SALEM – It was a case of use it or lose it.

When the St. Dom’s boys’ soccer team won the option Saturday, the Saints elected to have the wind to their backs to start the game.

“I knew once we had the wind, we could get up a couple of goals and hopefully, that would hold in the second half,” said St. Dom’s coach Lee Hixon.

The Saints scored twice in a wind-aided first half and then held off a frantic rally by Mt. Abram in a 2-1 victory in their Western C quarterfinal. Fifth-ranked St. Dom’s advances to Wednesday’s semifinal.

St. Dom’s got goals from Sheldon Roy and Dan Ouellette and then relied on their defense and the goaltending of Austin Fuller to hold off the Roadrunners. Mt. Abram got a Shem Dixon tally early in the second half but couldn’t produce the equalizer.

“We threw everything we had in the second half,” said Mt. Abram coach Darren Allen. “The throws (by Ronal Cabe), their keeper played really well coming out to play the ball. We had a lot of shots blocked in front of the net. We just threw everything at them, and they held.”

Weather conditions created havoc for both squads. Winds gusts that would take your breath – and your hat – away had the light poles swaying back and forth and the soccer ball nearly uncontrolable. Even if a team had the wind at its backs, it was difficult to make cross-field passes. Even through balls on the ground were pushed 20 or 30 yards ahead. Balls in the air would boomerang back in a kicker’s face.

“I asked three of their subs going in ‘Is it always this windy up here?'” said Hixon. “He said ‘This is the worst we’ve ever seen it.’ So I think it was new for them too. I think they’re used to some wind, but this was 40 to 45 miles per hour winds here.”

The Saints took quick advantage of the wind and scored just 1:45 into the game. Matt Barlion made a nice run down the right side and crossed the ball in front. Sheldon Roy was there to pop it into the net. It was the fifth straight game St. Dom’s had scored in the first few minutes of the game.

“Right off the bat, we get it and it gave us a lot of intensity,” said Roy. “It was a good cross from Matt Barlion. I was right there in the right place at the right time.”

The Roadrunners had five defenders hunkered down to hold off the Saints attack in the opening half.

“There was no way in this wind that you could get any offensive push,” Allen said of playing against the wind. “I knew we were going to give up something because of the wind. To come out just two goals, I was happy.”

Mt. Abram was looking at only a 1-0 defecit until 14:08 remained in the half. A St. Dom’s through ball found John Mulderig on the left side. He fed Dan Ouellette on the right side for the 2-0 lead.

The tables turned in the second half. Mt. Abram mounted a rally with the wind and got within 2-1 with 30:37 left. A Cabe free kick went through the wall and Dixon tipped it past Fuller.

The Roadrunners kept the pressure on, outshooting the Saints 12-4. St. Dom’s only threats were breakaway bids by Andy Allen and Barlion. Roadrunner keeper Wyatt Johnson did a nice job breaking those up. Mt. Abram had tremendous pressure and with Cabe’s mighty throws from the sideline, the Saints defense was often under seige.

“We were wondering if we were going to pull it off,” said Roy.

“We slowed the ball down and kept it outside and kept it out of the air.”

The Saints settled in defensively and worked the ball out more effectively. The Roadrunners had their chances. Nate Smith charged through the box for a header off a Cabe header. David Fullerton had a shot tipped away by Fuller at the crossbar. Jason Parrett and Ryan Dudman teamed up for a rush that was broken up. In the closing seconds, a Cabe throw landed in the box, was headed in front but hit a St. Dom’s defender.

“It just didn’t go in,” said Allen. “It just didn’t happen. We didn’t fold at all. We pushed everything we had at them and they held.”