Although the snow has mostly faded from view at local high school soccer fields, Sunday’s storm has changed where some regional finals will be played on Wednesday.
Waterville and Richmond have moved their games due to unplayable field conditions brought on by the storm.
Top-seeded Waterville’s Eastern B regional championship against No. 3 Hermon has been moved to Thomas College’s Smith Field at 2 p.m.
“We have some snow (at Webber Field),” Waterville athletic director Heidi Bernier said. “Even if it melts by (Wednesday) afternoon, it will still be too slick, and we don’t want to put the players in a dangerous situation.”
The Western D girls and boys finals originally scheduled for Richmond Middle/High School will be played on the turf surface at McMann Field in Bath. The top-seeded girls will play No. 2 Searsport at 2 p.m. The boys game will follow at 4:30, with the No. 1 Bobcats playing No. 2 Buckfield.
“We still have a bunch of snow on our fields,” Richmond athletic director Jon Spear said. “Even if it does melt, it isn’t going to do much for our fields.”
As of Tuesday night, the Western Class C girls and boys finals were still on at Maranacook Community High School, with No. 5 Maranacook hosting No. 7 Sacopee Valley in the girls game at 3 p.m. and top-seeded Maranacook facing No. 3 Hall-Dale in the boys championship at 7 p.m.
Ricky Gibson Field of Dreams was snow-free by Tuesday afternoon, but Maranacook athletic director said the field was still too wet for play, and Tuesday’s cloudy, calm conditions weren’t helping.
“We’ve rolled the field. The only problem is, the air is not moving and there’s no sun,” he said.
McGregor said the final decision on whether the field is suitable for play will be made at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. If not, both contests would be moved to Thomas College, with the girls starting at 4:30 p.m. and the boys at 7 p.m.
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Waterville (16-0-0) has not played on artificial turf this season “but we have practiced at All Pro (Soccer and Sports Club), so it’s not entirely foreign to us,” Purple Panthers coach Ian Wilson said.
The Purple Panthers are one of the best passing teams in the state, so the smooth Smith Field surface should be favorable for the talents of seniors Sarah Shoulta and Lydia Roy.
“My team really likes playing on turf,” he said. “We have a lot of team speed, so our game plays really well on turf.”
Hermon doesn’t have as much experience on turf but may find it complements its game, too, Wilson said. “They play a possession game. We have a lot of similarities. They’re definitely not a kick-and-run team,” he said.
Senior midfielders Claire Petersen and Brianna Saulter lead the Hawks (15-1-0), who have scored nine goals in their two playoff wins over Erskine Academy and Presque Isle.
“The strength of their team is in the midfield. That’s where most of their scoring comes from and where most of their shots are taken, from about the 25 out,” Wilson said.
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The Western D boys final features unbeaten Richmond (16-0-0) and second-seeded Buckfield (13-3-0), who locked up in a pair of tight 2-1 contests during the regular season.
Losing home field for the final is disappointing after fighting so hard to earn the top seed, Richmond coach Peter Gardner said. Not only is the venue different but so is the playing surface.
The Bobcats scrimmaged on the McMann Field turf in the preseason and held Tuesday’s practice on North Yarmouth Academy’s turf field, trying to get a feel for how the surface affects the game.
“The ball is going to move faster. It’s going to be much faster and truer on the carpet,” Gardner said.
“There’s a huge difference between playing on these (turf) fields all the time than not. The kids will adjust to it, but it takes a long time,” he said. “In this particular instance, both teams have to adjust.”
Gardner described Buckfield as an aggressive and direct team that looks to advance the ball quickly from back to front through the air.
The Bobcats played well defensively in their two meetings this season with the Bucks. In their first game, at Richmond, they held the Bucks scoreless until a little over a minute left in the contest. In the regular season finale Oct. 21 in Buckfield, the Bobcats rallied from an early 1-0 deficit thanks to goals from Brendan Emmons and Marcus Blake.
“We’re going to have to be on top of our game and work hard to maintain what we’ve been doing” Gardner said.
The Bobcats are trying to make it back-to-back West D titles and 13 overall. Buckfield has never won a Western D championship.
