GRAY – It was a strange and rare sight to see last week.

The Gray-New Gloucester boys’ soccer team was ranked third in the Class C South standings. It’s been so long since the Patriots were seeded that high that not many people remember when it was.

“It’s new to us,” Gray-NG coach Andy Higgins said. “We finished in fourth last year. Then we saw us slide into third. These guys are confident. They believe that we can compete and we can. It’s exciting. People around here are excited, and we’re glad to have the support.”

The Gray-New Gloucester community has been abuzz about the successful start of the football team, which started this fall 3-0. The boys’ soccer team, however, is making some noise of its own and hopes to continue that in the next month.

“It’s awesome,” senior forward/midfielder Liam Stewart said. “It’s unbelievable. It’s a whole team effort there.”

The Patriots have been a competitive club in the tough Western Maine Conference for years. but breaking through to the top of the pack among teams like Yarmouth, York, Cape Elizabeth and Greely has always been a challenge — especially with a schedule featuring some of the best Class A and B schools in the state. The last time the Patriots were seeded this high was likely in 1997. Gray-NG finished third at 6-5-3 and lost to York in the semifinals.

“If the season ended today, we’d be happy where we are, but we still have a lot of work to do,” Higgins said. “There’s a lot of Heal Points out there to go get.”

Coming off Saturday’s loss with Cape Elizabeth, the Patriots finish the year with games against Wells, Waynflete and Yarmouth, all playoff teams.

“We’ve just got to keep moving forward as a team and keep playing as we are,” junior midfielder Bryce Hayman said.

The Patriots went 8-6-2 overall last year and earned the fourth seed. After beating Lincoln Academy in the Western B quarterfinals, 2-1, Gray-NG gave the eventual state champs from Yarmouth a battle. The Patriots lost the semifinal game in overtime, 2-1. It was a tough ending to a great run but a seed planted that the team now harvests.

“We had a great season last year,” Stewart said. “We wanted to build on that. We had a lot of players coming back. We knew we had talent. We’re really a team. We’re a family.”

With 10 seniors returning and some momentum from last year, the Patriots knew that the thrill of last year could continue.

“Last year, it was one of the greatest seasons we’ve had here,” Hayman said. ”We’ve just kept striving forward. We wanted more.”

The Patriots started the year with a 3-1 loss to Falmouth, but Gray-NG rebounded with wins over Freeport and Lake Region, outscoring both by a total of 12-0. After a 1-1 tie with Greely and a stumble against Freeport, Gray-NG won five straight.

Despite a run of five consecutive games in which the Patriots scored just one goal (going 3-1-1), the Patriots had outscored foes 29-7 with six shutouts before Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Cape.. Gray-NG had a streak of four straight shutouts before that ended against Poland last week.

“We had a lot of guys coming back, and they were really hungry after the way last year finished up for us,” Higgins said. “The focus has been there all year long. It needs to stay there until we finish up.”

The Patriots graduated all-state forward Tyler St. Pierre but still have Hayman, another all-state player. He’s a skilled and talented player in the midfield that makes things happen for the Patriots. With such a veteran group around him, Gray-NG has an abundance of skilled and quick players that work well together.

“Last year, we played as a team,” Hayman said. “This year, I think we’re playing more as a team. There’s more movement off the ball and quicker touches.”

While players like Stewart, Hayman, Ben Rogers,  Brady Darnell and Nick McCann lead a balanced attack up front, the Patriots strength may be the seasoned defense in front of junior keeper John-Henry Villanueva. Alex Cobb, Josh Bouvier, Dylan Andrew, Robert Fernandez and Evan Plummer are all veteran defenders that have helped make the Patriots formidable in back.

“I think we’re a year older as a group” Higgins said. “The core group coming back is a year older and a year stronger. They’re really focused and driven by how things finished last year.”

kmills@sunjournal.com