The girls soccer regular season has come to a close and after a long season of battling injuries, overcoming adversity, clutch endings and determination, the postseason has finally arrived.
Of the surrounding area high schools, five girls squads have clinched a spot in playoffs, including Brunswick, Mt. Ararat, Morse, Lisbon and Richmond.
Starting with Eastern Class A, the Brunswick Dragons were able to bump themselves up one more spot after the final game from No. 4 to No. 3, posting a 9-3-2 record after a tie against Mt. Ararat. Coach Martyn Davison says that though he missed a majority of the preseason due to personal matters, the team stepped up and worked together.
“I was away, missing all of preseason due to a family bereavement in England and didn’t have much time to work with the group,” he said. “Although, my assistant coaches did a great job, it took us four or five regular season games to find a workable balance in the team and we have pushed on from there and have been in good form.”
The Dragons will host No. 6. Messalonskee (7-5-2) for their quarterfinal game on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The two teams met on Sept. 16, with the Dragons taking the 4-3 edge in the contest.
Maeve Arthur and Kira Wolpow have led the Dragons offense (36 goals) this season in goals scored, with Arthur leading the team with 12 and Wolpow a close second with nine. However, Wolpow has been dangerous on the passing front as well, collecting seven assists. Davison says though his team has had success, a weakness his team holds is in the limited amount of substitutions.
“We have great team spirit and camaraderie,” he said. “We have a nice passing team who, on our day, can play some outstanding soccer and beat anyone. But our weakness is that we’re not too deep in numbers on the bench.”
Moving across the border into Topsham, No. 5-ranked Mt. Ararat, which finished the season with an 8-4-2 record, will travel to No. 4 Hampden Academy (9-4-1) on Wednesday (6 p.m.). The Eagles traveled to Hampden recently, falling 2-1 in a double overtime match against the Broncos.
The Eagles stuck right with the Dragons in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference in goals scored with 33 on the season, while only allowing 15 in 14 games.
In the second half of the season, the Eagles posted a 5-1-1 record, with the only two non-wins coming in the final two games, the aforementioned game against Hampden and a 0-0 rainshortened tie with Brunswick on Tuesday.
If the Eagles are able to come out with a win over the Broncos, they will likely make another lengthy trip to No. 1 ranked Bangor (12-0-2), which will first face the winner of the No. 8 Brewer vs. No. 9 Mt. Blue prelim contest. One player to be on the lookout for on the Eagles squad is sophomore forward Torri Pelletier. Her quick feet and ball movement has been an asset to the Mt. Ararat squad. Pelletier was involved in five of the Eagles seven shots against Brunswick on Tuesday during a game that was called with 23:51 remaining in the second half.
Class B
The Morse Shipbuilders ended as the only team in Western Class B in area soccer to enter the postseason. Coach Steve Boyce led his squad to a 9-3-2 record, finishing comfortably in the sixth slot in the Heal Point Standings.
With preliminary games occurring between No. 7 Lake Region and No. 10 Gray-New Gloucester as well as No. 8 Leavitt and No. 9 Fryeburg Academy, the Shipbuilders will play in the quarterfinals, where they will travel to No. 3 Cape Elizabeth (9-4-1) on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
The two teams have never faced each other in the history of the two programs, though with similar records it appears it will be a tight battle, especially with limited knowledge of respective playing styles.
“The main focus for us against all playoff competition is to play the game with style and intensity, which has been our strength,” Shipbuilders coach Steve Boyce said of his team. “Achieving this goal will make us compete with all the teams that we will meet in the postseason.”
On offense the Shipbuilders have found the back of the net 47 times while only allowing eight goals, therefore if their defense continues to have success, it creates a solid chance for Morse. Cape Elizabeth has outscored its opponents 38- 12, making this match-up a must-see.
