The Brewer High School girls soccer team is no longer a pushover thanks to confidence and a winning attitude.
Entering this season, first-year head coach David Hamel inherited a program that had gone 3-51-2 over the previous three seasons and 11-97-4 over the past eight years.
But Monday’s 13-0 victory over Skowhegan gave the Witches a 4-0 record. One of those wins was a 4-3 triumph over perennial power Brunswick in Brunswick on Saturday in which the Witches overcame a pair of one-goal deficits.
The 38-year-old Hamel recognized that his team badly needed a shot of confidence so he devoted some time to discussing its importance during the preseason.
“They had to learn how to win,” said Hamel. “Winning is contagious. I had been told they had been in position to win more games [in recent years] but they didn’t know how to close out games. They didn’t know how to put the nail in the coffin.
“In our first two games this season, the girls came out strong, scored some early goals and it snowballed from there,” said Hamel, referring to his team’s 5-1 triumph over Lewiston and 5-0 victory over Cony of Augusta. “They went into the Brunswick game believing they could win. They played hard and came back from two separate deficits. We scored three straight goals (to take a 4-2 lead) and held on for dear life at the end.
“They clawed and scratched and did everything they could to win. That’s the difference this year,” added Hamel.
“We’ve always had potential. We’ve had skill. We’ve just needed to show it. We needed someone who could show us what we needed to do [to be successful] and how to progress as a team and coach Hamel has helped a lot with that,” Brewer senior striker Chelsea Frederick said.
“We’ve worked much better together this year and we keep each other pumped up,” senior center back Catelyn Kimball added.
Hamel parlayed his belief in his players early by showing them the practice schedule for the year.
It included practices during the week leading up to the Class A state final.
“The girls believe in me and trust me,” said Hamel. “I didn’t come in here to make friends. I came here to win games and that’s why [Brewer athletic director] Dave Utterback hired me.”
Hamel adheres to a philosophy outlined by successful University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban on a recent segment of “60 Minutes.”
He explained rather than focusing on winning, Saban stresses the importance of each player doing their job.
“If everybody does their jobs, they’ll get the results they want,” said Hamel.
“We were getting better last year but we just needed [Hamel] to help us [take the next step],” said sophomore striker Gretchen Wright.
“Brewer is much improved,” noted Skowhegan coach Steve Bodge. “We’ve competed with them in the past. Their coach has done a good job with them.”
Hamel and his players said the implementation of a travel program has been instrumental in their evolution.
“This group of freshmen is the first group to come up through the Brewer Soccer Club. They started when they were 9 years old,” said Hamel. “The travel program gives them an opportunity to play at a high level on Sundays throughout the fall in addition to what they do with their middle school programs. So they come here with a lot of experience.”
Kimball played high-level club soccer and said a lot of girls at the lower levels have embraced club and travel soccer and that has proved beneficial because “they know how to work hard, play with intensity and pass the ball.”
The Witches have plenty of speed all over the field and a nice mixture of veterans and newcomers.
Wright already has scored 11 goals through four games. Freshman central midfielder Emily Lord has scored four times and anchors the midfield. Freshman striker Haley Robertson has seven assists.
Hamel also said the back line has been rock solid and includes freshman Cassie Brown, junior Meg Davis and seniors Sam Pellegrino and Kimball. Pellegrino and Kimball are the center backs.
Lord is joined in the midfield by junior Hannah Laskey and sophomore Courtney Pearson while Ellie Leighton, a senior, is another attacking midfielder.
Mikayla Henderson has started in goal and Rose McLaughlin is a capable backup. Hamel said they have benefited significantly from working with junior varsity coach and former Husson University goalkeeper Matt Goodman.
In Monday’s game, Wright had a hat trick; Lord had two goals and three assists and Frederick had a goal and four assists as Brewer beat a depleted Skowhegan team that was without seven starters due to injury, academic problems and disciplinary reasons.
Brewer scored four goals in the first 13 minutes.
Frederick opened the scoring when Pearson caught the Skowhegan back line off guard with a quick throw-in that sent Frederick in alone. She converted from eight yards out.
Leighton and Katie Wood had two goals apiece with Davis, Brown and Sydney Hewes adding the other goals. Pearson had two assists.
Brewer outshot Skowhegan 41-3.
McLaughlin didn’t have to make a save in the first half but McLaughlin made two in the second half. Maddy Schrader made 16 saves for 0-3 Skowhegan before Tadem Parker finished up.