Inexperienced players. Defections to golf.

The Fort Fairfield boys soccer team has had to overcome quite a bit this fall. But the Tigers have managed a 10-2-1 record this fall, one year after struggling to a 3-11 finish last season.

Fort Fairfield opened the season 10-0, only to fall to Ashland 3-1 and Madawaska 4-0 last week. The Tigers were ranked No. 2 in last week’s Eastern Maine Class D Heal point standings, but the losses probably won’t hurt too much. Ashland was the top-ranked EM Class D team and Madawaska was sitting in third place in EM Class C. The loss to Ashland came after a 15-day layoff due to the potato harvest.

Tigers coach John Ala said he’s hoping his squad will be at least third at the end of the regular season. The Tigers’ final regular season game is Wednesday against Limestone-Maine School of Science and Mathematics.

“It’s hard to tell what’s going to happen, especially if Machias and Bangor Christian catch us,” he said of some of the teams behind Fort Fairfield.

Fort Fairfield has been a strong team in recent years – the Tigers were 9-4-1 in Ala’s first season in 2005 – but the loss of several players last year who were ineligible due to grades thrust six freshmen into starting roles.

This fall, four of last year’s players graduated and two decided to play golf instead of soccer. That meant the youngsters who got a lot of playing time last year are putting that to good use this year.

Josh Booth, for example, scored three goals last fall as a freshman. This season he has 14.

“I think [the experience] made the most difference,” Ala said. “I knew I was going to have some talented players back. … Josh is talented and he’s gotten much stronger.”

Other young players who have contributed this fall include freshman sweeper Travis Noyes and freshman marking back Nate McLaughlin.

Booth leads the Tigers in scoring, but junior Ryan Noyes, Travis’ brother, has 12 goals and senior Cody Closson has 11. Ala said at least eight players have scored at least one goal this season.

Closson has been a big key to Fort Fairfield’s success, Ala added, because of Closson’s versatility.

“He plays from 18 to 18,” Ala said. “He’s played everything from sweeper to striker.”

Closson has also added 10 assists.

Goalie Austin Dufour has allowed only 12 goals in 13 games.

Ala said one example of the team’s turnaround is evident in their scores against perennial contender Van Buren. The Tigers fell to the Crusaders 11-0 in one game last year. This year, the Tigers logged 3-1 and 1-0 wins over the Crusaders.

Members of the Fort Fairfield team were also upset at the start of the season because of the death of a former player. The Tigers traveled to Houlton Sept. 22 for the Out of the Darkness Community Walk, which was a fundraiser for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Through it all, the team members have focused on soccer.

“They want to win,” Ala said. “Last year it wasn’t as fun, but they still bought into it and we did a lot of skill building. I think that’s paid off.”