BUCKFIELD – It has been so long that none of the players will remember it.

That’s because the last time the Buckfield girls’ soccer team was in a regional championship game, the players on this year’s team weren’t even born.

That changes Wednesday when the Bucks play their first Western Class D final in 23 years.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Gabby Therriault, a senior midfielder. “I’ve only ever been to a Western Maine game for softball, and that was my freshman year. To make it there in soccer and with these girls is amazing.”

Buckfield hasn’t been to a Western D championship game since 1990. The Bucks lost to Richmond that year. They haven’t won a regional final since the previous year, 1989 – beating Richmond in the title game. Buckfield was also in the 1988 game, losing to the Bobcats, but that was before the officially sanctioned Maine Prinicipals’ Association tournament began.

This year’s Bucks get the chance to put a new stamp on Buckfield history with a regional final at Richmond Wednesday at 2 p.m.

The Bucks reached this point after a pair of hard-fought 1-0 victories over Pine Tree and Greenville.

“It feels amazing,” said Abby Campbell, a senior midfielder. “I’m super excited. You never know with soccer. Games are so tough and you never know who’s going to win, but I had a feeling we might make it.”

The Bucks finished 8-8 last year and lost in the Western D semifinals. The team graduated a wealth of talent and only had six upperclassmen back.

That didn’t hinder the Bucks’ expectations. The hope was to get into the top three and then see what happened in the playoffs.

“We lost a lot of seniors last year,” Campbell said. “I was a little nervous, but people stepped up to the plate.”

Third-ranked Buckfield went 8-4-2 and had six shutouts in the regular season. The team scored 37 goals and allowed 19, and six of those were scored by NYA, a Class C team. The Bucks have posted four straight shutouts and have allowed just one goal since losing to Richmond 3-0 in early October.

“We went into the Greenville game ready to go,” Therriault said. “We were on our offensive side that whole first half. We came to that game knowing we wanted to win, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Richmond (15-1)  poses a formidable obstacle for the Bucks. The defending D champs lost eight starters and 11 overall from last year, but the only loss was a 4-2 defeat to Sacopee Valley, which is playing in the Western C title game. Richmond only allowed nine goals during the regular season, four of them to the Hawks. Two were against the Bucks. Richmond also scored 80 goals and had nine shutouts.

“It’s going to be a battle, but we definitely have a very strong chance,” Therriault said.

The Bobcats won the first game 3-2 back in September. Chika Obi and Amber Loon scored goals in the first half. Then Meranda Martin made it 3-0 in the second half. Buckfield rallied on two goals by junior Naudia Wesley.

A month later, Obi, Loon and Kelsea Anair scored goals in a 3-0 shutout for the three-time state champs.

“It’s definitely going to be tough, but I think we can beat them,” Campbell said. “We have to come in with confidence. We can’t just back down because they’ve beaten us for quite a few years. We just have to have that mentality that we’re going to win.”

Considering that Richmond has been a nemesis for the Bucks, as well as most other teams in Western D, Buckfield knows it has nothing to lose in this showdown and everything to gain.

Defense has been the key to the success of late and that won’t change Wednesday. If the Bucks can limit the Bobcats up front, it can only enhance their hopes.

“Our defense on our team is amazing,” Therriault said. “They do a great job. As long as we stay tight on defense and keep the ball away from our end and really focus on getting the ball up and spaced out, that will be the key.

“If we can stop them from scoring and work on spacing out and do what we’ve been working on all year, we can definitely beat them.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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