Lewiston feels right at home in a new conference.
LEWISTON – They had a new coach and were entering a new league and schedule. It was unfamiliar territory for the Lewiston girls’ soccer team, but they were sure of one thing: themselves.
“With a new coach who didn’t know the players, we had to step up and play with each other rather than have him push us,” said senior midfielder Katie Morin. “We had to rely on each other more, which made us a lot stronger.”
The Blue Devils are about to cap off the best regular season in the program’s history tonight with a game at Lawrence. At stake is Lewiston’s unblemished record and a No. 1 seeding in Eastern Class A, both firsts for the Blue Devils.
“We played during the summer, and I knew they were a veteran team,” said first-year coach Rick Meyers, whose team was second in the latest Heal Points but had one more game left than first-place Hampden. “We’ve been spending a lot of time on team building stuff, and it seems to be paying off. They really are a tight-knit group. They’ll do just about whatever it takes.”
After being toppled last year by McAuley in the first round, the Blue Devils returned a veteran crew but had a wealth of questions with the changes in coach and leagues.
“We didn’t have any idea what to expect,” said senior stopper Amanda Bergeron. “I think we really tested ourselves and probably upped our competitiveness overall. This year, I think we have a team that really wants it.”
“We have a lot of seniors, so we wanted this really bad,” said senior keeper Beth Melanson. “We just came in wanting to work hard. We didn’t know what to expect from the other teams. It was like a brand new start for us. So we thought we might as well go all the way the first year and work as hard as we can.”
The Blue Devils felt a little overlooked in their new home in the KVAC. With a wealth of traditional powers in the league, the Blue Devils were an afterthought.
“We had to prove a lot of people wrong,” said Bergeron. “People doubted us coming into this division, so we stepped it up.”
Melanson is a proven veteran goaltender, and the defense in front of her is stellar. Lindsey Foster was an All-Conference sweeper last year. Bergeron, Nicole Caron and Becky Tardif make for a senior-laden defense that boasts six straight shutouts and seven overall.
Morin is one of the league’s top midfielders and was an All-Conference player last year. Sophomore Laura Martel was also an SMAA all-star and could be one of the state’s best forwards. Seniors Kristina Harvey, Sheena Roy and Gen Lysen and junior Kelsey Varney have helped provide balance up front and in the middle.
“I feel like I’ve lucked out, that I’ve just kind of walked into this situation,” said Meyers, who coached the Gray-New Gloucester boys for four seasons before coaching the Noble girls for a year.
One driving force for the Blue Devils this season was a feeling of emptiness. Specifically, the emptiness in the Lewiston trophy case, something the team rectified by winning the Maca Roddy Memorial Trophy Tuesday in a long-awaited win over Edward Little.
“There’s nothing for girls’ soccer in the (LHS) trophy case,” said Meyers. “It has hockey, tennis, cheerleading, you name it, but there’s no girls’ soccer. They want to put something in. That’s why (Tuesday’s win) is a big one.”
Lewiston’s confidence has never been higher, and they hope their success can follow suit.
“Our self-esteem or our team-esteem is way up there,” said Morin.
Still, the Blue Devils will try to enter the playoffs with the proper frame of mind. Many other Lewiston teams have gone into the postseason with high hopes only to falter. Lewiston has never won a quarterfinal game, despite winning 11 games in 1986, 1997 and 1998.
“We definitely emphasize not being cocky,” said Bergeron. “We come into each game not expecting anything.”
“Defensively, they’re stepping it up,” said Meyers. “Once we get into the playoffs, our defense has to just keep playing solid like this, and I see us being pretty successful all the way through.”
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