BREWER, Maine — A healthy rivalry began in appropriate fashion on Monday afternoon when Brewer and Hermon battled to a spirited 1-1 overtime tie in girls soccer.
Brewer is making its debut in Class B North this season after having displayed impressive progress in Class A under head coach David Hamel.
Hermon has been a perennial contender in Class B North, appearing in the last six regional championship games, earning titles in 2012 and 2015. The Hawks are 66-5-3 in their last 74 games.
“Hermon might be the new Bangor,” chuckled Brewer midfielder and four-year starter Emily Lord.
Bangor and Brewer are archrivals but the Class A Rams aren’t playing the Witches this season, but there are ties between Hermon and Brewer.
“Geographically, we’re next door to each other. A lot of the girls know each other on a personal level and their families know each other,” said Hamel. “Some of the kids play together on club teams year-round. That makes it fun.”
“It’s good competition. It was a great match today,” said Hermon junior center back Emma Allmon. “We both have some really good players and a lot of us have played with or against each other (on club teams).”
“They’ll push us. They’ll make us better,” said Brewer senior center back Cassie Brown.
Lord pointed out that she plays on a club team with Allmon, Hermon senior standout center striker Alex Allain and some others.
“I wish we could play Brewer 15 times a year. That would prepare us for playoffs,” said Hermon coach M.J. Ball. “I wish we had more games like this. It makes your players have to work and figure out the game. Those are the games I like.
“I’d rather lose games like this and learn from it than play six games you know you’re going to win and not benefit from them,” added Ball who, like Hamel, is in his fourth year at the helm.
Ball finds himself in a quandary with a less challenging schedule this season.
“We could go 16-0 and still finish sixth, which makes zero sense,” said Ball. “But you’ve got to play the hand you’re dealt.”
Ball has only five starters back from last year’s team that was the No. 1 seed and finished 16-1 after losing to Waterville 1-0 in the regional final.
But he fully expects his team to contend for the title.
“We really pushed ourselves in the preseason. Our focus was to get better each week. Our players are getting more and more comfortable within the system. We have some players playing out of position. It’s just going to take time to get it right by October,” said Ball.
“I’m confident,” said Allain. “We have a lot of new faces but we’re starting to get used to each other and we work well together.”
Allain has racked up 87 career goals and is a constant threat. She and junior midfielder Madi Curtis each have four goals so far for the 4-0-1 Hawks.
Allmon, sophomore center mid Grace Page, junior left back Allison Treat and junior goalie Megan Chamberlain are the returning starters along with Allain. Treat, an outside midfielder last year, has supplied the back line with some speed.
Sisters Lauren Plissey and Paige Plissey, who have been valuable contributors to the basketball team, have come out for soccer for the first time. They have earned starting spots with senior Lauren Plissey at center back and sophomore Paige at wing.
“Even though they’ve never played before (at the high school level), they’re good athletes and did very well in the preseason,” said Ball.
Junior Olivia Tardie is the other winger who flanks Allain. Olivia Nash and Emily Smith play in the midfield and Jillian Taylor is the right back. All are juniors.
Hamel has a veteran team and his 3-2-1 Witches already have a noteworthy win over Waterville, which has captured three of the last four regional championships, and the tie against Hermon. The Witches have only lost to undefeated Caribou and Winslow.
Hamel said his team has had a “brutal schedule” with four of their first six games coming against undefeated teams.
“If we can survive our schedule, we’ll be ready for the playoffs,” said Hamel, who has 10 returning starters off an 8-7-1 team that earned the eighth seed for the third consecutive year.
Heading up the list of returnees are Lord, Brown, athletic junior goalkeeper Libby Hewes and junior midfielder Maria Low. The talented Low and Lord have combined for eight goals and the speedy Brown is outstanding in the back. Brown is a four-year starter.
Versatile senior midfielder Haley Robertson is a four-year starter who can play anywhere according to Hamel. Senior Ellie Horr is a three-year starter as a holding midfielder, senior Kassi Day is a two-year starter at outside midfield and seniors Cassidy Smith and Mandy Cuskelly are reliable in the back.
Juniors Ali Cottrell, sophomore Kenzie Dore and freshman Morgan Honey have been useful contributors.
“Coming in as a Class A team, we kind of have a target on our backs. All the teams we’ve played have worked very hard,” observed Lord. “They’ve all been tough games.”
Hamel said they could get a lift from Swedish exchange student Josie Ardbo once she gets adapted to the system. She is a striker.