Darby Beaulieu knew her Oak Hill soccer team was without a goalie last fall. She had never played the position before,  but she still figured she could do something about it.

“When I found out that Maggie (Sabine) wasn’t going to be playing, I was like, ‘Coach, if you need me to go in goal, I’ll do it. I’ll learn it. I’ll pick it up easy.'” said Beaulieu.

Coach Brant Remington was convinced and put Beaulieu in net. It took a little away from the offensive line, but Beaulieu’s athleticism, hands and knowledge of the game was a good fit to fill the significant hole in net.

It also allowed Beaulieu a chance to continue to recover from the illness that had plagued her as a sophomore. As much as she liked playing forward, she knew her body likely wasn’t going to be able to take it. It was part of her reasoning in offering to play goal.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle the late night road games and three games a week,” said Beaulieu, who was still feeling linger effects of mononucleosis. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to handle it at that point.”

It proved to be a good move for the Raiders. Beaulieu did fine in net and helped the Raiders going 8-6-1 before losing in the Western B quarterfinals.

Now Beaulieu is back at her usual spot up front and glad for it.

“I really like it,” she said. “I am definitely more productive at left forward. I always have been. Last year, it was most beneficial to the team for me to be in goal. It worked. I enjoyed it. It was good for my health because I had mono my sophomore year. So I was still in recovery even a year later.”

Now she’s able to bring her full skills to the front line, a spark the Raiders need with the graduation of Abby Goulet and Becca Belaire up front. Beaulieu brings quickness and a determination around the net. Last year, when Oak Hill needed offense, they’d bring Beaulieu out of the net for that late-game boost on a few occasions. That allowed keeper Desiree Johns, now a junior, a chance to get experience.

“Coming back up to forward, it made me miss it,” said Beaulieu. “I can’t really hold a constant fast pace but I’m really good in quick spurts. I just like getting the ball and having an adrenalin rush and going to the goal. I like to do as much as I can with it. I just really enjoy the adrenalin rush.”

Back for more

When you’re adding more players than you lost, that could bode well for the season. After going 10-4-1 and losing in the Western C quarterfinals, Dirigo is back in full force. The Cougars only lost one player from last year — Erin Turner. She was a midfielder that graduated early. Dirigo, however, adds defender Mariah Larsen. She missed last year after a car accident, but she’s back as a senior captain to help bolster an already strong defense.

“We have experience and pretty good depth,” said Dirigo coach Art Chamberlain. “Our defense kept us in most of our games last season, and we are returning all of the defense plus Mariah Larsen, who started at fullback in 2009.”

The Cougars also have all-state forward Natalie Bolduc up front with seniors Larissa Bryant, Alyssa Wade, Paige Murphy and Miranda Shurtleff around her.

With such an experienced roster, the Cougars have high hopes after losing in penalty kicks the last two years to Georges Valley and Old Orchard Beach respectively.

“They are eager to prove that they can take the next step,” said Chamberlin.

Good start

The reunion of the Jay and Livermore Falls teams has had a good start. There were 28 girls that came out in the preseason for Spruce Mountain. It will allow the Phoenix to field a JV team. Coach Jon Blaisdell had just 17 players total last year at Jay.

“This year I gained 17 freshmen,” said Blaisdell. “So the future looks good for us.”

Jay and Livermore Falls combined as a club team a few years ago and went varsity, earning a playoff spot in Western B, losing a prelim to Poland. Jay went at it alone last year going 6-6-2 and losing in a Western C quarterfinal.

Spruce Mountain has 12 returning players from last year, including senior forward Alexi Deering, who was an MVC all-star that scored 22 goals.