Deering looks for their inaugural Gold Ball in Class A South, while Yarmouth seeks to extend their championship reign in Class B South. The playoffs begin Wednesday.
Mt. Abram boys soccer coach Darren Allen wasn’t sure what to expect this fall, but an emerging core of players led by junior Cristiano Hamer has propelled his Roadrunners past many opponents and into first place in Class C South standings.
Preliminary Round
Harvard women’s soccer earned an NCAA Tournament berth by winning the inaugural Ivy League Tournament Championship and will face the University of Maine in its opening round matchup. Both UAlbany and Maine posted quarterfinal wins to advance; UAlbany beat #7 Connecticut 3-1 while Maine knocked off #4 UMass Lowell 4-1; then one team will meet top-seeded Binghamton for semifinal contention.
Central Maine teams are fighting hard for playoff spots in Class C South this fall. Mt. Abram, which reached the regional final last season, entered this week ranked second in Heal points. Morgan Thibodeau leads Mt. Abram’s offense; MCI (12-0-0) has emerged as a surprise this season and could win their division title, while Nos. 11 Mount View (4-7-1) and Orono (4-8-0) vie for one final playoff berth each.
Cristiano Hamer opened up scoring just three minutes into Saturday’s Class C South regional final against Maine South, and Evanston never looked back in its 5-3 victory. Seniors Joseph Sargent, Johnny Hunwick, Pascal Calonges, Ben Roman, and Pascal Calonges contributed offensively as well.
No. 13 Hodgdon travels to No. 4 Schenck/Stearns on Friday at 3 p.m. for their prelims. The winner will face off against No. 12 MSSM versus Penobscot Valley of Howland for a place in the quarterfinals, while Nos. 15 Washburn (3-11), 16 Central Aroostook (5-9), Ashland (2-12), and Southern Aroostook (0-14) are out of this year’s competition. MaxPreps covers Maine high school sports; follow us on social media for updates! MaxPreps covers high school sports in Maine, so be sure to follow us for coverage on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates!
Quarterfinals
Aroostook County teams’ playoffs start this Friday as 21 of 31 eligible Aroostook County squads qualified for the quarterfinal round under MPA’s previous COVID-19 pandemic-era format that required two-thirds of each regional class’ teams to be suitable by earning Heal points during regular season play and then qualify as part of an invitational tournament; it was implemented as schools were unable to play as many regular season games due to weather cancellations, forcing them into meeting teams from their class or higher during these few encounters.
New England Academy looks to defend their Class B South state championship with an upset over Cape Elizabeth, but instead, they found themselves trailing four minutes into the game before dominating throughout and taking an impressive 3-0 victory.
Myles Culley scored all three goals as the top-seeded Flyers defeated Roadrunners 3-0 and advanced to the state final. Myles’ efforts helped the Flyers defend their Class B state championship title for the eighth consecutive time.
Fort Kent received a first-round bye in Class C North and will host the prelim winner between Dexter and Mt. View on Tuesday, Oct 25 (time TBD). They did not face either team during regular season action. No. 2 Wisdom/Van Buren will play the winner between Woodland vs. Easton at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct 25, at Wisdom Van Buren split their regular season games between Ashland & MSSM by winning at Ashland while losing at home against MSSM; No 3 Ashland will host the winner between No 6 Madawaska and 11 MSSM on Tuesday, Oct 25 at 4 pm.
Semi-Finals
Yarmouth’s win in Class B North may come down to a defense-first approach against the Mt. Abram team led by coach Darren Allen, and junior midfielder Chandrel Mangele-Laza, who has scored the winning goals in both playoff wins so far this year. But Yarmouth may face competition in that area from speedy Mt. Abram, led by Chandrel Mangele-Laza, who scored game-winners both times Mt. Abram won this season.
