The boys soccer playoff field is set, and area top seeds know the path to a regional final or state championship appearance is going to be tough.
Prelims began Friday and run through Saturday. The quarterfinals are Tuesday and Wednesday.
CLASS A
Unbeaten Edward Little (13-0-1) enters the postseason as the top team in Class A North, but coach Max Thompson isn’t putting too much stock in that distinguishment.
“I think it’s going to be quite difficult,” Thompson said. “I look at the top seven or eight teams and they could be a top team. Every game is going to be incredible and I can’t wait to get going. Hopefully the boys can turn the page and keep playing well.”
The Red Eddies open up the quarterfinals against No. 8 Hampden Academy on Oct. 26 at Central Maine Community College.
“Everybody knows if they lose, their season is done,” Thompson said. “We will get everybody’s best shot; no matter who we play, they will be good. Every team probably believes they can beat us. We will see how it works out.”
The victor between the Red Eddies and Broncos will face No. 4 Lewiston or No. 5 Camden Hills in the regional semifinals.
If Lewiston and Edward Little make it through to the regional semifinals it will be the third game of the season between the rivals. The first game was a 1-1 draw and Edward Little took the second contest 4-1.
A long playoff run starts in practice for Lewiston.
“We are going to have a good, focused week of training,” Lewiston coach Dan Gish said. “The regular season is done. We know we had our opportunities that we didn’t capitalize, and we need to clean a few things up, but I love playoff time. Anything can happen in the playoffs. We are definitely capable. We will see, but it’s up to (the players).”
The bottom half of the A North bracket has No. 2 Mt. Ararat hosting No. 7 Bangor and No. 3 Brunswick hosting No. 6 Brewer.
Scarborough is the top seed in Class A South, followed by Deering, 2021 state champion Marshwood and Gorham.
CLASS B
Gray-New Gloucester is the lone area team to make the Class B South playoffs, as the No. 12 seed, the last team in.
The Patriots travel to take on No. 5 Gardiner in the prelims Saturday. The winner will battle No. 4 Erskine Academy in the quarterfinals.
“We have an interesting path to the regional final,” Gray-New Gloucester coach William Burdick said. “In order to get there, we will have to go through two (Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference) teams in Gardiner and Erskine. They are both physical, keep shape well and have dangerous players. We look forward to these matchups and playing teams that we haven’t seen this year yet.”
Top seed Cape Elizabeth will draw the winner of the No. 8 Greely and No. 9 Medomak Valley prelim. The No. 7 Fryeburg Academy and No. 10 York prelim winner takes on No. 2 Lincoln Academy in the quarterfinals.
No. 3 Yarmouth, the 2021 Class B state champion, will wait for the winner of the prelim that matches up No. 6 Freeport and No. 11 Morse.
“We have some of the best teams in the state of Maine in our conference (the Western Maine Conference) that are always in the conversation for a state championship,” Burdick said. “Yarmouth and Cape (Elizabeth) have both had great years, and both will be fighting for a state championship.”
The top four seeds in Class B North are John Bapst, Winslow, Ellsworth and Mount Desert Island.
CLASS C
There will be a few familiar quarterfinal matchups in Class C South among the Mountain Valley Conference teams.
The first game is No. 3 Monmouth hosting No. 6 Lisbon. The teams met in the final game of the regular season. The Mustangs took both regular-season matchups, winning 5-2 and 1-0.
“We have a tough quarterfinal match with rival Lisbon,” Monmouth coach Joe Fletcher said. “We know each other well and both teams present significant concerns for each other.”
Waiting in the regional semifinals for the winner could be No. 2 Mt. Abram if the Roadrunners can get by fellow MVC rival No. 7 Hall-Dale.
“We will play Hall-Dale in our first-round matchup, and we need to be careful because they can be dangerous with their attack,” Mt. Abram coach Darren Allen said. “For us to win our first-round matchup, we need to be smart and take what the defense gives us. The good news for our team is we have homefield advantage and coming to ‘The Mountain’ in late October can provide some weather challenges. You could expect snow, wind, rain or 75 degrees and hot up here; you just never know. We are adaptable to play in those conditions.”
If both Mt. Abram and Monmouth face each other, it will be the fourth time this season they will meet. Saturday, they face off for the MVC title at Lewiston High School at 5 p.m.
Allen also knows Lisbon can be tough to beat.
“I think Monmouth, Lisbon can give teams problems with their experienced coaches and players, and Pat Strout from Monmouth is a fantastic player who I really admire,” Allen said. “He is dangerous.”
The other half of the bracket has defending state champion and No. 1 seed Waynflete opening up its postseason against No. 8 Oak Hill, which beat No. 9 Winthrop in a prelim.
No. 4 Maranacook hosts No. 5 Traip in a quarterfinal game.
“Mt. Abram is playing really well and has a homefield advantage,” Fletcher said. “Perennial power Waynflete (which also has homefield advantage) is the clear favorite. Traip Academy is going to be a difficult matchup, as will Maranacook.”
Up North, the top four seeds are Fort Kent, Washington Academy, Bucksport and Narraguagus. Both Washington Academy and Bucksport are 14-0.
CLASS D
Both area teams in Class D South opened the postseason with a prelim game. No. 8 Saint Dominic Academy hosted No. 9 Pine Tree Academy, while No. 7 Rangeley hosted No. 10 Valley.
St. Dom’s, which beat Pine Tree 7-1 Friday, gets No. 1 Greenville in the quarterfinals. The Rangeley-Valley winner advances to face off against No. 2 Isleboro in another quarterfinal.
St. Dom’s expects to give every team it faces in the playoffs a good game, according to first-year coach and athletic director Andrew Pelletier.
“We know we can be competitive,” Pelletier said. “(The players) don’t have that sense of complete confidence yet at the state-wide stage. I think we have had a great season in comparison to the last couple of (seasons) the program has had.”
The other two quarterfinals in the South are No. 3 Chop Point vs. No. 6 Greater Portland Christian and No. 5 North Yarmouth Academy vs. No. 4 Richmond.
“Greenville is so far away; I don’t think many of us (coaches) have seen too much of (the Lakers),” Pelletier said. “I think everybody is looking up to Greenville. I think NYA and Richmond in the four-five quarterfinal game is going to be a really, really fun one. Those two teams may be the best in Class D.”
Bangor Christian tops the North, followed by Madawaska, Fort Fairfield and Schenck/Stearns. Last year’s Class D state champion, Lee Academy, is the No. 8 seed and hosts No. 9 Machias in a prelim game. The winner gets Bangor Christian.
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