WISCASSET — A strong start was what Mark Lopez wanted.

He hoped his Mt. Abram boys’ soccer team could come into Thursday’s quarterfinal and assert itself and take control early. Instead, it was a Roadrunner mistake that led to an early goal and put Wiscasset in the driver’s seat in a 3-0 victory in a Western C quarterfinal. The Redskins advance to Saturday’s semifinal at St. Dom’s.

“My goalie slipped and fell, and they got the first goal,” said Lopez. “I told them if we won the first 20 minutes we’d be in good shape. We gave up a goal 10 minutes in on a slip or a miscue.”

The Roadrunners (9-5-1) never got untracked after that. Mt. Abram was out of sync most of the game, and Wiscasset (10-4-1) took advantage of any mistakes. Colby Griffin had a goal and an assist while Ashton Benn and John McLeod also scored.

“We played well,” said Wiscasset coach Wayne Benn. “It was a good effort from Mt. Abram. That’s a good team over there. They gave us all we wanted today.”

The game had been postponed from Wednesday because of an outbreak of the H1N1 (swine) flu virus.The Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit (RSU) 12 had 10 confirmed cases as of Wednesday and many extracurricular activities had been cancelled. Wiscasset was also dealing with the death of a student that nearly postponed Thursday’s game.

“Monday, they wouldn’t let us practice,” said Benn, who had three players out of the lineup because of illness. “Tuesday, I had a practice but had 11 missing. Then when the game was rescheduled (Wednesday), it was a cold night. I had 11 kids out. I didn’t want anyone to catch a cold.”

Despite the adversity, the Redskins produced a solid game. Mt. Abram outshot Wiscasset 11-8 and had eight corners to the Redskins’ four. Still, the Redskins didn’t give up an abundance of quality scoring opportunities and keeper Mason Brewer was solid in net.

“I stressed early in the week that we had to win all the 50-50 balls,” said Lopez. “We didn’t do a great job of that. They got to the ball better and quicker than we did.”

Mt. Abram’s best scoring chances in the opening half were actually knocked down by defenders. Ian Daly had a shot blocked. After a ball bounced off a Wiscasset player to Alex Larochelle, his shot was kicked aside by a Redskins player. Jim Barker hustled up front on the wings but couldn’t get free for a great shot.

Meanwhile, it was a defensive mistake that led to the 1-0 lead at 9:32. A Wiscasset forward chased after a ball with two Roadrunner defenders. Goalie Josh Beedy charge out of the net but fell. Mt. Abram misplayed it, and the ball bounced toward the left side where Benn was all alone and had an open net.

“We had a real problem with the field,” said Lopez, of the turf that was muddy and slippery in many spots. “They played on the same field, and they kept their feet under them a heck of a lot better than we did.”

The Roadrunners tried to mount a comeback in the second half, but with 28:02 left, Griffin got his goal to make it 2-0. Mt. Abram had pressed on a corner kick and got caught upfield. Griffin outraced the defense and had an open shot.

“I probably got too aggressive sending my sweeper up as early in the game as I did,” said Lopez. “I hadn’t prepared my wings. They tried to go toe-to-toe with Griffin. You’ve got to make a play there or you’re going to give up a goal. ”

Then with 21:14, Wiscasset scored on a similar goal. Griffin beat the defense for a near breakaway. He tried to shake off a defender and got a shot on net that hit off Beedy at the right post. McLeod was there to tap it in.

“I knew if we could get the right touch between him and the goalie, one-on-one, there’s not many kids that can run with him,” said Benn of Griffin. “He’s physical and he can take a beating. It worked twice for us.”

Mt. Abram, which had lost all four regular season loses by 1-0 margins,  had a Ben Listowich shot blocked by a defender and had a nice bid by Barker go wide. 

“Wiscasset is a very tough team especially at home,” said Lopez, whose team is finished the year 5-2-1 on the road. “We didn’t see them all year.”