One thing they know about in Dirigo is how to play defense.

Whether it be on the basketball court, or the soccer field, the Cougars have a knack for frustrating foes with their defensive play.

This fall, the Cougars have built an impressive unbeaten record thanks to a revamped backfield, something coach Art Chamberlin decided to try this summer.

“We’ve been really successful with it,” said Chamberlin. “We’ve been limiting shots primarily in the midfield. With Katie Hutchinson and Alexa Kaubris in the midfield, we’ve been able to build off that both ways.”

Dirigo has allowed just four goals all season and averaged just five shots against.

Chamberlin hosted one of the Challenger Sports British Soccer Camps, where another coach comes and spends time with a team to teach drills and strategy. It was the second straight year Chamberlin had hosted it.

When the idea of using a sweeper seemed foreign to the British coach, the Dirigo players got the opportunity to use a different style of defense. It is a system that Chamberlin has continued to use.

“That was my main concern starting the season,” said Chamberlin, who lost goaltender Jessica Blaisdell and defender Courtney Derouche. “We knew we were going to have to play better defense. We knew we weren’t going to have experience in goal. That was a concern.”

The defense doesn’t use the typical diamond formation used in the past. Instead, the Cougar defenders all rotate in the back, depending on which defender plays the ball.

“Slowly and surely we’ve been working the bugs out of it, and the kids are starting to feel that they have some confidence in it,” said Chamberlin, whose club faces Monmouth today and hosts Wiscasset Monday.

Dirigo uses a group of defenders that include Jennifer Harvey, Mallory Child, Melissa Porter, Megan Russell, Deidra Gilbert and Audrie Knox. They’ve helped give new goaltender Christina Chow an easy transition into her new role.

“Jess was so strong, (Christina) never had much time,” said Chamberlin. “She still hasn’t. She’s come up big a couple of times when she’s had to.”

Moving on up

Working their way up from the bottom of the standings isn’t something the boys’ teams from St. Dom’s or NYA are accustomed to doing. Either the Saints or the Panthers have been the Western Maine Class C champion five of the last six years. NYA lost in the regional final last fall to Georges Valley.

“We’re at the point now where we need to win,” said St. Dom’s coach Lee Hixon. “We don’t know what’s going to happen above us, but we need to win games to make the playoffs.”

The Saints lost 12 players from last year.

NYA graduated nine seniors and lost four others to transfer. NYA (4-3-1) was ranked sixth in the latest Heal Point standings while St. Dom’s (3-4-1) was 10th. Both clubs would have to play a preliminary match with their current seeding. The top 11 squads make the tournament in Western C.

“We’re young,” said Hixon, who has just four regulars back from last year. “The players I expect to step up and lead have never been in that role. So they lead but then they’ll step back and play along instead of leading. I tell them If you’re a leader, be a leader all the time.'”

NYA bolstered its standing with a 4-2 win over the Saints last week. The two rivals meet again in Yarmouth next Wednesday.