Last year was suppose to be tough to duplicate for both boys’ soccer teams from Lewiston and St. Dom’s.

The Blue Devils went 12-3, won the KVAC championship, and lost in overtime in the Eastern A tournament. The Saints were nearly as successful, going 13-2-2 before losing in the Western C semifinal.

Both teams lost a wealth of talent from those experienced clubs and had significant holes to fill. Still, neither team missed a beat.

Lewiston (11-2-1)  returns to the KVAC championship game against Bangor for the second consecutive year Friday at 5:45 at p.m. at Mt. Ararat High School. The Blue Devils also earned the top seed in Eastern Class A. All that after starting the season 0-1-1.

“The Heal points this year were not completely surprising,” Lewiston coach Mike McGraw said. “I knew our team would do well if we gelled together as a team. We had a overcome a little adversity at the beginning of the year as we discovered we were not as good as we thought we were. But we were a little better than most.”

Lewiston won 11 straight games before losing to Brunswick on Tuesday in the regular-season finale. The Blue Devils outscored foes 50-10 and posted six shutouts.

“Our overall team speed has been a real plus for us,” McGraw said. “We also have exhibited very good skills. “

After the KVAC game Friday, Lewiston will host the winner of the preliminary game between Erskine and Mt. Blue. The Eagles stunned Lewiston in overtime last year in the quarterfinals.

“The players are looking forward to playing in the playoffs,” McGraw said. “They want to do better than last year. They know they are good enough to go much further in the playoffs and understand that all the Heals do are determine where playoffs are going to be played and who the opponent is. Records don’t count. Games on paper don’t count. The only thing that does count is the score at the end of the game.”

The Cougars (8-5-1) host Erskine on Friday at 3 p.m. in the Eastern A prelim. Mt. Blue beat the Eagles twice this season, 1-0 and 3-0. The latter score came in the regular-season finale.

Edward Little (4-9-1) finished 10th overall and play at Lawrence on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The Red Eddies didn’t play the Bulldogs.

St. Dom’s not only earned a spot in the conference title game, but also have the top seed in Western C. The Saints lost to Hall-Dale in Thursday’s MVC game,  but hope it will help prepare them for next week’s tournament.

“It’s a great dynamic of kids,” St. Dom’s coach Marty Bressler said. “They’re very coachable and passionate about the game. They’re going to take this loss to heart and think long and hard about this. They’ll think about what we should have done as opposed to what we didn’t do. It’s a good lesson.”

St. Dom’s was expected to be a solid club but maybe not 12-0-2 after losing so much talent. These Saints were determined to maintain their status atop Western Class C.

“I think the biggest difference is that the seniors are leading,” Bressler said. “The captains are leading. They really believe in the one-team dynamic. We don’t have any superstars. We have to play as a team. Everybody plays offense and everybody plays defense. That’s been the overwhelming factor. If we’re going to be a success in the playoffs, we have to remember what brought us here.”

The Saints host the winner of Friday’s prelim between North Yarmouth and Mt. Abram (6-5-3). The Roadrunners have won four straight.

Also in Western C, Lisbon (11-2-1) took the fourth spot and will host Sacopee Valley. It’s the first year for the Greyhounds in Western C after years of playing the best Western Maine Conference teams in Western B.

Dirigo (11-3) finished sixth and play the MVC champions from Hall-Dale.  The Bulldogs won the regular season game, 1-0.

In Western B,  three local teams have preliminary games this weekend. Gray-New Gloucester (6-7-1) finished ninth and play at Freeport on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Patriots beat the Eagles 2-1  earlier in the year. Leavitt (4-9-1) finished 11th and play at Lincoln Academy at 5 p.m. Saturday. Oak Hill (3-11) took the 12th spot and travel to Fryeburg on Saturday for a 1 p.m. game.

In Western Class D, Buckfield finished 6-7 and get a trip to Vinalhaven for the quarterfinal. They’ll play the Vikings next Wednesday at 1 p.m. The Bucks split the regular season series, losing 4-2, but beating the Vikings 4-3 the following day.

kmills@sunjournal.com

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