"We did it for the community." Lewiston boys soccer reaches Class A state final.
A goal from Caden Boone midway through the first half earned Lewiston its sixth state title game appearance in nine years.
Hundreds of Lewiston high school students and fans of the Blue Devils boys soccer team packed the stands at Don Roux Field on Tuesday night, chanting ‘Olé’ through the final minutes of the team’s Class A North championship game against Camden Hills.
The top-ranked Blue Devils were clinging to a 1-0 lead, earned in the first half via a Caden Boone header with 19 minutes remaining. The sound was deafening, the Lewiston coaches screaming directions helplessly at their players as the Windjammers swung ball after ball into the box and at Lewiston goalkeeper Payson Goyette who made save after save.
The clock finally struck zero, and the emotion of the Blue Devils’ 1-0 win in the regional championship was that of elation and relief.
The fans cheered and for a moment the city was free from the overcast of sorrow that still blankets the city less-than two weeks removed from the mass shooting that took 18 lives.
After players finished hugging on the field, many sprinted to the student section that met the A North champs at the fence in elation.
Friends, family, fans, all smiling, cheering, laughing and hugging.
The city needed it.
After the game, Boone acknowledged that the city was in the team’s heart.
“We did it for the city, the community,” Boone said. “I mean, times are hard right now. We wanted to bring joy to the city, to each other and that’s what we did today. After that happened, practices meant more, talking to each other meant more, school meant more, everything meant more. We felt like we had another purpose added to our goal.”
A smiling Dan Gish, Lewiston’s head coach and puppet master behind the Blue Devil’s controlled play on the pitch, quickly paused to find the right words when asked what this team has quickly meant to the city.
“The guys have talked about it,” Gish said. “Obviously our goal is to win a state championship, but they know. They know and it’s in their mind. They’re focused on the field. They want to do it. If it makes anybody happy, great, because it’s a beautiful game and anything we can do to help, even if it’s just a smile, we’re on a mission.”
Lewiston has won boys soccer state titles in 2015, ‘17 and ‘18. The Blue Devils also reached the state game in 2014 and ‘19. The state title game is where Lewiston expects to be, and this year is no different.
“Everything hits you at once,” Boone said. “It’s my senior year, it could have been my last game and now we’re going to states. It’s just wild.”
Boone’s header in the middle of the first half gave Lewiston some breathing room, even if the goal scorer doesn’t remember much from it.
“I’m gonna be honest, I mean, I was back post and I saw the ball coming to me,” Boone added. “We’ve been practicing it and I really just hit it. I didn’t really know. I remember hitting the floor and I saw it went in and I said, ‘Oh my God, I just got a goal.’ I ran to the section and everything.”
Boone transitioned to center-back this season but is a great athlete. Gish used Boone’s basketball athleticism at the right time.
“We’ve been doing it over and over,” Gish said of Lewiston’s set piece. “He times everything well, he is a basketball player and a good athlete, he’s transitioned to center-back well and we ask him to do some things up top with his height and leaping ability and he’s just zoned in. We put it in spots and he hammered it in.”
In the second half, Gish told his squad that Camden Hills would attack and attack hard. They were prepared for the onslaught of shots on net that ensued from the Windjammers.
“We said at halftime that the first ten minutes they were going to come at us. They were going to make it hard and it was going to be hard. We got through it and shifted philosophy the last 20 minutes.
In the waning moments of the game, Gish and his group of assistants belted out orders but the Lewiston crowd, letting emotions out two-weeks in the making, drowned it all out. Luckily, again, Lewiston was prepared.
“We were holding our breath a lot and trying to communicate with players and telling them what to do,” Gish added. “It was challenging but that’s why we practice. They know what they have to do and they executed.”
Lewiston will face Deering in the Class A state final on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Messalonskee High School.