Eric Wagner was a part-time reporter for the Lewiston Sun Journal when he was given an assignment he’s never forgotten.

He was sent to interview Mike Berticelli at his summer soccer camp. Being a Lewiston grad and soccer player, Wagner was well aware of Berticelli’s resume. The late Notre Dame men’s soccer coach was and remains an icon in his home community and has had a lasting impact on soccer throughout Maine and the country.

The one thing that struck Wagner was what was always obvious about Berticelli. He cared about his hometown and its people, and he cared about the game of soccer. There was no hiding his passion for both.

“I had a really great interview with him,” said Wagner. “It was really exciting to see that for a kid growing up. I never forgot it.”

Now Wagner is a well-established college soccer coach in his own right and trying to carry on Berticelli’s cause.

“He was a very important mentor to me,” said Wagner, now the head coach at Swathmore College in Pennsylvania. “Seeing what he did for the people of Lewiston-Auburn and to everyone he worked with. When he passed away, I made it a point to carry on his legacy. In my own little way, I’ve tried to do that. He taught me some very important things, and that’s to give back to my roots.”

Wagner, who’s been coaching college soccer for 15 years, including a stint as an assistant with Berticelli at Notre Dame, eventually frequented Berticelli’s summer camps in Lewiston. He’s been active at the United Soccer Academy, the summer camp run by Lewiston boys’ coach, Mike McGraw.

He’s been saving his fees from those camps to put toward two scholarships at Lewiston High School in Mike Berticelli’s name.

“It’s always been my goal and my desire to give something back to the community and to the game,” said Wagner. “That’s where I first came to love the game.”

So when Wagner’s team takes on St. Joseph’s College at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Don Roux Field at Lewiston High School, it will be a little more than just another soccer game.

Swathmore will be in Maine this week for a pair of local games. After playing St. Joe’s, Wagner’s club faces Bates on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The Swathmore women play Bates on Tuesday at 4 p.m. and UMF the following day at 3:30 p.m.

“I’m really excited to make the trip,” said Wagner, who took over the Swathmore program last year and has turned its losing record upside down. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. It should be great soccer because it’s a really hot time of year. Teams are showing what they’re made of. Playing against St. Joe’s and Bates, we’ve never played them, and we don’t know anything about them. So it’s a bit of a wild card.”

Swathmore women’s coach Amy Brunner was an All-American keeper at Bates. So the idea to make a trip north worked for both programs.

“As a player, we never played against Bates, and I’ve never had a chance to coach against Bates,” said Wagner, who played at Connecticut College and whose father was a professor at Bates. “I thought it was about time to get up there.”

Wanting to get the most out of the trip, they tried to reschedule another game. Wagner and McGraw had often talked about having a game following one of the high school matches.

“I had talked to Coach McGraw about having a college soccer showcase,” said Wagner. “It’s a nice opportunity to show the people of Lewiston some college soccer and the opportunity to do it at night.”

It will be a unique return for Wagner. He played at Lewiston for McGraw from 1979 to 1982. His senior year featured the first season the program played on the old Franklin Pasture field, but they were all day games.

“I remember night games, but when I was there we only played night games on the road,” he said. “So when I think of night games in Maine, I think of Bonny Eagle. They were one or our arch rivals.”

Another rival, of course, is Edward Little, and it just so happens Tuesday’s game will follow the annual EL-Lewiston showdown.

“The EL-Lewiston rivalry is as big a rivalry as it gets,” said Wagner. “I’m really excited to watch them play.”

As much as it will be a homecoming for Wagner, he admits the trip really isn’t about him. He’ll get a chance to visit family and friends, but the biggest impact comes from promoting the sport while his players get the opportunity to play somewhere new, and maybe learn the importance of roots.