The Lewiston Star FC semi-professional soccer team never expected to be crowned United Premier Soccer League Division I New England regular season champions during their first year in the league, but they did, becoming the first team from Maine to do so.

The championship also earns the Stars promotion to the New England Premier Division next season.

The Stars went a New England North-best 8-2 this past season, capping the campaign off with a 3-2 championship win against New England South leaders Caribbean Football Club Academy in Connecticut.

Team manager Liban Negeye said the Stars started off strong in the June 23 championship game, leading 2-0 before halftime on the back of two goals from former Lewiston High School standout Shafi Ibrahim.

Caribbean scored twice early in the second half to tie the game at 2-2. The Stars went ahead 3-2 after Bengi Saban took a free kick from the top of the box that rebounded off the post and right to Ahmed Suja, who kicked the ball into the back of the net for the game-winner.

“Everyone was just ready to run onto the field, but unfortunately we couldn’t run onto it, so we’re going to have to stay disciplined during that time,” Negeye said. “Once the game was over and that final whistle was blown, it felt like the players gave it their all. … To finally see that the hard work has paid off, the feeling is just unreal.”

Lewiston Star FC’s motivation in the division championship game was to put Maine on the map as a soccer state, as well as bring home a title for the community to celebrate after a tough year of grieving the mass shooting last October.

Negeye said the coaches told the team that a win “could motivate the youth back home, especially with the shooting we had to experience, unfortunately, so just the city receiving good news, maybe we thought it would make a difference.”

The Stars have been around Lewiston since 2006 as a community-oriented team, but the national UPSL classification was new as of the 2023-2024 season.

“Before, we would just play in different tournaments, like, we would go out of the state (for) tournaments, which was very competitive, but it wasn’t as competitive as USPL,” Negeye said.

Lead coach and team manager Osman Bashir said he was proud of the team for committing to the game plan and executing the job throughout the grueling 10-game season against tough competitors — some who previously played at the professional level.

“At the end, it was just a dream come true, because we never thought (in our) first year that we joined the UPSL … that we would come out on top,” Bashir said.

Two other Lewiston-Auburn teams competed against the Stars in the New England North division — Wahda United FC, which finished in second place with a 7-2-1 record and recently announced that it had earned promotion to the UPSL Premier Division, and Upper Royalty FC, which finished the season with a 4-6 record.

For Lewiston Star FC, bringing home the trophy has only increased the excitement surrounding soccer in Lewiston, Negeye said, especially among the younger generations who can now envision a semi-professional career for themselves.

“I currently have an academy team (for) ages 16 and lower, so we would have them come to our tryouts just to see what it feels like to play at a higher level with grown adults,” Negeye said. “So, they would always look forward to that. But now, ever since we won, we had the whole community talk about, ‘When’s the next tryout, when’s the next tryout, when’s the next tryout?’”

Negeye and Bashir are also both Lewiston High School alumni — Negeye graduating in 2016 and Bashir in 2009. Negeye was a goalkeeper for the Blue Devils in high school and went on to play for an academy in Spain before returning to Maine.

“Ever since I came back, I just want to find ways for the people in our community to be successful, especially when it comes to soccer because all of the youth want to go pro, but they don’t know what is appropriate,” Negeye said. “You don’t know what these professional athletes are doing behind closed doors, you don’t know the work they’re putting in, how hard they’re working.”

Bashir ran track and field for the Blue Devils, and played soccer at Central Maine Community College from 2012-2013.

“When people look at Lewiston, we want them to see that there are actual great teams out there,” Bashir said. “There are great programs, there are clubs, and there’s so many talents that just need the resources for them to be at the higher level.”

Tryouts for next season start on Don Roux Field at Lewiston High School on July 27 from 7-10 p.m. Anyone over the age of 18 is eligible to try out, regardless of their level of experience.

“We don’t really care about your background, we don’t care about your race, we don’t care about what religion you believe in,” Negeye said. “As long as you can play football and you respect yourself, you’re more than welcome to come join and play with us.”

Bashir and Negeye said the Lewiston Star FC players hail from all over Maine, including Portland, Lewiston, Westbrook, Windham and Mechanic Falls. Rapheal Owusu played for the Stars last season, and is an international student from Ghana.

“We’re a family, and we’re a very, very diverse team. We’ve been around since 2006, so that just shows that we’ve got a strong connection, and nothing could divide us.”