Teams are set to face off in the regional final Saturday at 7 p.m. in Lewiston for a place in the semifinals against one of Maine School of Science and Mathematics or Schenck/Stearns of Ashland; Hodgdon will then meet Houlton/GHCA to determine who will face off against the Warriors-Stearns winner in that round. No. 13 Hodgdon and No. 4 Houlton/GHCA meet Friday as prelims in order to assess their opponent against which side will face off against the Warriors-Stearns winner; Hodgdon will meet Houlton/GHCA before facing either of those teams that advance;
Deering and Lewiston, two traditional boys’ soccer powers from Class A South, are engaged in an epic struggle as No.1 Deering looks for its first Gold Ball since 2015 while No. 2 Lewiston hopes to end its four-year championship drought. Both teams have secured one-goal victories so far during playoff play – Kennebunk and Falmouth have fallen by just one goal each in double overtime!
Deering has shown its strength of character throughout both rounds of playoff play, earning two overtime victories against Portland and a thrilling one-goal win against Scarborough Bulldogs. Meanwhile, Lewiston boasts MSCA Northern A all-star Jacinto Mvinga (seven goals, ten assists) along with junior Peter Sargent and Johnny Hunwick, who could create an exciting final matchup that advances one team to the Class A state title game against either Falmouth or Marlboro on Saturday.
Regional Finals
Houlton, Maine — Aroostook County-based boys’ and girls’ soccer squads will have the opportunity to compete at home during this year’s regional playoffs, beginning this Friday and Saturday. The top five teams from each section qualify for the semifinals; winners advance directly to state finals.
Class C North regional finals feature an exciting matchup between two familiar teams as No. 2 Wisdom/Van Buren welcomes No. 7 Woodland/No. 10 Easton in their regional final match-up, the Pioneers hosting Eagles who split regular-season meetings 3-0 to 2-1 respectively; Rhinebeck (the defending state champion) hosts No. 4 S.S. Seward as well for another Class C North regional final.
Class D North features four prelim winners in its competitions for this division, starting with No. 4 Hodgdon hosting No. 5 Central Aroostook/No. 12 Shead against No. 12 MSSM/Penobscot Valley of Howland; Warriors and Vikings did not meet during regular season action. No. 13 Washburn/GHCA will face No. 8 Bangor Christian in another prelim at 4 p.m. Friday from Mars Hill; both Eagles and Bearcats finished 11th in their respective divisions, respectively.
No. 3 Brunswick has attracted an immense crowd at Fuller Field as they host the Class A North final against Scarborough, who defeated No. 1 Camden Hills 5-0 in Tuesday’s semi-finals at Cony High School, with Molly Tefft and Alexis Morin both scoring twice to send Scarborough into their sixth state championship game since 1999 when they claimed Class A glory – set for Saturday at 1 p.m. at Presque Isle Middle School in Aroostook County and will advance on to play off against each other for 2023 state championship glory if successful in winning Saturday at Presque Isle Middle School against Scarborough who will advance directly.
State Championship
Saturday will feature five games of soccer, with top-ranked teams #4 John Bapst Memorial (Bangor) taking on #1 Yarmouth and #13 George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill meeting #2 Mount Abram of Strong at 12:30 p.m. These matches will then be followed by #20 Deering of Portland taking on #3 Lewiston at 3:30 p.m.
Class A South semifinals offered an exciting clash of top teams, with Kilson Joao’s late double-overtime goal for the Rams providing them with a significant edge against third-seeded Bulldogs, who needed extra time with two scoreless regulation periods and two overtime periods until Nick Simon Mboumba scored off of a rebound goal in the 110th minute to send them into state finals for the first time in their history.
Class C North championships will take place on Nov. 1, with both boy’s games to take place at Presque Isle Middle School and Hampden Academy, while Aroostook County will host its own D North championship tournament featuring No. 11 as a host site. Wisdom/Van Buren of Easton has been ranked first; Madawaska of Fort Fairfield ranks second; Ashland from Hodgdon is third, and Central Aroostook from Houlton is fourth. The winner of Class C East/West will face No. 1. On Friday, Houlton/GHCA of Howland will face No. 12 Houlton/GHCA of Howland in a prelim, while the winner of Class D North will face Fort Kent of Westfield for one final meeting during regular season play. Click here for the complete schedule of playoff games that may include artificial turf surfaces. If necessary, any dates can be moved upon mutual agreement between schools.
