Winslow goalie Jason Reynolds (13) celebrates a 2-0 win over John Bapst with teammate Kris Loubier (22) in the Class B North boys soccer championship Nov. 3 at Hampden Academy. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

In the first full season of boys soccer since the COVID-19 pandemic, some area teams took full advantage.

Winslow had a nearly flawless season, finishing 17-1-0 and winning the Class B North championship. The Black Raiders allowed just one goal during the entire regular season, and four goals for the entire season. Altogether, Winslow had 16 shutouts.

“I don’t think anyone can say, ‘Yeah, we’re definitely going to give up one goal all (regular) season,'” Winslow head coach Aaron Wolfe said. “Saying that, I did expect and did think that there was no doubt, we had a lot of talent. I was expecting us to be one of the top teams. I didn’ t know to what extent, but I knew we’d be a solid team and be one of the ones vying for one of the top spots.”

The Black Raiders were no slouches on offense, either, tallying 102 goals over 18 games, an average of more than five goals per game. In three separate games during the season, Winslow scored 10 goals. In the process, Andrew Poulin broke the program’s scoring record, collecting 33 goals and adding 19 assists.

Winslow would go on to beat John Bapst 2-0 for its third Class B North title dating back to 2016. The only team that could steal Winslow’s thunder was Yarmouth. In a rematch of the 2016 and 2017 Class B title games, the third time unfortunately did not prove to be the charm for the Black Raiders, falling 3-0 to the Clippers on Nov. 6 at Massabesic High School in Waterboro. Yarmouth has now won 10 Class B titles, dating back to 2004.

“Regardless (of the loss), we did what we wanted to do,” Wolfe said. “We played the last game we could. We didn’t have our best game. Yarmouth is a very good team, obviously, but we kind of got to where we wanted to get to. The last game didn’t go the way we wanted to, but it should take nothing away from the season we had. Probably one of, if not the most successful Winslow boys teams on record.”

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Winslow collected multiple postseason accolades, with Poulin, Jason Reynolds, Levi Olin and Zach St. Pierre all receiving Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B North first-team honors. Wolfe was named the division’s Coach of the Year.

Gardiner’s Cam Rizzo (20) battles for the throw in with Medomak Valley’s Zan Nguyen (7) in a Class B South boys soccer quarterfinal game Tuesday at Messalonskee High School in Oakland. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

In Class B South, Gardiner had a historic season, finishing 12-4-1. With a 2-0 win over Medomak Valley in the quarterfinal round Oct. 26, Gardiner reached the semifinal round for the first time.

“I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t see this coming,” Gardiner head coach Nick Wallace said. “I coached a majority of this team for six, seven years, since back in the U11 days, travel soccer. We’ve had a lot of talent, the group behind them, the sophomores and juniors, have also played a lot of soccer. They’ve learned from some talented players in the past. The program has grown. I think the biggest thing most programs have to overcome is learning how to win, learning how to compete day in and day out. I think this group has been doing that all along.”

An added curveball? The Tigers played most of the season without a true home field, due to the construction of the new surface at Hoch Field, while work was also being done to the normal soccer field behind the Kennebec Valley Boys and Girls Club.

Gardiner would fall 3-0 to Cape Elizabeth — which gave Yarmouth a game in a 2-1 loss in the B South regional final — in the semifinals, but would take nothing away from the program setting a new bar to reach in the future. The Tigers were led by Braden Dorogi, who was named the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B South Player of the Year. Wallace was named the division’s coach of the year.

“I’m extremely proud of how hard this team worked, what they had to overcome,” Wallace said. “I don’t know many schools, any other programs that didn’t have a home field. I think our kids used that to kind of overcome, and used it as a bit of motivation to prove everybody wrong.”

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Mt. Abram’s Bear Rollins, left, and goalie Ian Allen sandwich Waynflete’s Samir Sayed in front of the goal during the first half of the Class C South boys soccer regional championship Nov. 2 at Lewiston High School. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Erskine Academy had one of its best seasons, finishing with an 11-3-2 record. The Eagles entered the B South playoffs as the No. 2 seed, beating Poland in the Round of 16 before falling to Cape Elizabeth in the quarterfinals. Three Erskine players — Aiden Larrabee, Jack Blais and Liam Perfetto — were named KVAC B South all-stars.

The Mountain Valley Conference proved to have tight competition once again, as four area teams finished in the top seven spots in the Class C South standings. Mt. Abram entered the C South tournament as the No. 1 seed. Like Winslow, the Roadrunners proved to have a strong defense — allowing just four goals heading into the regional final — while carrying four top scorers in Cam Walters, Morgan Thibodeau, Charlie Pye and Kaden Pillsbury.

Mt. Abram (14-1-2) would eventually fall 3-2 to No. 2 Waynflete — the eventual Class C champion — in the regional final. It was the first regional championship appearance for the Roadrunners since 2008.

No. 4 Monmouth (12-3-2) reached the C South semifinal round before falling to Mt. Abram, led by MVC player of the year Hayden Fletcher, who surpassed 100 career goals during a regular season win over Oak Hill. No. 5 Hall-Dale (8-6-0) reached the quarterfinals before falling to the Mustangs.

In Class C North, No. 3 Mount View finished the regular season undefeated. The Mustangs (16-1-0) made it as far as the semifinal round before losing 3-1 to Fort Kent.

In Class A North, Messalonskee finished the season with a 7-9-0 record, making it to the semifinals before dropping to No. 1 seed Lewiston. In Class D South, No. 2 Richmond (11-5-0) reached the semifinals before being knocked out by North Yarmouth Academy, which would go on to the Class D title game.

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