. in Turner.

Yarmouth is the top seed in Class B South, with Greely, Cape Elizabeth and Lincoln Academy rounding out the top five.

Class D South

Richmond begins the postseason in an unfamiliar spot — needing to be road warriors as the quarterfinals begin.

The Bobcats head to East-West Conference rival Buckfield on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Richmond (8-5-1) and Buckfield (10-3-1) are real familiar with each other, with the teams playing to a 0-0 tie at Richmond and the Bucks scoring on a penalty kick for a 1-0 win in the regular-season finale.

“They know what we do and we know what they do,” said head coach Peter Gardner, who is nearing the end of his fourth season at Richmond. “Playing Buckfield makes it easy to prepare. In my four years, every game is close with Buckfield. We have played through penalty kicks, had overtime games. It is a guarantee that the game on Tuesday will not be lopsided.”

Gardner features a balanced group of players, with Nick Adams, Dakotah Gilpatric, Dan Stewart, and Andrew and Justin Vachon leading the offense, and goaltender Kyle Underhill-Tilton backstopping the defense.

The top three teams in Class D South — North Yarmouth Academy, Greenville and Temple Academy — along with Richmond and Buckfield give the region a feel of parity, making the state representative a toss-up.

For Gardner, it is about putting together a full effort for 80 minutes and beyond.

“There are games where you win when you should have lost, and others that you lose that you should have won,” said Gardner. “Hopefully our group will go out and play the way they are capable.”

Elsewhere in the region, Pine Tree Academy, the No. 8 seed, hosts No. 9 Rangeley in a preliminary, with the winner drawing No. 1 NYA in the quarterfinals.

Class C South

Both Lisbon and Wiscasset/Boothbay missed out on the postseason, with the Greyhounds falling just three points behind No. 9 Sacopee Valley in the final Heal Point Standings.

 

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