When the Class A Western Maine girls soccer playoffs begin today, both the Sanford Redskins and the Thornton Academy Golden Trojans will embark on a quest to win a state title.
Sanford (11-2-1) earned a No. 4 seed. The Golden Trojans (11-3) earned a No. 3 seed.
TA will host No. 7 Windham (9-4-2) at 2:30 p.m. today while Sanford will host No. 5 Cheverus (10-3-1) at 4 p.m. Thornton Academy lost to Windham 2-1 on Sept. 23. Sanford didn’t face Cheverus during the regular season.
Both coaches for Sanford and TA said that they believe their teams have legitimate shots at advancing far in the playoffs.
“I think our biggest strength is our versatility,” TA coach Chris Kohl said. “The kids can play in so many different positions and we don’t depend on just one kid to score.”
The leading scorer for TA is freshman Amanda Arnold with eight goals. There are several players with five, four, three and two goals, Kohl said.
“It’s hard to defend one particular player because a bunch of kids can come up and score at a given time,” he said.
The same is true for Sanford.
Its leading scorer is Allison Legere with seven goals. Taylor Littlefield has eight assists to go along with five goals, while three other players have scored five goals this season for the Redskins.
“We have multiple players who have the ability to score,” Sanford coach Kendra Brown said. “We also have an experienced, skilled defense.”
Both Sanford and TA will bring two of the best defenses to the tournament.
Both teams allowed only nine goals this season thanks to the steady play of goalies Sydney Proctor (TA), and the combination of Kellie Tovey and Mikela Simpson for Sanford.
Proctor was one of the standout goalies this season with nine shutouts in 14 games.
“The thing that makes Sydney good is when she is on her game, she is agressive,” Kohl said.
For as good as Proctor was, the team to beat in the tournament is No. 1 Scarborough. The Red Storm finished the season at 14-0 and didn’t allow a goal.
“That’s pretty amazing when you think about it,” Kohl said. “You would think some team would’ve trickled a goal in at least by accident.”
Despite Scarborough’s record, however, both Brown and Kohl said the Red Storm are beatable. Sanford lost to the Red Storm 1-0 on Oct. 15. TA also lost to Scarborough 1-0 in the final game of the season.
“ ”¦ They have had some close games,” Brown said. “They seem reachable.”
“I think anyone of the 10 teams in this tournament are capable of winning it,” Kohl said.
In Class C, the Old Orchard Beach Seagulls (8-5-1) earned the No. 5 seed. They travel today to face No. 4 Dirigo (10-3-1) at 4 p.m.
OOB didn’t play Dirigo during the regular season.
On the boys side, Kennebunk was the only Journal Tribune covered team to reach the playoffs. It beat Windham on Saturday, 1-0, in overtime. It will play No. 1 Scarborough Wednesday in the quarterfinals.
— Contact Al Edwards at 282-1535, ext. 317.
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