There was a fear of the unknown, sure, especially after graduating nine seniors. But that was okay because Gorham girls soccer coach Jeanne Zarrilli expected this first year in Class A would be a transition year.

The Rams, a young team with just five seniors and four freshmen, would feel out the new competition, probably win more than they lost and probably make the playoffs. Anything more would be nice, but not expected.

Not so fast.

Here it is, the first week in November and the Rams are one of only two Class A teams still playing soccer. At some point after losing their opener to Scarborough in double overtime the Rams realized they were pretty good. Better than good, actually. On Saturday they beat Cheverus, 3-0, to advance to state final game against Bangor.

“I think as we learned about Class A, and each game we played when we realized we could play with people and come out victorious, I think the energy level just kept building all season,” said Zarrilli, whose team was seeded second behind Scarborough.

If that energy level can build to a point that’s even higher than what it was at for Saturday’s Western Maine final against Cheverus, there will be a lot more celebratory screaming in the future for Zarrilli and her players.

“I’d have to say that they came out harder, especially in the first 10 minutes,” said Cheverus coach Bryn Carlson, whose team was seeded fifth. “We came out not flat, but just not winning the ball.”

If Elizabeth Somma had been able to get past Caitlyn Butterfield and then beat Luci Pike 12 minutes into the game, the poor start could’ve been erased. But Butterfield, a junior defender typically the last line of defense in front of Pike, stepped up and sent the ball for a ride after Somma had broken in past two other defenders.

The Rams kept a firm grasp on the momentum and their hard work paid off with a goal 10 minutes later.

Butterfield played a long direct kick into the box toward Cheverus goalie Meaghan Mingo. Senior midfielder Kelsey Wilson made things hard for Mingo, though, when she moved in front of her at the last possible second and booted the ball up into the air. Nicole Robitaille headed the ball into the open net with such ease that she wouldn’t even take credit for the goal.

“That was all Kelsey,” said Robitaille, a junior midfielder. “She went in and played hard and the ball just happened to come up and I was right there.”

Robitaille and everyone else on the Gorham roster have gotten used to Wilson’s heroics by now. Freshman Rachel Burns is on the road to becoming the same type of go-to player. Burns had a goal and an assist in Gorham’s 2-0 semifinal win over Greely and she added another goal and another assist in the second half of the Cheverus game.

“She starts running the second the whistle blows and she doesn’t stop,” said Zarrilli.

Burns padded the Rams’ lead when she converted a give-and-go with junior forward Ashley Michaud. At 9:13 of the second half, the freshman got the return pass from Michaud, sidestepped a defender and blasted a shot into the upper right corner.

With just over six minutes to go in the game, Burns set up Wilson with a long, lofting pass into the box. Wilson settled the ball and knocked a low, left-footed shot between Mingo and the goalpost. The goal, Wilson’s team-leading 32nd of the season, sealed the win and a place in the state final.

“At the beginning (of the season), I mean, everybody was really nervous,” said Wilson. “Everyone didn’t know what to expect. And it doesn’t help to start with a loss against Scarborough, but we knew that we lost in overtime, we knew that that was probably the best team there is in this league. So we knew if we could step up from there we could pull it off.”

And they did. The Rams play Bangor Saturday at Morse High (Bath) at 2 p.m.