Postseason disappointment a year ago has evolved into great anticipation this week for the Washington Academy boys soccer team.
The undefeated Raiders (17-0) will play for the program’s first state championship since 2008 when they face South champion Waynflete School of Portland in the Class C final set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Dr. Gehrig T. Johnson Athletic Complex in Presque Isle.
Washington Academy entered the playoffs ranked No. 1 regionally each of the last two years, but its 2014 postseason ended in a 2-1 overtime loss to Central of Corinth in the regional semifinals.
That defeat had lingered for a full year until coach Chris Gardner’s club swept through this year’s North regional tournament not only unbeaten but unscored upon — an effort capped off by a 6-0 victory over Central in Wednesday’s final.
“We had a very good team last year, but Central played us extremely tough,” said Gardner, the Raiders’ 13th-year head coach. “That game has been a motivator for us all year long to make sure the kids recognize you only get one shot at this and if you screw up, you go home.
“They’ve stayed pretty focused all year long and this group of seniors knows what they’re playing for,” he said.
Thirteen seniors highlight the Washington Academy roster, among them goalie Cam Varney and sweeper Jordan Lambe, two keys to a defense that yielded just four goals in 14 regular-matches and none during three postseason victories to complement a Raiders’ offense that has amassed 104 goals
“[Lambe] really anchors that bunch back there, and then once you get up front, one of the keys has been that we’re really deep,” said Gardner. “Defense starts us, but the difference between this year and last year is that we’ve picked up the ability to finish. Last year we struggled at times to put the ball over the line, but this year we’ve just got a plethora of people who can do it on any given night.”
Five different players scored during the North final win over Central. Senior Ricaija Simmons scored twice, and juniors Simon Surin, Oneko Lowe, Mannuel Sanchez and Adrian Wagmann added one goal apiece.
Waynflete (14-2-1) entered the C South playoffs seeded second and like Washington Academy did not allow a goal in postseason wins over Carrabec of North Anson (1-0), Sacopee Valley of South Hiram (2-0) and Monmouth Academy (4-0) to reach the state final for the first time since winning it all in 2011.
Waynflete’s regular season included a 1-0 loss to Class A South semifinalist Falmouth and a 2-1 victory over Class B South champion and defending state title holder Yarmouth.
“Waynflete’s had a great season in its own right,” said Gardner.
Washington Academy scrimmaged both Class B North No. 3 seed Presque Isle and Class A North finalist Hampden Academy in preparation for postseason play.
The fact those matches were on artificial turf serves an additional purpose as the Raiders prepare to return to Presque Isle with a state championship in mind.
“They’ve been looking toward this game all year long,” said Gardner. “We’ve been trying to take it one game at a time, we have a motto on our team that ‘the most important game is the next one.’
“We’ve tried not to look too far down the schedule, but obviously now we’re at that moment in time when we’re allowed to say, ‘We need to focus on winning a state game,’” he said.
