Central Maine Community College’s women’s soccer team has reached the Yankee Small College Conference semifinals for the third time in program history and will face NHTI on Saturday at home.
The Mustangs (9-4-1, 6-1 YSCC) are the first seed and host, and the Lynx (7-2-2, 4-2-1 YSCC) are the fourth.
Saturday’s semifinal game was postponed a week due to last week’s mass shooting in Lewiston. The matchup is all too familiar to the Mustangs and the Lynx, as they previously played each other in the semifinals in 2018 and 2019.
In 2018, the fourth-seeded Mustangs lost to the first-seeded Lynx 1-0. The two switched places in 2019, with the first-seeded Mustangs beating the fourth-seeded Lynx 1-0. That year was also the Mustangs’ first and only championship game appearance, which they lost to Southern Maine Community College 1-0.
“It’s a different feel for us, hosting the tournament for the first time here at CM, which would have happened regardless of how we finished,” said coach Rob Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said playing a well-known opponent in the postseason tournament brings a certain level of comfort and familiarity, but the Mustangs can’t rely on comfort.
“We’ve been guilty of overthinking these games before, where it’s a third matchup, and we’re trying to figure out what to do,” Rodriguez said. “Should we do something different, thinking that they’re going to do something different? That’s where the danger lies.”
CMCC’s regular season success this year was thanks to increased conditioning across the field, according to Rodriguez, which significantly improved athlete endurance and level of play. The Mustangs’ roster has 13 returning players, and 11 of those are starters.
“It’s probably the first year we’ve had that freshman have had trouble cracking the starting lineup,” Rodriguez said. “But because of that, both the buy-in, in terms of conditioning and fitness, has been huge, and that’s really carried us through the year. They’re able to go 90 minutes, and then turn around and do it all over again the next day.”
Rodriguez said the standout players on this year’s team include sophomore forward Natalie Tracy from Oakland, junior midfielder and forward Larkyn Hink from Porter, along with a pair of area high school graduates, sophomore forward Kate Blouin from Leavitt and junior midfielder Mya Sirois from Monmouth.
Tracy set the CMCC program record for goals in a season a few weeks ago. Her 15 goals rank second in the YSCC and fifth in United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division 2. She also is third in the YSCC in points with 33.
Hink has 11 goals so far this season and has assisted on several of Tracy’s goals. Rodriguez called Tracy and Hink a good on-field pairing and applauds their teamwork with Sirois and Blouin.
“The four of them together are a very good scoring threat,” Rodriguez said. “It makes them dangerous.”
Sirois said the team is nervous, especially since two starters were sick Friday and questionable to play, but she is hopeful they can secure the home-field win and continue to the championship.
“(Making it to the championship) would be insane,” Sirois said. “I wasn’t 100% about coming back this year, but (making the final) would make all my time really worth it. If any team deserves it, it’s definitely this team because we’ve worked so hard for all the games we’ve won and everything we’ve accomplished so far.”
Defensively, the Mustangs have six shutouts this season, with five of them happening in the last five regular season games. Rodriguez said that is a tribute to sophomore goalkeeper Emma Knowles and the back four.
“It’s a pretty well-balanced team from back to front, and we’ve had that in the past but not to the extent that we do this year,” Rodriguez said. “Speed of play has been something we’ve always strived for, but it’s something we’ve achieved this year, so we’ll see if that’s enough. They have some dangerous players, and we have a lot of respect for what they can do.”
Rodriguez said Saturday’s game will be a good matchup between two different styles of play. The Lynx tend to play to the outside, he said, which is something the Mustangs have been preparing for.
“We’re a team that can play down on the outside and crop it in, but we’re better when we’re playing right down the middle and beating the other teams at speed,” Rodriguez said. “We have some very fast forwards, and they can get behind the defense in a hurry. That’s where we’re the most dangerous.”
NHTI is led by Adrienne Dorr, who ranks third in goals (14) and is tied for first in assist (seven) in the YSCC.
Rodriguez said the match will come down to whoever can carry out their game plan.
“We’re hoping for a big crowd,” Rodriguez said. “Hopefully the crowd will be our 12th player, with a big local crowd. If somebody wants to see some good women’s college soccer at no cost, that’s going to be the place to be, because the game before us is going to be really good, too. It’s going to be a fun day with some high-level soccer.”
The first semifinal between Paul Smith’s College (8-1-1, 6-1) and Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (7-1-2, 4-1-2) starts at 11 a.m.
The semifinal winners will advance to the championship game Sunday at noon at Central Maine Community College.
Nov. 15 and play Paul Smith’s College (8-1-1).
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