Ashley Beaulieu knew she just needed two goals to make history.

She also knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The Lisbon senior forward was chasing down the single season scoring record set by Marcus Bubar last season. With 25 goals already, she seemed poised to set a new mark. To do so, however, she was going to have to score against a team that had already blanked her and her Greyhounds this season.

Going into Thursday’s action, Lisbon had just Hall-Dale and Georges Valley left on the schedule. The Bulldogs blanked Lisbon 4-0 while the unbeaten and top-ranked Bucs won 1-0.

“I was very scared,” said Beaulieu. “They’re good teams. They’re very talented, but playing our game definitely helps.”

Beaulieu put all questions to rest Thursday when she scored two goals in a 3-2 loss to the Bulldogs. She scored both in a span of 57 seconds early in the second half.

“They were definitely hard to score on,” said Beaulieu. “I knew coming into the game that we could all work together to achieve a goal. We knew if we played our hardest we could get a goal against them. We did, and we played our best game.”

She scored just three minutes into play in the second half, burying a rebound of an Ashli Canabush attempt.

“It give me the motivation,” said Beaulieu.

Less than a minute later, she capitalized on a loose ball to tie the game 2-2.

“I was jumping all around,” said Beaulieu. “I was so excited.”

Beaulieu had already shattered the girls’ single season mark earlier this year and already holds the career mark.

Unbeaten Cougars

There’s been a whole lot of winning going on in Dixfield this fall.

Not only has the Dirigo football team been perfect, but the Cougars
boys’ soccer squad is still unbeaten. Dirigo (11-0-1) is currently seeded
second in Western C with two games left to play.

“I knew we could be something special,” said Dirigo coach Dennis
Hanson. “Last year we went 5-9. The second half of the season, we really
started coming on. Eric (Bolduc) and Tyler (Gates) are both four-year
starters and all-state players. We knew we had a good core.”

The Cougars have shown just how good they could be and have
positioned themselves as one of the contenders as the tournament begins
next week. Dirigo has been playing well as a group and won convincingly
most of the year. The Cougars have scored 56 goals in 12 games and
allowed just nine, posting six shutouts. Mountain Valley earned a 3-3
tie with the Cougars, and Wiscasset and Mt. Abram lost by a goal. All
other games have been blowouts.

“It was scary in the preseason because it was basically me and
Eric doing a lot of things,” said Gates, a senior forward. “Now it’s
everyone, even the freshmen are being confident.”

The Cougars only lost a couple of players from last year’s club.
Dirigo missed the playoffs, but Hanson also missed much of the year his
daughter was born prematurely. He spent most of six weeks in the hospital
with her. Dirigo returned nine players and their experience shows. They
play well together and offer up a balanced lineup that has often
overwhelmed most foes.

“This team has really come together,” said Hanson. “We’re getting
big play from everyone. We not just Tyler scoring goals and Eric
getting assists. The whole team is contributing every game.”

While the offense has been potent, the defense has been a
significant part of the Cougars’ success. Dirigo is solid in front
of sophomore keeper Caleb Turner and transitions the ball up field
effectively.

“The defense has really stepped up,” said Hanson. “We moved Dylan
Castonguay from forward back to defense. We moved Cody St. Germain back
to defense. Then we have Jeremy Remeika, Alex Milledge and Caleb in
goal.”

The Cougars have two good tests to finish the season. They play at
Livermore Falls Friday and host Mt. Abram Tuesday. Both opponents are
jostling for playoff positioning.

MVC championships

The Mountain Valley Conference soccer games are scheduled for next
Wednesday. The pairings are yet to be finalized, but the games are
slated for 3:30 at Kents Hill.

Unbeaten St. Dom’s (12-0) is currently the top boys’ seed in Western C
while Dirigo (11-0-1) is ranked second. The next best record is
Wiscasset at 9-3-1.

On the girls’ side, St. Dom’s is also the top-ranked team at 10-0-2.
Georges Valley (11-0-1) is seeded second. Hall-Dale isn’t far off the
pace at 11-1-1 and ranked fourth in Western C. The Bulldogs would need a Lisbon win over the Bucs to earn a birth in the title game.