AUBURN — An ill-advised advertising campaign once declared “this is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” Apply that to local boys’ soccer and perhaps on some level this isn’t even your older brother’s Saint Dominic Academy team.

The Saints appear both sleek and reliable enough to drive wherever they want to go in Western Class C and the Mountain Valley Conference, just the same.

Pushed to the brink in a frustrating first half Tuesday, St. Dom’s used goals by Austin Roy and Chase Hainey after intermission to sneak away with a 2-1 triumph.

Hainey also assisted Roy’s goals for the Saints, who know they might have to grind it out a little more than usual this season after undefeated regular seasons in 2011 and 2012.

“Chase has been great so far this year. He’s been very valuable,” St. Dom’s coach Marty Bressler said. “We lost 14 through attrition from last year. Over 60 goals. We really have to have people step up.”

It was the Cougars, similarly inexperienced up front, who enjoyed a 1-0 halftime lead after a penalty kick by sophomore Josh Mostofizadeh.

Dirigo delivered only one other shot on goal in the first half — a direct kick from Nick St. Germain, leading to a waist-high save from Ben Sawyer — and a grand total of three on the afternoon.

St. Dom’s, meanwhile, unleashed a double-digit total before the break, although many of them were wildly off the mark.

“I knew one wasn’t enough,” Dirigo coach Owen Libby said. “I knew we needed another one at least, if not two. I told the guys at half they were going to get one eventually with that type of shooting.”

Flustered by the five-back formation that the Cougars employed in hopes of protecting the lead, the Saints switched their strategy from low, 25-yard shots to lofting, long-range services in hopes of a redirection.

It worked splendidly when Roy rose above the crowd and headed in Hainey’s offering from the far sideline with 25:48 left.

“I saw Chase going to the corner, and I knew he’d get it to me. I don’t know how it happened, but I put my head up there and hoped for the best,” said Roy, a sophomore.

“It was frustrating not connecting with the net, but at least we knew we were setting ourselves up for some chances,” added Hainey, one of St. Dom’s few returning starters. “Just keep at it, and hard work will eventually wear the other team out or create chances for us.”

Hainey’s persistence in pursuit of a loose ball yielded the game-winner from about 12 yards away with 6:36 to go in regulation.

St. Dom’s forced Dirigo goalie Justin Grignon to make 10 saves. Shots were 24-3 overall.

“They just outhustled us in the first half and created a play where they could get an opportunity to score, and they did. We had to go back to what our game was, and once we did that, we really created a lot more chances,” Bressler said. “Dirigo’s a playoff team in my opinion. I’m glad we got the result. We had to keep plugging. I just love how scrappy our team is and how they just don’t stop playing.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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