Terry Collins might not have seen a lot of time at fullback this season, but the junior is getting ample action in goal for the Telstar boys’ soccer team.

Collins was converted to replace veteran keeper Jeremy Benson. Filling the hole in goal is something Rebels coach Nate Buckman hasn’t had to do often with the Telstar program, but this switch might be working out well.

“In my six years here I’ve only had two keepers,” said Buckman. “I inherited one of them. I knew Jeremy from middle school because he was my keeper there. This was the first year where it’s been a case of: ‘Whose going to step up and take it?”’

Collins was the volunteer. He mentioned to Buckman last spring that he’d be willing to give it a try. In the preseason, he and freshman Kevin Gallagher got some tutoring from longtime Telstar coach Bob Remington.

“He said: “I know you’ve got nobody to really work with your keepers,”’ said Buckman. “Terry was sort of lackadaisical the first couple of workouts with Rem. I sat him down and told him that I’ve voted for all-star keepers the last six years and none of them were half the athlete he is. They might have been better keepers because they’d been doing it for a lot longer. After we had that talk with him about his athleticism and his ability to be a really superstar keeper, he’s really been staying focused.”

Collins was instrumental in two early season games that easily could have been losses for the Rebels. In a 1-0 win over Wiscasset, he made some critical saves to shutout the Redskins. In a 2-2 tie with Dirigo, he made a diving save inside the left post and then blocked a header on the rebound.

With a Rebel club needing to find replacements offensively after graduating staples like Kinsey Durgin and Wade Osgood, Collins’ play in goal could make a significant difference.

“He did some things against Wiscasset,” said Buckman. “He could have grabbed the right goal post on a free kick and then dove across to make a save at the far post. We’re going to lean on him a lot.”

Knight and day

Their record might not show it, but the Poland girls’ team has made great strides already this season. After going 1-10-3 last year, the Knights have started the year 1-3, but those included a pair of hard-fought 2-0 losses to Yarmouth and St. Dom’s. The Clippers are expected to be a title contender in Western B while the Saints should be one of the top playoff teams in Western C.

“To have only won one game all last year and just a couple the year before, to be three games in and be (1-3) and to play very tough clubs and to play them well, they know they can do it now,” said Poland coach Joe Cormier. “They know they’ve got the talent.”

Cormier is in his first year with the program after coaching at Buckfield last year. The Knights are still relatively young but have some veteran talent in midfielder Carolyn Hricko, keeper Kasey Darnell and forward Mindy Thomas leading an up-and-coming squad. Playing well against the likes of St. Dom’s and Yarmouth and getting a 1-0 win over Freeport, on a Meghan Ford goal, the Knights have something to build off. They also lost to defending Western C champs, Traip, 3-1.

“With it being my first year here and they’re learning the program, I can’t ask for a harder working group of girls,” said Cormier. “They’re coming off a few seasons where they really have underachieved. They really want to make a splash. They want people to notice them.”

Raiding patience

Wendy Milliken is trying to keep her team’s heads up after a 1-3 start to the year. After winning eight games last fall and reaching the Western B quarterfinals, the Raiders are trying to cope with some key losses and a tough schedule to start the year. Among the holes to fill is replacing veteran keeper Hope Nadeau in goal.

“She was our keeper for four years,” said Milliken. “The girls put a lot of trust in her. So they’re down on themselves. We’ve had Winslow, Belfast and Maranacook right in a row. I’ve told them “Let’s wait until we get to Rockland, Lincoln and MCI and see if we can boost ourselves up a little bit. It’s a confidence thing.”

The Raiders still have the core of last year’s club, anchored by all-conference forward Danielle Sargent and defender Hillary Goodhartt, who took a turn in goal Monday against Maranacook and scored a goal. Amanda Favreau is another standout player, capable of playing up front or on defense. “We’ve got things all bang, bang, bang, right in a row,” she said. “I think (Monday) helped out a little bit. We did a drill with them where we marked every time they let their player turn the ball. They’re going to run for it. That gave them a lot of motivation to mark their players, which we didn’t do against Belfast.”