Soccer has returned to Wiscasset Middle High School. The Wolverine girls will open the season by hosting the Carrabec Cobras at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1. The Wolverine boys begin the season Wednesday, Sept 6, when they host Carrabec under the lights. The opening kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

WMHS will compete again against Class C schools in the Mountain Valley Conference although the team has dropped to Class D status due to declining enrollment.

Both Wolverine teams played a series of scrimmage games over the past two weeks. The girls returned to the playing field first on Saturday, Aug. 19 when they took part in the annual Richmond Round Robin Tournament hosted by Richmond High School. Coach Duane Goud’s Wolverines played five mini-games of 25 minutes each. The team began the day battling to a scoreless tie against Winslow and then lost the next three games.

“Two of our players, Maeve Blodgett and goalie Lindsey Gordon, were picked as All-Stars,” Goud said. “We were also awarded the sportsmanship banner which was kind of special for both me and the team.”

WMHS was among nine high schools competing in the tournament. The Wolverines will see Richmond again when they’ll host the Bobcats at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29 in their final scrimmage of the season.

The Wolverine girls defeated Medomak Valley of Waldoboro, a Class B high school, Aug. 22, winning 3-1. Grace Webber netted two goals, the first coming about 20 minutes into the game. Medomak tied the game before the first half ended. Vanessa Dunn, with Webber assisting, put the Wolverines back in front 2-1 in the second half. Webber then scored an insurance goal with about 25 minutes left to play.

Goud was pleased with his team’s effort. “It’s always great to see our team score three goals. Also, our defense stepped things up in the second half. Lindsey (Gordon) played a good game in the net for us.”

The Wolverine boys didn’t fare as well against Medomak, losing 7-1 that evening. Max Sampson got WMHS’s lone goal.

The WMHS boys hosted Temple Academy on Aug. 23. After spotting the Bereans a two-goal lead, the Wolverines cut the margin in half on Sampson’s unassisted goal with 40 ticks left on the clock until halftime.

Wolverine Coach Chris Cossette saw his charges dominate play the first 10 minutes of the second half. Sampson set the tone on the kickoff with a deep blast that sent Temple’s goalkeeper leaping to his left to make the stop. A new SPA rule this season allows teams to score on an opening kickoff. Previously, the ball had to have at least two touches from the team kicking off to score.

Seven minutes into the second half, freshman Adrian Foley made a nifty cross pass in front of the Temple net but unfortunately no Wolverine players were there to attempt a shot. With 27:07 left to play, Temple’s Will Paradis carried the ball down the left side of the field and drilled the ball past the diving Sam Strozier, Wiscasset goalie. It was Paradis’s second goal of the game. His first came at 34:12 of the first half with Sawyer DeRoche assisting. DeRoche gave the Bereans a 2-1 edge with 10 minutes left until halftime.

Paradis scored his third goal at 24:40, this time dribbling past a trio of Wolverine defenders.

In the game’s final minute Samson unloaded a shot from the 40-yard line. The ball carried over the keeper’s head and into the net but was waved off by the referee, who judged a Wiscasset player to have been off-sides. The call went unchallenged by the Wiscasset bench as play continued.

A scorebook wasn’t kept but the shot ratio between the two teams was even at about 10 apiece. Strozier made a number of fine saves as did Temple’s goalie. The game was important in that Wiscasset could face the Bereans in October if both teams earn a Class D playoff spot.

The Wolverines will play one final scrimmage next Tuesday, Aug. 29 when they host Richmond High School. The opening kickoff is set for 4 p.m. The Wolverine girls’ game will follow.