WINSLOW — It’s hard to blame Sam Lambrecht for not feeling like this is his senior season. The midfielder on the Winslow boys soccer team missed virtually all of last year with a knee injury suffered in the preseason, and he only cracked the Black Raiders starting 11 midway through this season, when injuries opened up some spots on the field.
But once he found his way into the lineup everyday, there was no way Lambrecht was coming out. He certainly should be expected to take the field as a center midfielder when Winslow lines up to face Yarmouth for the Class B state championship on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Hampden Academy.
Class B Boys Soccer
What: State championship game
When: 12:30 p.m., Saturday
Where: Hampden Academy, Hampden
Who: Winslow vs. Yarmouth
Winslow: After knocking off the top seed en route to the third regional title in school history, Winslow (16-0-1) seeks its first state championship. Junior Jake Warn has scored twice in each of the three playoff games to this point, while the Class B North champions are averaging 3.0 goals per game in the postseason. They’ve not conceded a goal in the run of play since Oct. 11, and junior goalkeeper Jake Lapierre has 11 shutouts this season.
Yarmouth: Like Winslow, Yarmouth (14-2-1) entered the regional tournament as a No. 2 seed and seeks its third consecutive state championship. Eric Labrie has 15 goals this season for the Clippers, who have three state titles in the last six years. Class B South teams, including Yarmouth, Falmouth and Greely, have had a stranglehold on the Class B championship dating back to 1993, the last time a team from B North captured the title.
“I’m having a blast,” Lambrecht said. “Just playing the game is so much fun, and especially now because we’ve had some success this year only adds onto it. Now, being able to start, it just makes it that much better.”
Lambrecht figured to be a key component for the Black Raiders in 2015. He came into the season having worked hard on his game throughout the previous offseason, and was having an impressive training camp before he was injured. He returned late in the season, but he was too many weeks behind to catch back up and make an impact.
Even this season, while Lambrecht logged significant minutes early in the campaign, it wasn’t until midway through that he found his place. That place takes him everywhere, though he’s an ideal fit as a defensive midfielder.
“The defensive end is where he’s always played,” Winslow coach Aaron Wolfe said. “With what we have personnel-wise back there, it probably wasn’t somewhere he was going to play for us. He’s kind of evolved into more of a midfielder, and that defensive holding midfield role has been perfect for him.”
Lambrecht can be paired with Spencer Miranda in a central role, or he can drop in behind and play more defensively. Already in this playoff season, he’s even spelled center backs for periods when they headed to the bench.
“He drops defensively,” Wolfe said. “We’ve put him on defense and moved our defensive players up the field. That’s a luxury to have. At times, if we feel like we need to be a little more offensive, I’m comfortable moving Sam back so we can have some of our other guys go forward.”
“When Jake (Warn) broke his arm (against Maranacook), we had to shift people around to fix that and it opened up a spot,” Lambrecht, one of only three seniors on the Winslow roster, said. “I was the next one up. I work hard. I don’t stop. I don’t give up. I always try my hardest, and I think I’m pretty good at reading the game and seeing what’s going to happen.”
That attribute might be what Wolfe likes best. The coach said he “absolutely” trusts Lambrecht, another important role player on a team full of them. Of the 14 varsity players for Winslow, all 14 have scored at least one goal this season.
“I think there’s a lot of those on this team,” Wolfe said of unsung heroes. “We’ve got guys who are doing a good job, knowing their roles and playing those roles really well.”
This weekend, Lambrecht is simply trying to make up for lost time.
“I feel like a senior with school and other stuff, but with soccer I don’t feel like I’ve been playing that long,” Lambrecht said. “I wish I had that (junior) year back, but I’ve just got to make this one count.”
Travis Barrett — 521-5621
tbarrett@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TBarrettGWC
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