Mt. Ararat girls soccer rolls to win over an Edward Little team in transition

AUBURN — It wasn’t the ideal way to return to the sidelines, but Brant Remington tried making the most of it.

Remington, who is in his first year as athletic director at Edward Little High School, has taken over as interim coach of the school’s girls soccer team, as Tyler Shennett, in his fourth season leading the program, left the team on Tuesday.

“It’s a personal leave of absence,” Remington said. “The principal (Valerie Ackley) and superintendent (Dr. Sue Dorris) just felt it was easiest (for me to run the program), as I have experience.”

Shennett led the Red Eddies to a 2-12 record last year. The team’s assistant coaches, Ben Shatto and Ella Boucher, are still on staff and were helping Remington on the sidelines Thursday.

“They’ve been helpful,” said Remington.

Edward Little fell 8-0 to Mt. Ararat in a Class A North matchup. The Eagles (4-0) were up 3-0 at halftime, then tallied five goals in a little less than 26 minutes in the second half to put the game away.

Mt. Ararat outshot Edward Little 15-7, but the Red Eddies (2-3) had multiple close opportunities in the first half, and goalkeeper Alivia Davis was strong in net, making six saves.

Remington is no stranger to the pitch. He was the athletic director at Maranacook Community High School from 2019-26, before being hired by Edward Little earlier this year to replace Todd Sampson, who left to become the assistant executive director of the Maine Principals’ Association.

Before Maranacook, Remington coached girls soccer and girls lacrosse at Lewiston High School.

Remington only had one practice to get acclimated with the team, and vice versa, before Thursday’s game.

“It was really talking about culture and positivity,” Remington said. “Work out some kinks and learn what people do. … They knew Ararat was good, they’re going to be right up there with Camden Hills. It’s the first game with me. But I think they’re optimistic and positive about the rest of the way, and hopefully they can keep it going.”

Mt. Ararat had several scoring opportunities throughout the game, but was especially dangerous on corner kicks. The Eagles netted a goal from junior midfielder Izabelle O’Banyel midway through the first half off a perfectly placed corner kick from senior forward Katherine Therriault.

O’Banyel was able to meet the ball with her foot and redirect it into the net.

“We had eight seniors starting last year, so we didn’t know what the start of this season was going to look like,” said Therriault, one of the Eagles’ four captains. “I’m really proud of the team.”

The Eagles, ranked fifth in the Varsity Maine poll, have outscored opponents 16-4 in their first four games, which includes a 2-1 victory over defending Class A champion Bangor on Sept. 8.

“It’s been a great start. It’s the first time since I’ve been here, in my four years, where we’ve started 4-0,” said Mt. Ararat coach Kevin Flaherty. “It’s a testament to the girls. We talked about being clinical in the final third, and I thought we were. The opportunities we had, we capitalized on it.”

With the eight senior starters gone from last year’s team, a big part of Mt. Ararat’s success this fall has been its youth. One immediate standout has been freshman midfielder MacKenna Trockman, who has scored four goals in the first four games. That included the opening goal Thursday, when she bent a kick from 18 yards out that found the top left corner of the net.

“She’s very talented. When she gets the ball, she knows what to do with it,” Flaherty said. “It really opens up a lot for us.”

• Mt. Ararat: Izabelle O’Banyel (2 goals), Ella Woodbrey (2 assists), Morgan Crawford (7 saves, shutout)

• Edward Little: Alivia Davis (6 saves)

Dave Dyer is in his second stint with the Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel. Dave was previously with the company from 2012-2015 and returned in late 2016. He spent most of 2016 doing freelance sports... More by Dave Dyer