Addi Bilodeau of Lewiston cuts up the field against Edward Little earlier this month in Auburn. Bilodeau scored two goals in the Blue Devils’ 3-2 win over Oxford Hills last week, the program’s first victory since 2020. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

The Lewiston girls soccer team earned its first win since 2020 when it defeated Oxford Hills 3-2 on Thursday. It was the first victory for any of the players during their high school careers.

The Blue Devils finished the 2020 season with a 3-8-3 record. They went 0-13-1 each of the next two years, and last year they were 0-12.

Addi Bilodeau, who scored two of Lewiston’s three goals against the Vikings, attributed the victory the team’s cohesion. The senior team captain also said she started a tradition of the players dedicating games to significant people in their lives.

“The week before, I went to a Central Maine game, and they did wrist wraps that had who they played for on their wrist,” Bilodeau said. “So, I had our whole team do that, and I think we were all just very inspired that game, because we knew Oxford Hills was a winnable game and we don’t have much of that in the tough Class A.”

Bilodeau said her wrist contained game-day dedications to her family, pets, herself and Lionel Messi, as well as a religious cross.

“I think that was definitely was a key to thinking about who we play for, like, we want to do this for them,” Bilodeau said. “A lot of players put relatives that passed away and stuff, and I think it was just very inspiring.”

Lewiston head coach Kevin Albert attributed the long-awaited victory to a combination of factors. First, he said he switched junior captain Crew Langley from her typical center back position to midfield, in hopes of putting her “more into play, into a position where we can use her ball handling ability and try to push one of our other midfielders higher in the lineup to provide a little more offense.”

Albert said he was surprised Lewiston did not score more than three in the 3-2 win, because of the amount of scoring opportunities the new offensive scheme produced.

Also, senior goalkeeper Dayla Tripp had been out of the game since the beginning of the season with a shoulder injury, but she decided to hop back in the net for Thursday’s game.

Against Oxford Hills, the Blue Devils played with more offensive confidence and they didn’t have to play from behind — an uncommon combination for the program.

“It’s been frustrating. I mean, obviously, for them and it’s hard because we’ve had some good players over the last few years, we just haven’t been able to put it together,” Albert said. “I think the division and the strong teams that are in our division, and the teams that we have to play multiple times because of some scheduling kind of things, don’t benefit our program. It really, really hurts (us), and we don’t get a lot of those opportunities to get some wins and gain some confidence, because we’re always playing from behind.”

A NEED FOR FEED(ER PROGRAMS) 

Albert added that part of the reason for Lewiston’s years-long struggles is the lack of a feeder program system in central Maine. He said this also affects several of the surrounding schools, such as Edward Little, Leavitt and St. Dominic Academy.

“We’re at the point now at our school, where we have no development areas,” Albert said. “We don’t have club programs, we’re stuck in between. They have Seacoast up north, they have Seacoast down south, but we don’t have anything in our area.”

The Lewiston-Auburn area has LAYSA (Lewiston-Auburn Youth Soccer Association), which is open to children ages 4-13. The 2024 fall recreation league currently only has teams for ages 4-11. For high-school aged players, Central Maine United Soccer Club exists, with the closest travel team in Waterville.

Central Maine United Soccer Club also has a Winslow travel soccer club and a Fairfield team, neither of which are any closer to the Androscoggin County schools.

Some players are able to travel farther to feeder programs outside of the area, but not enough to benefit one of the area programs.

“It also hurts that we’re not getting kids that are playing enough,” Albert said. “The program that we have, LAYSA, is more of an area program, so those kids are feeding all of our schools, but you’re not getting all of them going to say, Lewiston or EL; you know, three kids go to Oak Hill, four kids go to EL, three go to St. Dom’s. I mean, it’s spread all over the place, and that’s all we have for a feeder program.”

He added that the high school programs feel the effects of not having feeder programs when they consistently face conference foes who have the benefit of offseason and additional non-high school organized play.

BUCKFIELD STAYS WINNING 

On the flipside, the Buckfield girls soccer team has opened the season with a spotless 5-0 record. The Bucks’ most recent victory was over Richmond, 5-1, in which senior Brittany Carrier scored three goals and Chloee Bennett and Cora Brewster each had one.

First-year coach Annette Caldwell said having 10 seniors on the roster has been the main reason for the team’s success. She also credited former Buckfield coach Larry Thornton for creating a solid foundation for the program.

“My gifts are around leadership,” Caldwell said. “I’ve been coaching for a long time, over 40 years, and a number of sports, and so I’m trying to get them to stay united, and just to have the chemistry and build the chemistry that it takes to try to keep those type of streaks going and to go for the gold ball.”

Buckfield’s offense has scored 29 goals in its five games. Carrier has been particularly prolific, scoring at least three goals in all but one game and tallying 16 so far this season.

Caldwell said the defense has also contributed to the 5-0 start. For instance, goalie Kianna Finnegan allowed only one goal against Richmond.

“I was really bummed, Kianna did an amazing job,” Caldwell said after the game. “She really communicated well with the defense and controlled her decision. She made great decisions coming out after the ball and she deserved the shutout, but Richmond made the play, so they deserved the goal.”

Buckfield’s Chloee Bennett, center, steals the ball away from Richmond’s Aubrey Swift during Thursday’s game in Buckfield. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Caldwell added that in front of Finnegan are four strong defenders who make the goalie’s job a lot easier.

“She’s supported by an outstanding defense, they work so well together,” Caldwell said. “Amelia Hill, Alyssa Breton, Sophi St. Pierre, Cori Merrill, that unit is really strong. So Kiana does a good job in goal, but if I have to be honest, I’m telling you, it’s the four of those girls out in front of her that limit the number of shots. That group of them together, working together, that makes the difference.”

Success isn’t new to the Bucks. Last year, they were Class D South finalists.

The 10 seniors aren’t the only players contributing this season. Caldwell called it the “perfect storm” for substitutions, because there’s enough juniors on the team that are buying in and performing, and behind the seniors and juniors are sophomores to add to the team dynamic on the field. And the Bucks lone freshman, Taylor Harvey, leads the squad in assists.

“I was scared, even though I’m going to be 59 and I have ton of experience in coaching, there’s a lot of pressure coming in knowing that I’m going to come into a good team,” Caldwell said. “You’ve got some strong personalities on this team and I love them, but they’re strong women, so I need to be strong. I feel way more confident right now.”