What the Dirigo boys’ soccer team lost in talent and experience last year has been replaced by effort and teamwork.
The result so far is a pretty impressive season despite the fact that the Cougars lost a significant part of the team that won 12 games last year and reached the MVC championship game.
“It wasn’t a surprise,” said Dirigo coach Jack Rioux, whose club is currently 6-2-1 and ranked fourth in the Western C standings. “I knew we had a lot of good athletes. We did lose a lot from last year, but they were ready to step up. A lot of guys had seen a lot of minutes on JV and some varsity minutes as well.”
Dirigo graduated Tyler Gates and Eric Bolduc, both all-state picks and a significant part of the Cougar offense. Add in veterans like Dylan Castonguay, Cliff Turner, Jeremy Remeika and Dakota Turnbull, and that’s a significant dent in the defense.
Travis Frost and Cody St. Germain both return to the midfield while Josh Turbide is back on defense.
“The big thing is that these guys got to watch a lot of the veterans last year and the year before,” said Rioux, who played at Mt. Ararat in high school. “Coach Hanson had a good program before I got here, and we’re just trying to keep that going.”
Caleb Turner is back in net and is a significant factor in the Cougars season. Turner already has three shutouts as Dirigo has allowed just 12 goals all season, three of those came Monday in a 3-1 loss against top-ranked and undefeated Wiscasset. Dirigo then rebounded with an important 3-1 win over Telstar Wednesday.
“Our goalie is a returning starter and knowing that we have confidence in our goalie is huge,” said Rioux. “We can just build from that. It all starts with the guys in the back.”
Though replacing the goal production of Gates and Bolduc is nearly impossible, the Cougars have managed 28 goals in nine games and been held to just one goal twice. Hunter Ross leads the team with nine while St. Germain has seven.
“The key has been all the guys in the back all playing as a team,” said Rioux. “We’re more balanced as a team. It’s been a total team effort all year.”
The Cougars should be able to finish strong and put themselves in the playoff mix and in the hunt for a spot in the MVC title game again. Dirigo finishes the year with Carrabec, Mountain Valley, Jay, Livermore Falls and Mt. Abram. Only the Roadrunners have a winning record in that group.
“We’re right on track and where we hoped to be,” said Rioux, whose father, Claude, coached in the MVC for years with the Lisbon girls’ program. “We have our expectation of making the playoffs. I told them at the beginning of the season that if we work hard and keep improving, good things are going to happen. Our league is pretty balanced and anything can happen, but if we keep working hard, we should do alright. Then we’ll see what happens in the playoffs.”
A First
Both girls’ teams from Oxford Hills and Lewiston earned their first wins of the season in the last week.
The Blue Devils got theirs Tuesday night with a 2-1 victory over Erskine. Lewiston had lost to the Eagles 1-0 earlier in the year. Maegon Mathon scored both goals for Lewiston in the victory. She converted a Kayla Hamel pass late in the first half for the game-winner. Lewiston (1-7) had scored just two goals all year coming into the game. Mackenzie Masselli had 14 saves in net for Lewiston.
Last week, it was Oxford Hills that earned its first win of the year and then followed it up with another. The Vikings beat Erskine 2-1 in overtime on a Mariah Martin goal. It was Martin’s second of the game. Her sister Bre Martin was stellar in net in the win. Then two nights later, Oxford Hills blanked Lewiston 1-0. Bre Martin got the shutout while Macey Manchester had the game-winner. The Vikings had scored just four goals all season before breaking out with three in their two-game winning streak.
Rematch
The rematch between St. Dom’s and Wiscasset could have significant ramification when the two top teams in Western C close out the regular season against each other.
The Redskins host the Saints on Friday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. Both teams are currently unbeaten and ranked first and second in the Western C Heals.
“It should come down to the last game when they come down to our place,” said Wiscasset coach Wayne Benn, whose team tied St. Dom’s last week in Auburn. “Now we can’t wait for our home game. It’s our Homecoming. It’s under the lights. It should be a barn-burner.”
The game could have an impact on the MVC standings and the Western C playoffs. Since Wiscasset and St. Dom’s are both in the same division in the MVC, the winner of that game very well could earn a spot in the MVC championship game, against the top team from the North. It could also decide first place in Western C and home field through the playoffs.
“Frankly, the conference championship, I’m more concerned about having home field advantage,” said St. Dom’s Matt Erickson. “(Our field) is the largest field we play on. We know how to use this space well. We don’t play on another field in the conference like this field. It presents another set of tactics for teams.”
On the girls’ side, though St. Dom’s and Georges Valley are both undefeated, they don’t face the same scenario as the St. Dom’s and Wiscasset boys. The St. Dom’s girls are in the other division. Therefore, if the standings remain the same down the stretch, the Saints and Bucs could have a rematch in the MVC title game and be vying for the top seed in Western C.
kmills@sunjournal.com
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