AUBURN – The proverbial bounce certainly went St. Dom’s way Friday afternoon. In fact, it did so twice.

The Saints scored a pair of goals that deflected in off defenders and blanked Sacopee Valley 3-0 in the Western Class C boys’ soccer championship game.

“We played strong against NYA,” said junior Matt Barlion. “We knew if we came out strong against any team we played, we’d take it. So we came out strong.”

It is the first regional crown for St. Dom’s since winning the states in 2001. The Saints advance to the Class C state game Saturday, Nov. 3, to face Madawaska at a site to be determined.

Sacopee Valley had tied the Saints 1-1 during the regular season, and Friday’s game appeared even in a back-and-forth first half.

After a Jackson Erickson shot deflected in off a defender in the first half, the Saints made it 2-0 when a Barlion shot did the same. Casey Parker added the third goal, while Aaron Allen and Luke Pinard both made nice saves to preserve the shutout.

“We didn’t show up the last time we played them,” St. Dom’s coach Matt Erickson said. “Truly, I think we’re a stronger team, and I told them, ‘If we show up and play our game, we will do very well.’ Except for Jack’s early goal, we didn’t figure that out until the second half.”

The Hawks exploited some holes in the Saints’ game early, getting some near breakaways in the first half. The Saints tightened up defensively and countered the Hawks attack.

“Garrett Darnell was probably our most valuable player in the NYA game,” said Matt Erickson. “He played with equal intensity today and did a great job shoring up the defensive midfield.”

St. Dom’s first goal came with 16:55 left. Erickson’s shot struck a defender and deflected into the left corner, out of the reach of Hawks’ keeper Earl Hargis.

“We play better when we have the momentum,” said freshman Jackson Erickson. “So, for us to get that first goal is big.”

Sacopee picked up the pace in the second half in an attempt to produce the equalizer, but Barlion’s goal killed that rally with 28 minutes left.

“I took a shot and it deflected off a kid,” said Barlion. “Casey Parker was there. He dumped it off to the side for me, and I put it in the corner.”

Parker then made it 3-0 with 19:39 left with a nice shot on a burst down the right side that landed inside the left post.

“That second goal was huge,” said Matt Erickson. “Like with NYA, with about 20 minutes to go, we started to slow the place down a little bit. We were fortunate to get a third goal. When you have three goals in a game, you’re in really good shape.”