What a difference a strong start can make to a soccer season.

The Oak Hill girls’ team has set the tone for its season with a impressive start that has the Raiders ranked third in Class B South and chasing a playoff spot.

“I don’t remember a time when Oak Hill’s record was this good,” sophomore Sydney Drew said. “I definitely think our heads are up and I think we definitely have a good shot at making the playoffs.”

The Raiders started the year winning five of their first seven games. Oak Hill is currently 5-3 and all three loses are against quality foes, Monmouth, St. Dom’s and Madison — all by 2-0 or 2-1 scores. The Raiders have chased tourney berths and fallen short in recent years. Now with the strong start, the Raiders are a bit more in control of their playoff destiny.

“The past couple of seasons we haven’t started off well,” senior Brittaney Marquis said. “It got our heads down. We started off well and we’re just working harder and harder for each game. It keeps getting tougher, but we keep going.”

The early success has given the Raiders a confidence to build from that it hasn’t had in past seasons. It has Oak Hill aiming high and working harder.

“It adds a lot of momentum to practice,” Oak Hill coach Nicole Camire said. “They’re upbeat. They work hard in practice. They know that if they work hard, it’s going to pay off. We see things in game that we try to work on throughout practice, and when they see the results in the game, it really gets them focused for the next day.”

The Raiders have been stellar on defense, allowing just 13 goals all season. Oak Hill is coming off a challenging week in which it beat Hall-Dale 2-1 in a crucial win. Then the Raiders gave unbeaten Madison a battle before falling short 2-1. From here, the Raiders have a number of winnable games that could have them closing in on a tourney spot — if Oak Hill can finish like it started.

“Having success early is in the season is keeping their spirits up and keeping their attention,” Camire said.

Team Regan

In last week’s game with Carrabec, the Telstar soccer team was wearing orange headbands. It was all part of the team and school’s effort to support junior Regan Kauf, who was diagnosed with leukemia last June. The school has held “Wear Orange” days in which people donate money to wear orange in support of Kauf. Many of the players on the soccer team are friends with Kauf and wanted to show their support.

“It’s a small school,” Telstar coach John Eliot said. “So when someone goes through something like that, the kids bring it together pretty good.”

Kauf has a Team Regan page on Facebook for those interested in following her progress , donating or supporting her.

Going National

The Lewiston boys’ soccer team earned national recognition last week by being included in the USA Today High School Sports/National Soccer Coaches Association of America Super 25 poll. The Blue Devils were ranked 24th.

Only two other New England teams were included in the poll. Concord Carlisle, from Concord, Mass, was ranked seventh. Glastonbury High School, of Glastonbury, Conn., was listed 14th.

Lewiston is currently 7-0 and ranked third in Class A North, behind Camden and Hampden. The Blue Devils host top-seeded Camden Friday at 6 p.m. Lewiston, which beat Mt. Ararat and Brunswick last week by a combined 12-0, has outscored opponents 56-3 this season with five shutouts.

The Windjammers (6-0-2) produced five shutouts, including a recent 0-0 stalemate with Edward Little. Camden has scored 34 goals while allowing just 4.

Battle of unbeaten

There are four teams in girls’ Class C South that are currently unbeaten. Two of them play each other Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in the annual showdown between Monmouth and St. Dom’s. The Saints (7-0-1) are seeded first while the Mustangs (5-0-1) are ranked fourth. Madison (6-0-2) and Sacopee Valley (7-0) are the two other unbeaten teams in the standings, ranked second and third respectively.

Monmouth has boasted a potent lineup that has scored 34 goals but most impressive for the Mustangs are the six shutouts in six games, including a 0-0 tie against Mt. Abram last week.

Monmouth hosts a young St. Dom’s team that features an abundance of freshmen. The Saints are a quick team that has scored 27 goals this fall and allowed just six with four shutouts.