HAMPDEN – All year Matt Erickson would get a not-so-subtle reminder from Lee Hixon, the former boys’ soccer coach and current athletic director at St. Dom’s.

Hixon and his Saints won the state title in 2001 in his first year as coach. So with Erickson at the helm for his first campaign, Hixon was all too willing to provide a periodic history lesson.

“I had a lot of pressure on me,” said Erickson. “I told the boys if they’re not going to win it for themselves, they had to win it for me because my AD said many times through the year that he won his first year. The pressure was on, but my boys did well.”

Erickson and his Saints were up to the challenge, earning St. Dom its fourth Class C state championship with a 2-0 win over Madawaska at Hampden Academy on Monday.

“This is the best feeling,” said junior forward Matt Barlion. “I couldn’t imagine anything better. Just to be here feels awesome and then to win it, it’s over the top.”

Barlion and Casey Parker each scored first-half goals and the Saints’ team defense was stellar in frustrating a speedy Madawaska front line. The win continued Western Maine’s dominance in Class C. Only two times has an Eastern Maine club won the C title – back in 1985 and 1986.

“We always play well with the lead,” said Erickson. “We feel we can settle and absolutely play our game.”

Though Madawaska had speed and up front, St. Dom’s controlled the midfield, using its skill and hustle. The Owls (14-4-0) had the potential to produce a scoring threat with a quick transition in the midfield and a mistake by the Saints’ defense, but St. Dom’s never allowed it.

“They couldn’t get the ball up to their fast strikers because we were interfering with their control in the midfield,” Erickson said. “When we possessed the ball, we were patient. We kicked the ball around and found the open player regardless of where he was. That made them chase a little bit.”

Even if the Owls got the ball in its offensive end, the Saints’ defense did a marvelous job blocking shots and breaking up plays to post its second straight playoff shutout. Keeper Aaron Allen had a relatively easy night thanks to the play in front of him.

The Saints allowed just one goal in the entire tournament.

“I have a very fast defense,” said Erickson. “I put some of my fastest players on defense for that reason, so they don’t let anything get behind them.”

Barlion nearly gave the defense something to work with in the opening minutes when his shot hit the crossbar and bounced in front of the goalmouth. Though that bid fell short, he managed to break the stalemate shortly thereafter. Ben Randall crossed a pass from the right corner. Barlion and Shayne Curtis were in front, and Barlion redirected the ball into the goal with 10:21 left in the half.

“It was a good placement,” said Barlion. “The ground is really fast. I knew I had to be behind it. It skipped right to me, and I put it right into the net.”

As big a goal as that was, Parker’s tally with 49 seconds left in the half was devastating for the Owls. Dylan Roberts chased down the ball in the left corner and put it in front. Parker settled it and put it in.

“I just came off the bench for Matt,” said Parker. “Jack (Erickson) passed it down to Dylan Roberts in the corner. He made a nice one-touch pass, and I was along at the far post.”

The 2-0 lead had the Saints in full control. The Owls didn’t get a shot in the second half until 17:38 remained and only had two in the second half.

“There were swings where we could not penetrate their defense,” said Madawaska coach Ben Sirois. “For the most part, the ball got swallowed up in the middle, and it was basically a midfield game.”

The Saints lose just six seniors from a team that had no championship game experience before this fall. So Erickson hopes this was just the beginning.

“I expect to be pretty strong next year, graduating only three senior starters,” he said. “We have a young team. We have a skilled team of kids that get along and play hard.”