Miracle Trimble led the way for Morse on offense with 16 goals, with Brianna Williams right behind her with 13. Lauren Pelletier, Sophie Sreden and Amanda Gagne combined for nine goals to round out the top five scorers for Morse. Another standout on the Shipbuilders squad this season has been goaltender Alesha Aucoin, who totaled 128 saves on the season, playing all but 30 minutes in net and averaging just over nine saves a game.
Boyce stated that his seniors have experienced postseason play before and they understand the, “challenge and intensity of going deep into the playoffs.” However, Boyce went on to say that many of Morse’s key players are underclassmen and are new to the playoff atmosphere and that his team’s success, “will hinge on how the 11 on the field maintain their composure.”
If the Shipbuilders are able to come out on top against the Capers, they will either face No. 2 Yarmouth, Lake Region or Gray-NG.
Class C
Western Class C features the Lisbon Greyhounds, who settled in at No. 8, posting an 8-3-3 record.
Junior Deliah Schreiber has been the threat on offense for the Greyhounds, scoring more than twothirds of Lisbon’s goals (31) over the course of the season, including two goals in a 2-1 overtime win at St. Dominic’s Academy on Thursday.
Due to the large volume of teams in Western Class C, 13 qualified for the playoffs, with five preliminary games to determine the quarterfinals. With the Greyhounds coming in at No. 8, they will host No. 9 Hall-Dale (9-5) on Saturday at 11 a.m. in a preliminary match. The Greyhounds fell to the Bulldogs on Oct. 6 in a tight 1-0 game.
Greyhounds coach Jake Gentle has his team taking a simple approach to the postseason saying to, “Play as well as possible and advance.” Though his team won eight of its 14 games, Gentle stated that its biggest challenge this season has been overcoming injuries, but said, “Our strength is having players with playoff experience.”
Both teams have had successful seasons, but Gentle knows that coming out on top over the Bulldogs will be no easy task.
“Hall-Dale is an excellent team with great skill and possession ability,” he said. “They are well-coached by one of the best coaches in the MVC (Mountain Valley Conference) in Guy Cousins. They will be well prepared and ready to play and it will be a great game to be a part of.”
If Lisbon comes out with the preliminary win, it will travel to take on another set of Bulldogs in No. 1 Madison in the quarterfinals. Though the Western Class C regular season winners posted a 12-1-1 record, the Greyhounds and Bulldogs played to a 1-1 deadlock on Oct. 9.
Class D
The area high school girls soccer playoff preview rounds out with undefeated Richmond High School.
The Bobcats took full control of Western Class D, ending the season with a perfect 14-0 record. The biggest challenge for opponents will be to both stop the Bobcats from scoring and to put balls on net against them. Richmond has outscored its opponents 85-4, including double-digit victories over Pine Tree Academy on Sept. 10 (13-0) and Valley on Sept. 19 (13-0).
Of the four goals scored against Richmond, Buckfield has placed three in the net, with Rangeley collecting one. However, the Bobcats outscored Buckfield 9-3 and Rangeley 13-1 in two contests each.
Kelsea Anair topped the charts for the Bobcats with 34 goals, with Amber Loon (18 goals) and Miranda Martin (17 goals) behind her. Another dangerous component to the Richmond offense is Camryn Hurley, who collected 12 assists.
With only nine teams in Class D West, six teams qualify for playoffs with the Bobcats receiving a first-round bye until the semifinals, where they will host the winner of No. 4 Buckfield vs. No. 5 Rangeley on Oct. 31, leaving coach Troy Kendrick and the Bobcats the challenge of staying in game shape during the long wait.
“It’s a challenge having this hiatus at the end of the season,” Kendrick said. “I think we were playing our best soccer at the end of the season. Trying to keep that momentum going, keep the fire lit, it’s tough on the kids.”
Though it appears that the Bobcats are an early favorite to take Western Class D, they have another chance at taking it all the way to the state level. After three consecutive state titles, the Bobcats fell last season to Washburn, 2-1, in the D title matchup.
“As a coach, all I ever want is for my kids to get better,” Kendrick said of his team. “We’re a good team, but I think we’ve only gotten better.”
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