BATH — Winning state titles is nothing new for the Richmond High School boys and girls soccer teams. Each squad is on the precipice of adding another Gold Ball to the school’s trophy case with their respective Class D championship matches slated for Saturday, yet with a pair of wins this could truly be a historic season for the Bobcats.
Since 1990 the girls have won nine of the 13 class D championship games they have appeared in, which includes winning the Gold Ball in three of the previous four years.
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During that same time span the Bobcat boys have appeared in 11 Class D title games and won in 1991, ’95, ’98 and 2007.
Only in ’98 and ’07, though, did both Richmond teams bring home state titles in the same season, and to the best of girls coach Troy Kendrick’s knowledge both teams were not undefeated at the time — as they are this fall.
“As long as I’ve done this I haven’t had many undefeated seasons. This is maybe the second,” Kendrick, who is in his 26th season coaching the Bobcats, said. “It’s kind of special in that sense for sure. The boys cobbling together a really nice season and us (too), it makes it nice. They’re generally pretty supportive of each other.”
Players on both teams agree that they are in fact generally supportive of each other, although a little trash talking amongst friends is never out of the realm of possibility.
“They always pick on us but we know it’s like a friendly pick-on and stuff like that,” senior goalkeeper Kelsie Obi said. “We’ll pick on them too sometimes. It’s like a friendly pick-on thing too.”
Added Cameron Emmons, a senior on the boys team: “We fight with each other but in the end your schoolmates so you have to get along. We’ll support them and we hope they support us.”
Of course, how could there not be some friendly jabs between players when the boys team is 17-0 and the girls 16-0?
The bigger question is how have two soccer teams at a small school like Richmond had so much success in the same season?
Like any team that enjoys a great deal of success, hard work and talent are at the top of the list.
“These kids put in some extra time, some of the younger kids play some indoor soccer (and) we play during the summer,” Kendrick said of his team. “I’m very fortunate to have some dedicated kids that work awfully hard. They’re a fun group to work with.
“They have a good understanding of what it takes to make a run in the tournament.”
Another key ingredient is chemistry, as anyone who has watched an ultra talented team with too many egos implode can tell you.
“You don’t see them bickering or getting on each other or anything,” Richmond boys coach Peter Gardner said. “They just do what they need to do out there. If one of them is not doing something they take the criticism — constructive criticism — from a teammate that allows them to do (what they’re supposed to do).”
Many of the players agreed, however, that the size of the community has played an important part in enhancing these characteristic in the unbeaten Bobcats.
“We’ve all played together since we were little,” Camryn Hurley, a sophomore on the girls team, said. “We just kind of click together.”
“We have a great community of people that come together for our soccer teams,” added Obi. “They come together not only for us girls, but they also come together for the boys too so we’re all in this together basically.”
If the atmosphere is anything like it was Wednesday evening at McMann Field for the regional finals, expect there to be plenty of maroon on display at Hampden Academy Saturday. The boys will be up first with a 10 a.m. start against five-time defending Class D champ Bangor Christian Academy, while the girls will follow against Ashland at 12:30 p.m.
Evan Crawley—621-5640
ecrawley@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @Evan_Crawley
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