RICHMOND, Maine — Troy Kendrick points to his head when describing what it takes to find success in the postseason, referring to the mental challenge of staying on task when things don’t bounce the right way.
For 38 minutes in Friday afternoon’s soccer Class D South semifinal contest against fourth-seeded Searsport, Kendrick kept telling his Richmond Bobcats to stay the course.
Eventually, Richmond wore the game Vikings down, coming away with a 4-0 win and a spot in next week’s Class D South regional final. The Bobcats (14-1) will host No. 2 Rangeley, with the date and time to be announced.
Midfielders Caitlin Kendrick, Meranda Martin and Autumn Acord were keys in the Richmond win.
Caitlin Kendrick, Troy Kendrick’s daughter, may have picked up the biggest assist of the day, setting up Martin for the only goal in a tough first half.
“The system we use, we need good midfield play to get back on defense, win balls and initiate the attack for us,” said Troy Kendrick.
On more than one occasion, the Vikings had a chance to dent the scoreboard, forcing Bobcats netminder Sydney Tilton to make three saves in the opening frame to keep the game even until Richmond’s offense found a rhythm. Tilton, who normally faces few shots, if any, in a game, stayed focused and came up big when it mattered, keeping Searsport from grabbing the early momentum.
“It is tough. She goes for long stretches without touching the ball, so you have to be mentally tough to be a goaltender here, and Syd is,” said Troy Kendrick of his goaltender, who finished with five saves and her third 4-0 shutout of Searsport this season.
When Richmond striker Kelsea Anair took a tumble in the Searsport penalty area, the Vikings took a deep breath, knowing the Bobcat senior, with 100 career goals to her credit, was in position to give her team an early lead on the ensuing penalty kick.
Moments later, Searsport goaltender Brooklynn Alberts dove to her right, somehow getting the tips of her fingers on Anair’s shot to keep the game even.
For the next 15 minutes, the Vikings, riding their momentum, had several chances to get on the board the first. Melinda Ogden sent two direct kicks inches wide of the Richmond cage, and Tilton dove to stop another Ogden chance midway through the opening frame.
“If we score the first goal, it would have been big since Richmond is not used to being down and being on their heels,” said Searsport coach RJ Robertson, whose Vikings finished 11-5.
With the wind at their backs for the second half, the Bobcats pinned the Vikings in their defensive zone, firing a whopping 20 shots toward the Searsport net. After leaving the game for two minutes after a hard collision with Anair, Alberts returned and turned away 10 more shots to give her 18 saves in the contest.
Anair’s first of two goals, off an assist from Acord, made it a 2-0 contest 6:37 into the second frame, and her second, with 12:50 remaining, made it 3-0. Acord scored the final Richmond goal with 22 seconds left.
Richmond outshot Searsport 33-8.