When all the cameras had stopped clicking and all the screaming had subsided, Gorham girls soccer coach Jeanne Zarrilli was left standing alone in the goal the Rams had defended in the second half of their 1-0 Class A championship win over Bangor.

With the game and its ensuing hoopla now behind her, Zarrilli was asked to ponder the future of the Gorham High girls soccer program. She was able to muster up one more smile.

“I expect we’re going to come back and compete next year,” said Zarrilli, with a laugh. “Next year was actually the year I was really looking at, really making a statement. I was hoping we could learn what we could this year, but I’m confident that we’ll be contending next year.”

The Rams graduated nine seniors from last year’s Class B state championship team. They moved up a class this season while relying on four freshman on a consistent basis. This was supposed to be the rebuilding year, the learning experience.

But everything fell into place and now the Rams are set for the future.

“We may just have to start building (a dynasty),” said junior Nicole Robitaille.

Two of the four freshmen – Rachel Burns and Molly Folan – started on Saturday. Sophomores Katie Zarrilli and Luci Pike (goalie) also started. But the key returnees will be leading scorer Kelsey Wilson (33 goals) and sweeper Caitlyn Butterfield.

“Those two really are our team leaders on the field,” said Zarrilli. “I look to them. I yell at them. They can take it and they want it so badly they’re just absolute competitors and they want to do whatever it takes.”

Butterfield, according to Robitaille, is the rock in the defensive end of the field. “And that’s how she is as a person, very supportive and everything,” said Robitaille.

Butterfield runs the show from 20 yards and in. She organizes the defense and stays composed amidst the madness.

Wilson runs the offense.

“She gets it done on the field all the time every day,” said Butterfield. “She know what she’s talking about so she just leads us around. It’s awesome having her out there talking to you.”

Added Burns, “Kelsey’s role is to basically score, obviously. If she can’t dribble through everybody then she can pass me the ball and I can finish.”

That’s the thing. With Butterfield and Wilson embracing their roles as leaders at opposite ends of the field, Burns and everyone else were able to settle in and get comfortable, making the team’s inexperience at the Class A level a non-issue.

Take Burns, for example.

“She’s like our little sister,” said Robitaille. “We make fun of her and push her around, but she knows we’re there for her no matter what happens. It definitely shows on the field how we all fit in.”

Robitaille, in addition to being the team’s go-to corner kicker, is also admittedly the loud one who keeps everyone relaxed. She’ll be back doing her thing next year, too.

Ashley Michaud, another junior who has developed chemistry up front with Wilson and Burns, will also be back. Other juniors include Megan Douglass, Jacqui Lara and Sally Patterson. Freshmen Aimee St. Germain and Caitlyn Caldwell, as well as sophomore Krista Keene, will all have another year under their belts.

“I’m still stunned,” said Zarrilli. “I knew I had athletes and I knew I had kids who had been well-coached and had played Premiere, and we’re athletic and competitive, but you just never know with a young team exactly how they’re going to handle the competition.

“Coming into a game like this with four freshmen who play a significant part of the game and having all the hoopla and fans and everything, you just don’t know how they’re going to handle all that. So I just didn’t know.”

She’ll have a better idea next season.