By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

MONMOUTH – The Monmouth Mustangs were in control of their own destiny Wednesday.

With a playoff berth locked up, their regular season finale was about finishing strong and bolstering their standing in Western C. The Mustangs managed to do both with a 1-0 win over Lisbon.

“We’ll get third, but we could get second,” said Monmouth coach Gary Trafton. “We wanted to stay away from fourth. We don’t want to travel to Traip or Sacopee Valley like we did in the past. We went up to Mt. Abram last year in the second round. We went to Traip two years in a row before that. That’s a long haul.”

After going 5-6-3 last season, the Mustangs finished at 11-2-1 with the victory over the Greyhounds. Shawn Holbrook’s goal early in the first half was backed up by a solid defensive effort and shutout by keeper Scott Ogden.

“The defense has been great all year,” said Holbrook. “They haven’t allowed a lot of goals.”

Lisbon (8-5-1) had a nice turnaround of its own this season, going from one win last year to a school-record of eight this fall and a playoff berth in Western B.

“I think we’ll be in sixth,” said Lisbon coach Scott Barden. “I don’t think anybody can catch us. Freeport, I think, was the only team that could catch us.”

The Greyhounds managed to stay within reach of the Mustangs but couldn’t produce the equalizer. Goaltender Mike Wilkins helped keep Lisbon close with a diving save on Nate Armstrong in the first half and a stop on a penalty kick by Patrick Trenholm in the second half.

“He’s done it every game,” said Barden of Wilkins. “We played good in spurts. There were times where we didn’t play as well as we could have.”

Monmouth got its only goal 7:41 into the game. Armstrong’s corner kick was headed in by Holbrook in front.

“I just saw the ball coming across the field,” said Holbrook. “I just knew I had to get a head on it.”

Despite some steady pressure, the Mustangs couldn’t add to its lead. Trenholm had a chance on the penalty kick with 17:09 left after a hand ball in the penalty area.

Lisbon picked up the pace in the second half and created some pressure but couldn’t score.

“When we’re down, we play pretty good,” said Barden. “They’re a good team. When they got the lead, they back it in. They play for the mistakes.”

Nate Osmond had a chip shot saved by Ogden, and Payton Austin put a dead ball shot on net.

In the final minutes, Osmond put it wide on a rush. Lisbon’s best try came in the closing seconds. A shot by Dan Gil-Romero was saved by Ogden but the ball was loose. Osmond rushed to the rebound but put it wide.

“That was scary,” said Trafton. “Scott made a great save on that breakaway. We gave them too much space. They got the ball.

“They turned it on us, and that’s not good for us. A couple of guys gave a little more space than they should have.”