Bill Acritelli was pleased to see the sizable crowd Saturday. He was excited to see the energy and impact it had on his Spruce Mountain boys’ soccer team, but what the Phoenix coach liked best about his team’s home opener was the 3-1 victory.

Spruce Mountain had played its first two games on the road this season, a tie and a loss. His fledgling Phoenix were anxious to play their first-ever home game and it came against Winthrop last Saturday.

“It was a great atmosphere,” said Acritelli. “There were a lot of people here. The concession stands were open. The boys were ready to represent the Phoenix.”

As the Livermore Falls coach, Acritelli was accustomed to meager crowds. That happens for soccer teams in football towns. But the combination of the two schools and the excitement of the first-ever home date made a difference.

“It was twice as big,” said Acritelli with a smile. “That’s the beauty of two schools when you combine the two. It was full of people.”

The Phoenix gave them something to watch with the 3-1 win. Senior Jacob Roy led Spruce Mountain with a goal and an assist. His goal off a Tyler Gervais cross put the Phoenix ahead for good.

After a 1-1 tie with Mt. Abram, the Phoenix had a disappointing 4-1 loss to Monmouth. So to rebound with Saturday’s win over Winthrop was crucial.

“Being in the B playoffs and playing in the MVC, you’ve got to win as many as you can,” said Acritelli.

Spruce Mountain returns to the road Tuesday to play the Carrabec/Madison team and then have upcoming games with Telstar, Dirigo and Lisbon.

Much of the squad was familiar with each other coming into the season. They’ve blended well as a team but still growing and learning how to play together. Saturday’s win is the kind of success the team is looking to build off.

“We haven’t had a problem all year,” said Acritelli. “They’re playing well together.”

Filling the voids

The Edward Little boys’ soccer team had a promising first week of the season. The Red Eddies earned a 1-1 tie with Lewiston and beat Oxford Hills 2-0.

EL is a young club trying to overcome the loss of its starting defense and its top scorers. The Red Eddies have managed to fill those voids well in their start.

Trailing and outshot by Lewiston, EL got a goal from Jared Pelletier off a Zach Tannenbaum corner to earn that tie. Then Taylor Ramich and Yusuf Mohamed scored goals to beat the Vikings. In both outings, the EL defense was superb despite getting outshot. Led by Ramich, Corey Morin, Richard Grondin and Ben Bowles in net, EL was outshot in both outings but presented a stellar defensive effort that kept them in both games.

The Red Eddies now get an even bigger challenge this week. They play at Brunswick Tuesday and then host Mt. Ararat Thursday before travelling to Bangor Saturday. All three teams are expected to be among the best in Eastern A.

Strong Saints

St. Dom’s hasn’t missed a beat so far with two convincing wins against quality MVC foes. The Saints lost a wealth of experience from last year’s squad, including some all-state talent up front. Yet, the Saints have managed seven goals in two games to vault to the top of the MVC and Western C.

The Saints opened the year with a 5-0 win over Monmouth. T.J. Rotolico had a pair of goals while Tyler Furtado, Zak Johnson and Calvin Stewart all added goals. St. Dom’s followed that up with a 2-0 win over Mt. Abram. Stewart had both goals in that outing. Only Johnson is a returning player from last year’s  club that went 12-1-1 in the regular season before losing in the Western C semifinals.