RICHMOND — It’s hard to imagine how the winningest coach in Maine high school girls soccer history could add to a resume, but that’s just what Troy Kendrick did Friday afternoon.
The 33-year Richmond girls soccer coach won his 400th career game, a 10-0 shutout of Vinalhaven. Kendrick became the first coach to reach the 400-victory milestone in Maine high school girls soccer history.
Ashland girls soccer coach Peter Belskis entered play Friday with 456 career victories, but 250 came as the school’s boys coach.
“It’s crazy because you hear things like that, and you think to yourself, ‘Wow, that’s my coach; I play for him,’” said Richmond senior Lorelei Zoulamis on Kendrick’s milestone. “He’s been coaching here forever, and we all love him. It’s really a pleasure to play for him and to be a part of something special like this.”
Kendrick is the seventh head coach in Maine high school soccer history to reach 400 victories. Other 400-game winners are: Brian Higgins (Ellsworth boys, 566), Peter Gardner (Brunswick and Richmond boys, 554), David Halligan (Cape Elizabeth and Falmouth boys, 500), Belskis (Ashland boys and girls, 456), Michael McGraw (Lewiston boys, 435) and Sam Pendleton (Georges Valley boys, 412).
Richmond girls soccer coach Troy Kendrick celebrates with his players after the Bobcats blanked Vinalhaven 10-0 on Friday to give Kendrick his 400th career victory. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
The Bobcats scored six first-half goals to secure their 13th straight winning season. Zoulamis, Breonna Dufresne and Eden Balduf each scored hat tricks for Richmond (8-4) with Autumn Lane bagging the remaining goal in the victory.
“I tell these kids as often as I can that I love being out here,” Kendrick said. “This is my favorite time of year, being out here on the soccer field in the fall. They’re a great bunch to work with, and that makes such a difference.”
After the game, the Bobcats doused Kendrick with water from the Gatorade jug. Zoulamis, who scored a pair of goals, said they were unaware that Kendrick was closing in on No. 400 earlier in the week. Although there had been a few newspaper tidbits indicating Kendrick was approaching the milestone, he had stayed mum about the news around his team.
Once the Bobcats learned their coach was sitting on 399, they weren’t about to let him get No. 400 without recognizing the occasion. Between the handshake line and Kendrick’s postgame pep talk, his players made their move and gave him the celebratory bath.
“We were all talking about it last night, and we were like, ‘We need to do something, but we don’t know what to do,’” Zoulamis said. “Then, Kara (Briand) came up with the idea and said, ‘Let’s dump water on his head,’ and we were all like, ‘Perfect; that’s a great idea.’”
Kendrick has coached the Bobcats for the last 33 seasons — save for two weeks at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year when he began a new job as principal at Marcia Buker Elementary School. Just as his tenure as a principal began, Kendrick knew his heart was still on the pitch, so he resigned.
“After some consideration, it just didn’t feel right to me,” said Kendrick. “I wasn’t going to get a chance to do this, and that’s such a big part of me. I wanted to be out here coaching soccer; that’s where I want to be.”
It’s certainly tough to imagine Maine high school soccer without Kendrick coaching the Richmond girls program, which he’s led since the Bobcats moved to Class D in 1989. He’s won 11 state titles — also the most of any girls coach in Maine history and third overall behind Falmouth’s David Halligan and Yarmouth’s Michael Hagerty (12) — and 17 regional crowns.
“There was definitely a little more motivation for us (knowing it might be his 400th win),” Zoulanis said. “We’ve lost some people and had to change formations, but we came together as a community for this, basically. We had people who have never played soccer before who said, ‘Sure, I’ll come play soccer for you if you need me.’”
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