There was a time a few years ago when the Monmouth Academy boys’ soccer team was nearly extinct.

With dwindling numbers and interest, the program was barely surviving.

The Mustangs have a different perspective these days. Years removed from looking into combining with other schools, Monmouth’s is well on the way back.

“We’re getting better and better,” said Monmouth coach Joe Fletcher. “The future looks bright. It really does. We’ll be okay down the road.”

With freshmen coming in this year in double digits and an emphasis on the middle school program, the Mustangs have things headed in the right direction.

After going 5-8-1 last fall, Monmouth has already nearly matched that win total with a 4-3 mark. It’s a slow progression that is taking steps forward all the time.

“We’re a better team than we were last year,” said Fletcher, who frequently attends middle school games and even helps out at times at practices. “We’re playing as a team a little better. It’s a hard working group.”

The players themselves sense the improvement and see the growth in the team. That only feeds the excitement they feel as they chase a tourney spot in Western C, something that eluded the club a year ago.

“I definitely think we’re playing well together,” said senior midfielder Nick Trenholm. “We definitely have better team chemistry than last year. Everybody gets along with each other.”

Trenholm and sophomore Kyle Fletcher have been the two offensive leaders on the club this year. Fletcher, who was an all-conference pick last year with 20 goals, has seven, while Trenholm has six, including four on Saturday.

“Me and Kyle always see each other on the field,” said Trenholm. “We definitely are looking for each other all the time and are always making runs for each other.”

Even with a significant of young talent on the squad, there are veteran players like senior defender Kyle Brown and junior back Drew McFarren to help bring experience to the defense.

The progress comes slowly but this group has been dedicated to making it happen.

“We only had eight players in practice last week because all of our freshmen were in Acadia on a class trip,” said Fletcher. “We missed more than half of our team, but we work really hard and we practice really hard.”

Western C showdown

Hall-Dale and Lisbon play Tuesday in a key matchup in Western C. The Bulldogs are currently 6-1 and third in Western C while Lisbon is in fourth with the same record. Both clubs lost only to St. Dom’s.

Hall-Dale has scored 28 goals and allowed just 4. Their lone loss came last week against the Saints in a 1-0 game. Lisbon has been averaging over six goals per game and have allowed six. Most of those scored on the Greyhounds came in the 5-1 loss to the Saints.

Lisbon hosts this showdown at 4 p.m.

Bouncing Back

Edward Little picked up its second win of the year after having one of its best and worst efforts of the year in the same week. After losing a hard-fought battle against unbeaten Mt. Ararat, the Red Eddies lost to Erskine the following day. In that game, EL saw its keeper Jeremy Hamm get red-carded and suspended for the following game.

EL bounced back with the 1-0 win over Waterville on Friday. Nate Blais had the game-winner on a feed from Ian Therriault with 18:12 left. Backup Ben Bowles had the shutout in net as EL outshot the Panthers 12-8.

EL (2-4-1) has winnable games this week with winless Skowhegan and Brewer, but then have a tough road down the stretch with Hampden, Lewiston, Oxford Hills, Brunswick and Mt. Ararat.

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