While it took a while to light, eventually those who came out to Wiscasset High School's Saturday, Sept. 27 homecoming were treated to a show.

There was even a fire afterwards.

Although the boys and girls varsity soccer teams both lost to the Monmouth Mustangs, both games featured strong moves, yellow cards, scrappy play and dramatic goals to top off a day that featured raffles, a Boosters breakfast, a middle school soccer game and other homecoming activities.

On the field, it was the Wiscasset High School boys varsity soccer team (1-8) that played first against fourth-ranked Monmouth (7-1).

Monmouth wasted little time to show how it has accumulated seven wins on the season, as forward Avery Pomerleau was able to march down the field with 30 minutes remaining in the first half and punch the ball through Wiscasset's defense. Six minutes later Pomerleau's teammate Hunter Richardson would add a goal of his own, and Chandler Harris added a goal with 20 minutes remaining in the half to push Monmouth's lead to 3-0.

The Wolverines wouldn't go down easy, however.

The team played up-tempo as it came from the break and the two teams ramped up the intensity. Pomerleau added his second goal of the game 12 minutes into the second half, but goalkeeper Conlon Ranta and the Wolverines were able to neutralize the Mustang attack.

Wiscasset finally got onto the board with a little more than 11 minutes to go in the game. Following a Monmouth penalty, Wiscasset sophomore Kevin Lynch set up near midfield for a direct kick.

Throughout the game Monmouth goalie Bradley Neal, who stands at well over six feet tall, was able to use his height and speed to thwart all of Wiscasset's attacks. Lynch's shot, however, was able to clear all the defenders, even Neal, and sail into the goal to cut the lead to 4-1.

Ranta stopped 13 shots of his own, but in the end the Wolverines weren't able to muster enough offense to complete the comeback.

Shortly after the boys game, the girls varsity squad (3-5) took the field to take on the second ranked Mustangs (7-0-1).

The first half of the game was a testament to defense: The only goal that went in was Monmouth's Sydney Wilson, who managed to slip one by with 28 minutes remaining in the first half.

After Wilson's goal, it was a clinic for goalkeeping as Wiscasset's Kayla Gordon and Monmouth's Mikayla Cameron shut down the opponents' offenses.

For as much as the first half was ruled by defense, it was the offenses that ruled the second half.

Monmouth's Haley Fletcher scored just two minutes into the second half, but Wiscasset soon halved that lead to 2-1.

Senior captain Miranda McIntire was able to gauge where her teammates were going and timed a Brooke Carleton pass to the sideline perfectly, and sent home a goal just a minute after Fletcher's.

Monmouth's Sammy Grandahl scored three minutes after McIntire and Wilson added her second three minutes later to give Monmouth a 4-1 lead.

It was McIntire who would again half the lead.

“I took a corner kick and the ball just kind of bobbled,” she said. “After I took the corner the ball came back to me and I shot it in.”

For Wiscasset, which rolled out to three straight wins before the current five-game losing streak, things are looking up, McIntire said.

“We've had so many injuries, and injuries when we got to (a tougher) part of our schedule,” she said. “We've been having to get used to one another, whereas we were used to each other when the season began.

“But now we've all played a lot together, and I think we have some easier matches coming up.”

Speaking of matches, the bonfire, which was lit by seniors Ridge Barnes and Tylan Onorato, went up without a hitch.