Each year the Messalonskee boys soccer team sets an ultimate goal of reaching the Class A state title game.

This season, for the first time in school history, the Eagles reached that goal. They went 10-2-2 in the regular season, playing a tough schedule in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference’s Class A division, and beat defending Class A state champion Bangor in the Eastern A regional semifinals.

The Eagles lost in the state title game, 3-1 to Windham, but set the bar high for future Messalonskee teams.

“It’s tough losing the big one, but it was nice to be there,” Messalonskee coach Tom Sheridan said. “It was quite the experience to actually get there. It was a different feeling, but it is always your goal.”

For his team’s outstanding season, Sheridan has been named the Morning Sentinel Boys Soccer Coach of the Year. Mt. View coach Chris Hink and Winslow coach Carrie Larrabee also were considered.

Sheridan, who completed his sixth season as the Eagles’ head coach, had a veteran roster this season. Messalonskee was able to draw from the experience of reaching the regional finals a year ago, when it lost to Brunswick.

“I thought this was going to be a tough year considering what we lost to graduation,” Sheridan said. “A lot of the kids had confidence and were coming off the success of last year, so that helped a lot.”

Additionally, after the Brunswick playoff loss of 2010, the Eagles put in a tremendous amount of work in the offseason. Messalonskee’s veterans also displayed maturity during the season, especially after losing their season opener to Hampden, 1-0.

“The maturity level of the kids was impressive,” Sheridan said. “We didn’t collapse after the first loss to Hampden.”

Messalonskee responded quickly to the loss to Hampden, beating a very good Mt. Blue team 5-0.

“The players had put in a lot of time in the offseason, plus we were playing the same system, so they were confident things would work out if they just stuck with it,” Sheridan said.

Messalonskee entered the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in a wide-open Eastern A tournament. The Eagles put together consecutive shutouts to advance to the regional final, where Chris Hall’s late penalty kick produced a 3-2 win over Hampden.

“This team had a lot of character,” Sheridan said. “We were the underdog in every game, but we played with confidence.”