Mt. Blue’s Eryn Doiron was already excited about about the upcoming soccer season when the fall began.

She had all the motivation for a fantastic finish too. She was a senior, an all-state player with a coach and team she enjoys. Doiron and the Cougars even had hopes for a fourth straight tourney berth.

Then she learned exactly how many goals she needed to make history, and that upped the ante.

Doiron had a hunch that she might be closing in on the school record for goals, but when she learned just how close she was, that only fueled her desire for a greater season.

“Someone said that you need this many goals,” Doiron said. “I was like, ‘That’s really cool. I can do that.”

Doiron was just 13 shy of the mark set by Ashli Spear, who graduated in 1991. She finished with a career of 44 goals.

“I was pumped,” Doiron said. “I knew I could do that. I knew it would be one of my goals for this year. I was pumped for the season, but this gave me even more of a push or an edge.”

Doiron has been on a mission ever since and she achieved her milestone last week. She tied the record with a goal at home against Camden and then scored two at Skowhegan to break it. Her record-breaking goal came on a penalty kick that gave Mt. Blue a 1-0 lead.

“You don’t realize it at first,” Doiron said. “It was a little bit of a shock. You’re like, ‘That was a good PK’, but it was nice. My teammates, big hugs from all of them. The people on the bench all stood up and clapped for me. It felt really good. The refs were really nice to stop the game and give me a ball. Skowhegan, too, were so nice about it and let me have that moment, which was really kind of them.”

Doiron, who’s also a standout basketball and tennis player,  is also first all-time with 110 career points and ranks third with 18 assists. Mackenzie Conlongue holds that mark with 24 assists, while Dolly Cumpian is second with 21.

Doiron scored just five goals her first season, but she’s been the Cougars go-to finisher ever since. She tallied 15 goals as a sophomore and netted 11 last fall. She’s got 15 so far this season. She’s scored more than half of her team’s 23 goals this fall.

She started out scoring at a pretty good clip. That made the record even more attainable in her mind.

“I felt really good,” Doiron said. “It was actually really weird because it was like one a game. I was like, ‘If I can score one a game, I should be OK.’”

The Cougars have only been shut out once this season, and when Mt. Blue scores a goal, Doiron has usually been the finisher. A goal against Edward Little drew her closer but then came the shutout at Bangor. That gave Doiron the chance to tie the record at home against Camden. The Windjammers won, but the Cougars put up a battle, losing 3-2. Doiron tied the record with a goal and nearly tied the game with a late effort that just missed.

“It was so much fun,” Doiron said. “Our fans were incredible. It was such a good game. To tie it at home was a little bit nice.”

Doiron was in the right place at the right time when a cross came to the middle. She got possession of the ball and had space to bury her shot.

“It hit a couple of defenders and players,” Doiron said of the cross. “It popped right out to me at about the 15-yard line. Left foot, right into the back corner.”

She had two days before the game at Skowhegan, leaving her plenty of time to think about the chance to set a new mark against the Indians. She was already getting kudos from people at school and around town, even though she’d only tied the record at that point.

“I was a little bit nervous,” she said about the Skowhegan game. “You never want to take any game lightly. We went in didn’t have our best game against Skowhegan. That was OK. I was definitely nervous. Everyone was excited and congratulating me. I was like, ‘Don’t worry, you can do it. It doesn’t have to come today. It can come next game or the game after.”

When a foul was called in the penalty area, Doiron had her chance. Teammate Caitlin Kane approached her as she set the ball prior to the PK.

“She said, ‘No pressure,’” Doiron said. “I was like, ‘Thanks Cait’. It was really funny.”

Doiron then got the whistle, took a deep breath, and buried it.

“I was like, ‘I can do it right here. There’s no one around. I have an open shot. This can be it,’” she recalls. “It was kind of weird, but I think I kind of liked it that way.”

She added another later in that game to give her 46. She says breaking the 50-mark might be nice. She’s also hoping for a home playoff game. The Cougars are currently ranked 10th in Class A North at 5-6-1. Mt. Blue finishes the regular season at Oxford Hills and at home against Messalonskee.

The Cougars have made the playoffs in each of the previous years during Doiron’s career. She’s scored six goals in the tourney as Mt. Blue has won its first playoff game all three years.

Doiron says she’s glad the record chase is over. It was a fun and memorable ride, but she’s excited to finish her final season without the pressure of it.

“It’s nice,” said Doiron, who hopes to study engineering and play soccer in college next year but hasn’t chosen a school yet. “It’s relaxing. It’s not that I let that stop me from relaxing during the season, but it’s nice to have that off.”

Doiron began playing soccer at the age of three, playing with her older brother, Ike. He became a two-time KVAC all-star at Mt. Blue and now plays for Maine Maritime Academy.

She credits her teammates for their help this season. She’s been able to work well with them and create space for herself with their help. She also appreciates the support she’s had from those around her during her career.

“ Everyone from my teammates, my family and especially (Coach) Fred (Conlogue) have helped,” Doiron said. “ I would not have this record if it wasn’t for Fred. He’s incredible.”

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