All fall, I used the eyes and ears of those in Maine to follow what was going on with the Blue Devils. It felt strange, not being there. I've lived and breathed Lewiston High School soccer for some two years now. But while I was deep into copyedits and page proofs for ONE GOAL, which chronicles the Blue Devils' historic 2015 season, I kept one eye north, with coaches and players and generous friends providing me day-to-day detail about the team as it wound its way through the season.
All along, I had a feeling.
Early on, I actually told Coach Michael McGraw, who is up for a major national coaching honor right now, that I thought the team was going to go all the way. There was just something about the season, which wasn't perfect, that felt very right. The return of Nuri Orthman, who left after the 2015 championship season but returned from Minnesota to play his senior year in Lewiston. The Ali brothers, Muktar and Warsame, the elder a 2015 champion and the younger hungry for his own title. The next generation players, from Bilal Hersi to Baker Shariff-Hassan.
All along, I had a feeling.
Tonight, that next generation came of age against Bangor in the Class A North Boys' Soccer Final. A tight game from the get-go, Lewiston hit halftime in a 1-0 deficit, behind in shots, behind in goals. But Hersi put his team on the board with an assist from Yusuf Mohamed about five minutes into the second half. Then with twenty minutes to go, he got the ball in front of Shariff-Hassan, who broke out and put it in the net. Goalie Dido Lumu made, according to a text I got from assistant coach Dan Gish, "two huge saves in the last ten minutes" to be a "hero" who kept his team on top.
All along, I had a feeling.
Now on to the state championships. Saturday, 10am, against Portland High School at Hampden Academy. Go Devils.
UPDATE: THE GAME HAS BEEN MOVED BY THE MPA TO DEERING HIGH SCHOOL.