Winslow’s Joseph Richards (12) leaps over Waterville’s Ethan Hobart (3) for a header in the first half of an Oct. 18 boys soccer game at Thomas College in Waterville. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel
Andrew Poulin and his 50 goals aren’t walking through that door. But Winslow boys soccer coach Aaron Wolfe isn’t panicking.
Poulin and some key defenders have graduated from last year’s team that went 15-1-1 and reached the Class B North final. But Wolfe hopes a group of talented returners and some promising newcomers can lead the Black Raiders to another deep playoff run.
“I don’t know if i’m expecting us to do what we did the last few years, but I think we’ll be a solid team,” Wolfe said. “There’s a lot of room for improvement from what I’ve seen, but we’re getting there.”
Winslow returns seniors Joey Richards (midfield), David Doughty (back), Tyler Meadow (midfield), Jacob Owen (midfield) and Brady Willette (back) and juniors Braden Rodrigue (forward) and Brady Poulin (forward). Richards was a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B North first-team selection last fall.
Junior goalkeeper Max Spicer succeeds the graduated Jason Reynolds, whom Wolfe called “one of the best keepers I’ve ever had.”
Thanks to reclassification, Winslow’s schedule has a new look as Class B playoff hopefuls Gardiner and Erskine are among the schools on the Raiders’ slate.
“It creates a much tougher road through the playoffs, because I think all three teams will be very good teams,” Wolfe said.
Speaking of Gardiner, the Tigers are also dealing with some losses, as nine seniors, including KVAC Class B South player of the year Casey Paul graduated from last year’s bunch that reached the B South semis. But Gardiner returns several veterans, including seniors Grayson Allumaugh (back), Dillon Elliott (back), Connor Fairservice (goalkeeper), Ethan Tibbetts (midfield), Aiden Paradis (midfield) and Trenton Sirois (forward). Juniors Zach Reed (midfield), Kian Alves (forward) and Alex Taylor (midfield) also return.
Gardiner goalie Connor Fairservice (00) makes a save as teammate Dillon Elliot (4) defends Erskine’s Holden McKenney during a Class B South quarterfinal game last season in South China. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel
“We have a lot of kids who have the ability to play at a high level,” 12th-year coach Nic Wallace said. “I think with this group here we’ve just got to find some of the leadership that we lost last year. We’ve got to put pieces together and fit guys into where the holes are left from last year’s team.”
In the reclassification game, the Tigers move to Class B North after spending last season in the South. Their schedule remains largely the same, although Winslow, Morse, MCI and Nokomis have been added to this year’s slate.
While Winslow and Gardiner deal with graduations, Erskine returns eight starters from a team that went 7-4-4 and lost to Gardiner in the B South quarterfinals. Holden McKenney, who scored 17 goals last year and was an all-KVAC first team selection, is part of an eight-player senior class that includes Landon Lefebvre, Andrew Perry and new starting keeper Caleb Gay.
“It’s an exciting time because a lot of these kids have played travel together starting in the sixth and seventh grade, so these are the kids that are now juniors and seniors,” seventh-year coach Carrie Larrabee said. “So putting in that time when they’re young and playing together is finally where you want to see them when they’re juniors and seniors in high school and very comfortable with each other.
“We’ve put the time in and we’re hoping to be one of the top teams in the KVAC this year,” Larrabee added. “I’m expecting big things from McKenney this year.”
Waterville returns a large group of juniors from a team whose 6-8-0 record last year exceeded expectations and earned first-year coach Colby Clarke KVAC Class B North coach of the year honors. Garrett Gendreau, (midfield), Cormac Wilcox (center back) and Keagan Tavares (center-back) are among the key players back. Gendreau was an all-KVAC Class B North selection last year. Junior Dustin Bearce takes over in goal.
With the loss of all-KVAC center midfielder Theo Ruehsen to graduation, “we’re looking to kinda move our team around and try some different positions to rely to kinda of fill the void that he left,” Clarke said.
Oceanside, Erskine, Medomak Valley and MCI are new to the Purple Panthers’ schedule.
“We don’t see the same teams twice, which I think helps in the long run.,” Clarke said. “We get to see what different teams are doing and different players near us that we hadn’t been able to see before.”
After going 6-7-2 in B North last season, Cony brought in former Maranacook coach Don Beckwith, who guided the Black Bears to three Class C titles in his 20 years in Readfield. The Rams graduated six players, and the current roster features and eight freshmen.
“We’ve got a lot of kids that can play ball,” Beckwith said. “We have a lot of kids that don’t have the experience that others have, and we’ve got to get them the experience, and the only way to do that is to get them to play. We’re decent.”
Cony’s Yusuf Ibrahim, left, keeps Maranacook’s Mitch Maceda away during a boys soccer match last season in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Speaking of Beckwith’s former team, Maranacook hired former Shead coach Ben Brigham to take over a team that finished fourth (9-4-2) in C South last year and was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Seniors Ethan Clark, Sam St. Germain, Bailey Shink and Owen Lyons return, as do juniors Mitch Maceda and Thatcher Riley. Another junior, Luke McLaughlin, has transferred to Mt. Ararat in Topsham, a move that Brigham described as “a big loss.” St. Germain succeeds the graduated Braden St. Pierre in goal.
“What I love most about them is how close they are and how hard-working they are,” Brigham said.
In addition to a new coach, Maranacook also has a new conference. The Black Bears moved to the Mountain Valley Conference from the KVAC during the offseason.
“There’s a lot of transition going on,” Brigham said. “While our hopes are high, a lot of pieces are moving right now.
Mt. Abram, which went 15-2-0 last year and lost to eventual state champion Waynflete in the S South final, returns 10 players, including senior Morgan Thibodeau, the MVC player of the year. Bear Rollins, Sam Cockerham and Killian Pillsbury can also find the back of the net, coach Darren Allen said. The Roadrunners bring back all but one member of a defense that allowed only four goals in the regular season.
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