PRESQUE ISLE — On the back of three quick first half goals, the undefeated Fort Fairfield boys soccer team powered its way to a second-straight Class D state championship game with a 4-1 win over Madawaska at the Johnson Athletic Complex in Presque Isle Tuesday night.
The Tigers move to 17-0-0 on the season with the win and set up a title clash with Class D South champion Monmouth Academy on Saturday.
“They’ve had a fantastic year,” Fort Fairfield head coach John Ala said postgame. “They’ve worked really hard. They’ve been dedicated to everything we’ve asked them to do.”
Junior Lucas Cormier broke through less than eight minutes into the contest, finding the back of the net off a corner kick.
Five minutes later, he doubled up. Senior Cayden Ala brought the Madawaska defense with him as he drove the net, sending a pass to Cormier standing in front of a wide open goal.
A goal from Vincent Heibel extended the Tigers’ lead to three barely 20 minutes into the first half and set up the lead that they carried through the remaining 60 minutes.
“There wasn’t much thinking after we scored those first three goals,” senior Graedon King said. “It was just ‘get the ball out.’”
Dominant scoring outbursts have defined Fort Fairfield’s season. The Tigers have won all but one game this season by three or more goals, and have won 12 games by a margin of at least five. They’ve outscored opponents 108-12 between the regular season and playoffs combined.
Cayden Ala, who leads the team with 37 goals this season, did not score in Tuesday’s game. The Tigers’ offense remained hot regardless. It’s a sign of their depth, John Ala said.
“When you can do that and still score four, that’s really good,” the coach added.
Defensively, Fort Fairfield was sound. The Tigers stoically marked Madawaska’s offensive stars, winning battles and creating turnovers that they then turned into more offense.
“I thought our defense played the best it’s ever played,” goaltender Levi Cole said.
The Owls’ lone goal was a perfectly placed strike off the far post from senior Isaac Beaulieu with 10 minutes left in the game. But it was too late, Heibel had already added his second goal of the night to bring Fort Fairfield’s total to four and the Tigers shut down any last ditch offensive surges.
Now, they prepare for a date with Monmouth with a state championship on the line, hoping their experience with heartbreak in last year’s Class D title game helps them reach the mountaintop this time.
Fort Fairfield roared back from a two-goal second half deficit against Richmond in 2024, only to lose on a goal in the final 30 seconds of regulation.
The Monmouth Mustangs, who beat Richmond 5-1 in Augusta Tuesday, finished 12-1-1 in the regular season and have allowed just one goal in three playoff games.
Monmouth is looking for its fourth state title and second in three years. Fort Fairfield is eyeing its second ever, a decade after it won its first in 2015. The key to getting there — and not digging themselves another multi-goal hole to climb out of — is simple, several Tigers said.
“We’ve got to start the game better,” Cayden Ala said.
This year’s state championship game will be played at Hermon High School at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
