It was a year Darren Allen expected to see what his soccer program was made of.

Yet, the coach of the Mt. Abram boys’ soccer team wasn’t quite sure what he would discover.

After losing 13 seniors, the Roadrunners were destined for a down season. Only four starters were back after going 13-2-1 and losing in overtime in the Western C semifinals.

Ideally, Allen would have a program that could recover rather than rebuild, but after just four years, even he wasn’t sure if they’d reached that level yet.

“That was my hope, to build a program that could survive every year, and it’s survived very well,” said Allen.

There has been little doubt about how the Roadrunners have fared. Mt. Abram has started the year 9-0 and are the top-ranked team in Western C. Allen says it was only in his wildest dreams that he thought his team could respond in this fashion.

In his players minds, there was little doubt.

“We knew coming in we were going to be down, but we knew what it takes to get there,” said senior goaltender Andy Sperry. “We don’t have the same finesse and skill, but we go hard after the ball.”

The Roadrunners had plenty of holes to fill, and there were only six varsity players returning. Much of the success hinged on new players. The experience was lacking but the determination was not.

“People didn’t think we were going to do it after losing all those players, but these kids wanted it more,” said senior defender Christian Talmage. “A lot of the young kids saw what happened last year, and they wanted to be part of that.”

The Roadrunners had produced their first winning season in years three seasons ago and nearly reached the Western C final last fall. Maintaining that kind of success, and surpassing it, has only fueled this club.

“We were eight minutes away from going to the Western Maine final,” said Allen. “That sunk in through the whole summer.”

During the offseason, the Roadrunners prepared diligently for this fall. JV coach Mark Lopez ran the team’s summer program while Allen ran a men’s soccer league that included many of his players along with college players from Farmington and Presque Isle.

“We’re just building on last year,” said Talmage. “We want the (state championship) ball. We’re ready to do what it takes to get that ball.”

Allen says this is the most focused team he’s ever had and that determination is turning a down season into one with a tremendous upside. The overall talent may not be as prevalent, but the work ethic and chemistry may be stronger.

“We’re hungry, and we’re ready to go after it,” said Talmage. “That’s pretty much the motto of our soccer team this year.”

The Roadrunners were especially hard hit on defense. Only Sperry and Talmage returned. Allen didn’t pick his new starting defenders until late in the preseason. Freshman Ronal Cabe, sophomore David Fullerton, who overcame a serious skiing injury to his leg to play this year, and junior Jordan Norton have all stepped in. Senior Ritter Bopp has come off the bench and bolstered the backline.

“My old defense, they knew what to do, but the new defense, it takes patience,” said Sperry. “You have to be patient, and they’re improving every game.”

Allen told his veterans that they would have to help coach on the field and nurture the newcomers.

“A lot of credit goes to the seniors,” said Allen. “They’ve embraced that and taken it on.”

Sam Dyar, T.J. Ladd, Chris Hayes have all anchored the midfield while Aaron Adams has provided balance up front with All-State forward Sam Witherspoon, who leads the team with 15 goals and eight assists.

“Different kids have stepped up at different moments,” said Allen. “The last few games have been pretty tight and different kids have been stepping up.”