Lewiston soccer team wins state title just weeks after Maine shooting
- Lewiston Blue Devils beat Deering 3-2 in state championship game
- Win comes just two weeks after a deadly shooting rampage killed 18 people
- Coach: 'We knew that we had a lot to play for'
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(NewsNation) — A high school boys’ soccer team brought some much-needed relief to the town of Lewiston, Maine.
A little more than two weeks after a deadly shooting rampage killed 18 people in the small city, the Lewiston Blue Devils won Maine’s “Class A” soccer championship against Deering, beating them 3-2.
It’s the fourth time Lewiston took the state title and the first since 2018.
“We have been saying the past few weeks, ‘Do it for the city,’” Lewiston goalie Payson Goyette told the Sun Journal. “It feels great to win for the city and bring some good to the city.”
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Daniel Gish, the Lewiston High School boys’ soccer coach, said the win felt good on so many levels.
“We knew that we had a lot to play for, and the players committed their season and playoff run to the families who were affected,” Gish said. “They knew that they were playing for something much bigger than themselves.”
With about a minute left in the first overtime session, Tegra Mbele scored his second goal of the game, giving the Blue Devils the victory. After the goal, Mbele was mobbed by his teammates and some spectators in a celebration that the coach called “euphoric.”
“It was the joy we brought to the fans, which made them go crazy,” Mbele told the newspaper. “We just wanted to give back to the city with all they have gone through. It brings me great joy, and to everyone who made it happen.”
The reality of the win didn’t set in for Caiden, a senior on the team, until a bit after the game ended. It was then that he felt like the team really won it for the cit and the kids looking up to them.
“I definitely felt like we did it for a bigger reason,” Caiden said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Caden Boone, center, celebrates with teammates and fans after defeating Deering 3-2 in overtime high school soccer to capture the Class A State Boys Soccer Championship, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2023 in Oakland, Maine. The boy’s team in the Maine city that was the site of a mass shooting more than two weeks ago won the state title. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP) 
The Lewiston High School boys soccer team poses for a team photo after defeating Deering 3-2 in overtime to capture the Class A State Boys Soccer Championship, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2023 in Oakland, Maine. The boy’s team in the Maine city that was the site of a mass shooting more than two weeks ago won the state title. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP) 
From left to right, Lewiston’s Abdishakur Nur, Obed Antonio, Payson Goyette and Caden Boone celebrate Saturday, Nov. 12, 2023 in Oakland, Maine. The boy’s team in the Maine city that was the site of a mass shooting more than two weeks ago won the state soccer title. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)
