Any win by the Richmond boys soccer team against Waynflete last Saturday would have been considered an upset. But winning 8-2 was downright shocking.

The visiting Flyers were not only the defending Class C state champions but also came in undefeated at 9-0-1. With the win, Class D Richmond remains unbeaten at 13-0-0 and secured the top spot in the upcoming Western D tournament. Waynflete jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first half, but the Bobcats didn’t give up. A penalty kick brought them to within a goal before leading scorer Eddie Stewart tied it later in the half. Stewart appeared to have touched the ball with his hand but no call ensued.

“I teach the kids to play until they hear a whistle,” Richmond coach Joe Scribellito said. “They’re not referees.”

A protest over the non-call by a Waynflete player drew a red card and the Flyers played a man down. Then the Bobcats took off in the second half.

“When we put the wind to our back in the second half, everything exploded,” Scribellito said. “Everything we touched went into the back of the net.”

After the Bobcats went up 4-2, the Flyers drew another red card, dooming any chance they had for a comeback.

“These guys showed backbone and resilience,” Scribellito said. “(They) are playing like a team.”

Stewart finished with three goals to run his season total to 23 while front-line teammate Randy Moody has 15.

“They feed off each other, ” Scribellito said.

Tuesday’s game against Class C Sacopee Valley wrapped up the regular season for the Bobcats. They plan to get ready for the playoffs with scrimmages against North Yarmouth Academy and Kents Hill, both on turf.

• • •

Hall-Dale survived its first test of the season last week when it played to a 1-1 double-overtime tie against St. Dominic in Auburn. Both teams came into the game unbeaten.

“A road tie is always good,” Hall-Dale coach Andy Haskell said. “I thought we played pretty good. We had better scoring opportunities.”

Sophomore Nat Crocker scored Hall-Dale’s goal in the first minute and was kept off the board by a couple of nice saves from St. Dom’s keeper Ben Sawyer, who finished with 14. The Saints tied the game later in the half when an attempted clear bounced off a St. Dom’s player and the ball bounced to another player in front. The goal was just the second of the season scored against Hall-Dale goalkeeper Sam Shepherd, who had eight saves.

“He was sharp as usual,” Haskell said.

Hall-Dale’s trio of Crocker, Zack McNaughton and Colin Lush has combined for 57 goals this season. Crocker, with 22, broke the single-season record of 19 held by Steve Vellani. McNaughton has scored 17 goals while Lush has 18 goals and 18 assists.

“(Lush) and Zac Plummer and Zack McNaughton, they’re three seniors who have taken their game to the next level,” Haskell said. “Nick Sinclair and Ezra Jones have done the same thing in the back.”

Lush has been attracting attention from schools as far away as Chicago, Haskell said.

“On any given day he can be one of the best players in the state,” Haskell said. “He’s up there with the top players I’ve coached in the last 20 years.”

If the Bulldogs win their final two games against Monmouth and Wiscasset, they’ll clinch the top spot in Western Maine Class C for the upcoming tournament. Before that, they’ll face St. Dom’s again, on Oct. 17 in the Mountain Valley Conference championship game at Wiscasset.

• • •

The Richmond girls received a needed test Saturday when they played to a 1-1 tie against Class C power Waynflete (7-0-4).

“That’s the most talented club we’ve run into this year, the team speed, no weak links out on the field,” Richmond coach Troy Kendrick said. “I thought they had us back on our heels at times. They probably won the possession battle by a little bit.”

Sophomore Amber Loon, who scored Richmond’s goal, nearly ended it in the first minute of overtime when her shot hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounced straight down. Richmond goalkepeer Kelsie Obi passed her toughest test of the season by far. It’s the sophomore’s first season in goal.

“She was game MVP,” Kendrick said. “Kelsie hasn’t seen a lot of action. She probably had 12 or 14 saves, four or five real tough ones. That answers that question for the coaching staff.”

The two-time defending Class D state champions, 12-0-1, finish their regular season Thursday at Bangor Christian and will enter the Western Class D playoffs as the top seed.

 

• • •

The Monmouth and Winthrop boys soccer teams are headed for a showdown Friday night in Winthrop that could decide the ninth and final playoff spot in Western Class C. Game time is 5 p.m. As of Tuesday, Monmouth was ninth, three points ahead of Winthrop,

“We’ve been preparing for this game for a week,” Monmouth coach Joe Fletcher said. “We’re looking at it as a playoff game.”

Winthrop won the first game, 3-2, when Ben Hall scored on a header with three seconds left in double overtime. The Ramblers have had good scoring balance this season, getting goals from nine different players, while nearly all of Monmouth’s goals have come from junior Kyle Fletcher, who has 15.

Both Fletcher and Devin West have sprained knees and were kept out of Tuesday’s game against Hall-Dale to get ready for Friday. The Mustangs also lost defender Ben Bolstridge, who broke his toe in last week’s game against Spruce Mountain.

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com