Eryn Doiron could write a book on scoring goals. First, the Maine Maritime Academy senior should write a book on time management.
Doiron, a Wilton native and graduate of Mt. Blue High School, set the MMA career goals mark this season. She had 52 entering the Martiners NCAA playoff first round game at Amherst College on Saturday. Even though the Mariners knew they were in the tournament by virtue of their conference title, they were the second to last matchup revealed on the selection show, and that increased the tension.
“I’m super-excited. I never was a champion in anything unless you count rec league,” Doiron said.
Amherst took a 5-0 win over the Mariners, ending Doiron’s collegiate soccer career. With the soccer season complete, Doiron will rejoin the Mariners women’s basketball team. And there’s that work towards a degree in Power Engineering Technology she has to complete. Doiron described her major as a hybrid of electrical and mechanical engineering.
“Being a senior, my class load is a little nicer to me,” Doiron said in a phone interview Wednesday morning.
Doiron dominated North Atlantic Conference competition this fall, and was named the conference’s Player of the Year. For the second season in a row, Doiron earned first team all-NAC honors, after being named second team as a sophomore in 2017.
Doiron’s 21 goals ranks her 16th in the nation in NCAA Division III women’s soccer. In goals per game, Doiron is 11th, at 1.24 goals per game.
Doiron didn’t arrive at Maine Maritime in the fall of 2016 and immediately begin the steep ascent of the record books. As a freshman, Doiron scored a respectable five goals. The next season, she scored 10 more. Last season as a junior, Doiron scored 16 more, giving her 31 goals for her career. A player on MMA’s men’s soccer team pointed out to Doiron that, with a strong senior season, Amy Asselin’s career record of 49 goals was reachable.
That’s how a notion became a goal.
“You have to trust your teammates,” Doiron said. “Eighteen goals doesn’t come off zero assists.”
Eighteen is how many goals Doiron needed to tie Asselin’s record. She tied and broke it in the same game, October 13, at home on a Sunday afternoon in a 6-0 win over Northern Vermont-Lyndon. Goal 49 came off an assist from Jillian Holden, gave the Mariners a 4-0 lead late in the first half, and pulled Doiron alongside Asselin in the MMA record book.
Goal number 50, the record setter, was the kind that if Doiron didn’t score, she’d laugh about it to hide the frustration for a long time.
“It was a little bit different, because it was a very empty net,” Doiron said.
The Mariners got Lyndon keeper Lauren Young to shade to one corner of the net, and when Margot Simeon sent a pass back across to Doiron, she was staring at a wide-open gaping spot in Mariner soccer history.
“I got a great pass, (Simeon) sends it to me and it was wide open,” Doiron said. “I said to myself, ‘Don’t mess it up.'”
Goal 51 came 16 days later on Oct. 29 in a 2-0 win over Thomas College in the regular season finale. Goal 52 came on Nov. 8 in the Mariners 1-0 win over SUNY-Delhi in the NAC semifinals. With 120 career points, Doiron finishes tied with Makayla Lewis for second all-time, behind Asselin’s 129.
The Mariners basketball team will have four games played by the time Doiron is able to practice. MMA is scheduled to host Colby on Tuesday. Even if Doiron doesn’t suit up, she’ll be with her team. Beyond basketball, there are job interviews to prepare for, possible grad school.
College soccer was good to Doiron. She knows this.
“If you asked me my senior year of high school if I thought I’d be on a team that went 10-0 in conference games, and I’d set a goal-scoring record, senior year of high school Eryn would have said no way,” Doiron said.
So, this is not what she expected?
“I guess not,” Doiron said, “but I’m happy with the way it turned out.”
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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