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The Richmond girls have won four consecutive regional titles. Unlike the boys team, the Bobcats (15-0-0) did not see their opponent during the regular season. Like the Bobcats, Searsport (10-3-2) earned a bye to the semifinals, where they defeated Greenville, 1-0.
“They’re kind of an unknown quantity,” Richmond coach Troy Kendrick said. “We played them in the tournament last year (a 6-1 win in the semifinals). I knew they had beaten Greenville during the season and we beat Greenville twice (2-0 and 4-0)
Richmond survived its own 1-0 semifinal against Rangeley on Meranda Martin’s game-winner early in the second half. The Bobcats had 10 days off between their final regular-season game and the semifinal win. Kendrick said there were definite signs of rust.
“Some people think it’s a bid advantage getting a bye into the semifinals. I’d rather be playing,” Kendrick said. “I told the girls at halftime we looked like a team that hasn’t played a competitive game in a couple of weeks. I think we got better in the second half and started clicking on all cylinders.”
The girls team accompanied the boys team for practice on North Yarmouth Academy’s turf field on Tuesday and also played a preseason game there, so the Bobcats are somewhat familiar with how different it plays than a grass field. Kendrick thinks it could prove to be an advantage for his team.
“We like to keep the ball on the ground, play a short-passing, possession game, so I want to believe it can be really conducive to that style of play,” he said.
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Maranacook girls coach Mike Morin was optimistic Ricky Gibson Field of Dreams would be suitable to play the Western B championship. He walked the field Tuesday afternoon and said the biggest trouble spots were in front of the goals, but said the field looked “decent” overall.
“I’d just as soon not play on a turf field because it’s something we’re not used to,” he said. “We haven’t played on it at all this year.”
Something else Morin would rather avoid is overtime with Sacopee (12-2-3), which beat No. 11 Traip at home, then went on the road and knocked off No. 2 Monmouth Academy and No. 6 Waynflete, the defending state champions.
Wednesday’s game is a rematch of last year’s regional semifinal, which Sacopee won, 1-0, in one round of penalty kicks. But Morin said revenge isn’t the theme for the Black Bears (12-3-1) so much as playing with a sense of urgency and getting off to a good start.
“I’ve told the girls this is make or break for them. They’ve got to decide if they want it badly enough,” Morin said.
The Black Bears, who are seeking their first regional title, continue to thrive with their trademark stout defense, led by goalkeeper Elizabeth D’Angelo and fellow seniors Kristen Hall and Natalie Wicks. The offense has improved with senior Sage Hyland and Lillian McLaughlin and juniors Jana Elwell and Lindsey Perkins making contributions.
Juniors Jade Jordan and Courtney Ryan lead the Hawks. Sophomore goalkeeper Madison Day has allowed one goal in three tournament games.
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Hall-Dale coach Andy Haskell downplayed the possibility of playing the Western C boys final on turf against a speedy Maranacook team.
“Regardless of where we play, we’re fine with it,” Haskell said. “It’s good for the footing of all the players, which helps both teams.”
While the Bulldogs (15-1-0) and Black Bears (16-0-0) play in different conferences, the teams have played each other in the summer. Haskell also feels the Bulldogs’ 1-0 semifinal win over Mountain Valley was good preparation for Maranacook’s athleticism.
“Maranacook plays at a high tempo. They have good athletes and they move the ball really well,” he said. “We need to stick to our system, control the tempo with our defense, let our offense flow from our defense and, when we can, try to possess the ball.”
Maranacook coach Don Beckwith noted the teams’ contrast in styles, and the contrast between Hall-Dale and the Black Bears’ semifinal opponent, Waynflete, which they beat, 4-1.
“Hall-Dale plays very good defense,” he said. “It’s going to be a tighter game.”
Much of Maranacook’s defensive game plan will focus on senior striker Nat Crocker, who has scored three of the Bulldogs’ four playoff goals, including the game-winner against Mountain Valley with 1:25 left to play.
“He’s a talented kid,” Beckwith said. “I think we have more weapons.”
The game is a matchup of the last two Western C champions. Hall-Dale won in 2012, Maranacook in 2013.
Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638
rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @RAWmaterial33
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