The Maine high school boys soccer playoffs are right around the corner, and after everyone made the playoffs for the last two seasons, the Maine Principals’ Association reverted back to two-thirds of the teams in each region making the playoffs.
Reverting back to the old playoff format makes your season record and Heal Point totals all the more important, and many teams took big jumps in record from last fall.
In Class A North, Edward Little High School made the biggest improvement in record, going from 8-5-1 last year to 13-0-1 this year. The Red Eddies have the top seed in A North ahead of Mt. Ararat, Brunswick, Lewiston and Camden Hills rounding out the top five.
Brewer added one win this year and is in the sixth spot, with Bangor in the seventh spot after dropping three wins from last season’s record.
Brewer ended the season with a 2-1 win over Bangor and then a 2-1 win over Camden Hills in double overtime on Wednesday to close out the regular season.
“I think it’s always a good thing to end the season on a positive note,” Brewer coach Ben Poland said. “After we lost to Brunswick we had a ‘take a look at ourselves’ moment, looked at who we are and who we want to be. We had a good showing against Messalonskee and then closed well with Bangor and Camden. We know if we play hard for each other, Class A North is really wide open. Any team could go all the way this year.”
Class B North had teams taking massive jumps in the area.
John Bapst jumped up four wins and into first place in the region, holding a 13-0-1 record.
The Crusaders lost three defenders but had players step up in the open spots. Everyone else returned, including a midfield trio that has led John Bapst to an undefeated record.
“Hunter Clukey, he is a player who, unfortunately due to the COVID restrictions last year, he missed a bunch of games and he’s had a full season which has been a huge piece for us,” John Bapst coach Jason Pangburn said. “He is our leading assist guy with seven assists and eight goals. He plays in the midfield and with my son, Jon Pangburn, who is our leading goal scorer with nine goals and four assists. Kyle Sidaway is the third person in the midfield. They played the same three spots.”
John Bapst is excited about where the team is headed into the playoffs.
“We feel like we’re built for the playoffs,” Pangburn said. “Not a super high-scoring team and we like to have a one or two-goal game where we work the ball forward and be productive. The last few games have been tight but we are in a good spot for the playoffs.”
The biggest improvement in the region was Mount Desert Island.
MDI was 1-8-3 a year ago, but this season catapulted to 7-5-4 and solidly into the fourth spot in the Heal Point standings.
Winslow (13-0-1) and Ellsworth (11-3) are in the second and third positions, respectively.
Last year, Maine Central Institute went 1-10-3 in Class C North.
While MCI made the playoffs, that record this year wouldn’t cut it. MCI leapt to an 11-3 record and finished in sixth place in the C North playoffs.
Fort Kent (13-1) improved from second place last year to first this year, and Bucksport (14-0) moved from fourth to third, each by adding two wins to their previous records.
In Class D North, Madawaska finished 12-2, three wins more than last year’s campaign and good enough for second place in the region.
Penobscot Valley doubled its wins this season, going from 4-6-4 last fall to 8-5-1 this season.
Bangor Christian is at the top of the Class D North Heal Point standings at 8-3-3.
