DIXFIELD – After a handful of preseason games, Tyler Gates thought his play was good but not great.

That wasn’t what he had in mind for the soccer season ahead. Good just wasn’t good enough. The Dirigo senior captain wanted something special. He had scored single goals in the preseason games his Cougars had played. Many forwards would have been pleased with that kind of production, but Gates wanted more than that.

“I figured I could do better than that,” said Gates. “I hadn’t scored what I had planned.”

Gates was aiming high. He was an all-conference player that had scored 23 goals in his career entering his final campaign. With nine regulars back and hopes of improving on last year’s five wins, Gates thought he could do something substantial.

“I was looking for a college performance year,” said Gates. “I was hoping to use soccer to help me get into college and hopefully help me to play at a high level. It just made me work that much harder in practice because I wanted this to be the year.”

The preseason turned out to be just small taste of what was to come for Gates, this fall’s Sun Journal Boys’ Soccer Player of the Year. Gates helped lead Dirigo to an unbeaten regular season, the second seed in Western C and a spot in the MVC championship game. Gates also finished with 26 goals and 49 for his career, both just shy of the school records.

“If it were not for Tyler being injured or pulling himself out of lopsided games, he would have set both of these records,” said Dirigo coach Dennis Hanson. 

His play in preseason didn’t meet the expectations he had for himself but right from the first game of the season, Gates was a force for the Cougars.

“Even in practice, right up to the first game, it didn’t seem like it was going to happen,” said Gates. “Then the first game, I had a couple nice sets from Eric (Bolduc), and things started falling into place.”

That teamwork with Bolduc proved crucial. Bolduc was a conference pick last year as well as an All-Western Maine selection. Bolduc dominated the midfield and worked effectively with Gates up front. Hanson says that the passing and teamwork of Bolduc and Gates made Dirigo’s offense go.

“I always told him that he made me look good and he always told me that I made him look good,” said Gates, who was an all-conference player and All-Western Maine and All-State this year.  Lisbon’s Marcus Bubar was the only other local player to make All-State as well. “We grew up together, and we always knew where each other is.”

That was the case for the entire Dirigo squad this year. After winning five games last year, the veteran club had evolved to a higher level, as individuals but most importantly as a team.

“Last year, everyone was still learning,” said Gates. “This year, the senior group – me, Eric, Dylan (Castonguay), Cliff (Turner), Jeremy (Remeika),  everyone – we’re all good friends. Being our last year, we all gave everything we had.”

Gates was more than just a goal scorer for the Cougars. He stepped up in crucial moments to be a leader. He admits he hates losing and not putting in a complete effort. He expected nothing less from himself and his teammates followed that lead.

“Tyler has been a two-year captain for me and was a great leader his junior year when I was away for the beginning of the season in the hospital with my daughter,” said Hanson. “Tyler was a great role model for the younger players and most practices he
would work with the younger players on basic skills.”

He also showed showed determination and perseverance through adversity this season. He suffered a concussion early in the year and then strained a calf muscle late. He missed two games and was limited down the stretch. It greatly effected his chances to break Jon Smith’s record of 32 goals in a season and 52 in a career. The records were great milestones for him to chase, but he soon learned that they didn’t matter down the stretch when Dirigo was chasing the MVC title and tournament success.

“Coming in not knowing how we were going to do, that was kind of my goal because I’d always wanted to leave my mark at Dirigo,” said Gates, who hopes to study accounting and play soccer in college and is leaning toward Johnson & Wales. “After I got hurt, it went from knowing how many goals I had to coming into the last 10 minutes of the Livermore game to help my team win. I didn’t care if it was my goal or anything. From then on, I didn’t care if I scored as long as we scored.”

The Cougars lost in the MVC game to St. Dom’s and then lost a heartbreaker to NYA in the Western C quarterfinals. Those were the only two games Gates played in that he didn’t score.

“One skill that set Tyler apart this season was his first touch on the ball,” said Hanson. “He could have been 10
yards from the net or 20, and he had the ability to get past defenders and
find an opening.”

First Team

G Willie Brown, Livermore Falls Sr.

D Jeremy Theriault, Edward Little Sr.

D Garrett Darnell, St. Dom’s Sr.

D Ahmed Abdirahman, Lewiston, Sr.

D Dylan Tisor, Mt. Abram Sr.

MF Marcus Bubar, Lisbon Sr.

MF Ali Hersey, Lewiston Jr.

MF Adam Soucy, Oak Hill Sr.

MF Eric Bolduc, Dirigo Sr.

F Jack Erickson, St. Dom’s Jr.

F Tyler Gates, Dirigo, Sr.

F Khyle Whittemore, Livermore Falls, Sr.

F Alex Parker, St. Dom’s, Jr.

Second Team

G Chris Jacques, Lewiston Sr.

D Zach Taylor, Mountain Valley, Jr.

D Jared Foster, Mt. Blue Sr.

D Allen Thomas, Monmouth Sr.

D Tyler Dupal, Lisbon Sr.

MF Brian Soucy, Oak Hill Soph.

MF Brandon Lever, Edward Little Sr.

MF Ian Daly, Mt. Abram Sr.

MF Derek Morin, Oxford Hills Jr.

F Jeremy Remeika, Dirigo Sr.

F Jim Barker, Mt. Abram Sr.

F Dylan Mawhinney, Mountain Valley Sr.

F Tyler Brown, Telstar Soph.

Player of the Year: Tyler Gates, Dirigo