Telstar boys soccer wins second straight 8-person South title
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GARDINER — The Telstar boys soccer team’s goal this season was to get another shot at the eight-person state championship after losing in the final last fall.
The second-seeded Rebels earned a shot at redemption by claiming their second straight South title with a 5-2 win over No. 1 Pine Tree Academy on Tuesday at Hoch Field. Telstar (16-1) will face North champion Wisdom in the state final Saturday in Presque Isle.
“It feels really good, especially for my senior year, playing in the states again,” Telstar’s Travis Decareau said. “Hopefully we can win it this year.”
The Rebels beat Pine Tree 1-0 in double overtime in last season’s regional final, then lost to Piscataquis 2-1 in the 2025 state final.
“The real soccer (season) for Telstar shouldn’t start in August. It starts in October and November. That’s what we want,” Rebels coach Nic Conrad said.
Eins, zwei, drei
German exchange student Moritz Mayer was crucial to the Rebels’ win. After Fitzroy Hakizimana’s penalty kick gave the Breakers an early 1-0 lead, Mayer tied the game with a long-range line drive.
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Mayer gave Telstar a 2-1 lead later in the first half when his midfield boot caught Pine Tree off guard, sailing over the goalkeeper’s head and into the net.
It wasn’t luck. The Rebels did their homework after a 1-0 loss to the Breakers on Oct. 15.
“We watched the game again. We saw the goalkeeper the whole time (was) out (of the 18-yard box),” Mayer said. “Then my coach showed me, just to see if he’s out and just to try to shoot it. (I) saw him and shot and luck was on my side.”
Mayer added an assist on Decareau’s goal in the second half that made it 3-1. After teammate Bryan Lee made it 4-2, Mayer netted his third goal of the game.
Not used to giving up goals
Pine Tree (14-1) was stellar defensively all season, but the Rebels’ offense knocked the Breakers off their game.
“They came out with intensity, and they came out with grit, and (we) felt a little shell-shocked,” Pine Tree coach Jessica Remmes-Davis said. “We haven’t had as much adversity this season. We went from only having two goals scored on us all year to having five in a match. It was weighing heavily on the guys. I think going down 2-1 kind of hurt a little bit.”
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The Breakers got back in the game when defender Rhett Tyson found the back of the net in the 14th minute of the second half to cut the deficit to 3-2.
“We’re a very good attacking team when we have the ball, and we keep possession,” Remmes-Davis said. “We weren’t keeping possession well, and the fact of the matter is, as soon as you lose the ball, they’ve got that (Decareau) who’s just so fast.”
They said it
• “I think we’ve had our best game of the season. I mean, they had a couple of chances to come back, but I think we did a good job.” — Moritz Mayer
• “(Moritz) is a good player. He’s good at passing. He’s super good at shooting. He’s a team player and sees everything and passes to people.” — Travis Decareau
Statistical leaders
• Pine Tree: Fitzroy Hakizimana (goal); Rhett Tyson (goal)
• Telstar: Moritz Mayer (3 goals, assist); Travis Decareau (goal); Bryan Lee (goal)
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Tagged: pine tree breakers, telstar rebels, times record sports
Nathan Fournier has been a sports reporter for the Sun Journal the past eight years. He enjoys hanging out with family and friends, watching sports when he's not working. He's a 2010 graduate of the New. More by Nathan Fournier
