It’s not as if Dan Kane’s presence alone has made a difference for the George Stevens Academy boys soccer team. Kane, a former Eagles coach who is back with the team this fall, feels he walked into the team he has today.

It’s not as if Dan Kane’s presence alone has made a difference for the George Stevens Academy boys soccer team.

Kane, a former Eagles coach who is back with the team this fall, feels he walked into the team he has today.

GSA is 11-1-1 after Saturday’s 2-0 win over Fort Kent. It’s a big improvement over last season in which the Eagles were 6-6-2.

“I’m fortunate,” he said. “I stepped in with some very good, seasoned players. That always makes the transition a lot easier, when you can win some games with good players and you’re trying to make the transition between coaches’ philosophies. It’s been good.”

Kane, who is the longtime GSA baseball coach, spent 12 seasons coaching the boys soccer team before giving it up about seven years ago to spend more time with his family.

But when Jim Sperry, who had been coaching the team, informed athletic director Jim Murphy that he wouldn’t be back to coach this fall because of work commitments, Kane took a few weeks to think about whether he wanted to come back.

His previous experience and the fact that his son Nicholas is now a freshman on the junior varsity team made him a natural for the job.

Kane, a former University of Maine baseball standout, has coached the GSA baseball team to numerous Class C regional and state titles. He led the soccer team to EM Class C titles in 1995 and 1996. The Eagles also won the regional crown under Sperry in 2002.

Initially Kane was to coach just this season while Murphy sought a more permanent replacement for Sperry. But Kane said he may stick around.

“At the end of the season I’ll step back and take time to cool down, evaluate what I want to do,” he said. “Right now there’s a good chance I’ll be back.”

Pink stick power

The two-time defending Class C state champion Central field hockey team continues to look strong with a five-game winning streak going as the regular season winds down.

The 9-4 Red Devils of Corinth beat rival Dexter 2-1 in double overtime Saturday. The Tigers, always title contenders themselves, fell to 10-3. Central also beat a tough Stearns of Millinocket squad 4-1, Piscataquis of Guilford 3-1, Old Town 5-3, and Hermon 2-0 since around the time Devils coach Diane Rollins switched the look of her front line.

Rollins recently moved center Rachel Trafton to the left wing position, and put left winger Maddie Dunakin in Trafton’s former spot in the middle.

The move was meant to take advantage of Trafton’s strength in crossing passes from the wing to the center.

The switch seems to have worked. In the game against Stearns, Dunakin assisted on Trafton’s goal, and Dunakin herself had a goal. Hilary Haney also gets in on the scoring, too, thanks to Trafton’s crosses.

“Rachel, she’s like a bull, she’s so strong,” Rollins said. “She makes the ball go across and usually Maddie and Hilary can put it in. … We’re really starting to play better. We’re talking, which we’ve been working on, and we’re making better decisions.”

Dunakin and Trafton attribute the success to something else.

“We say it’s the power of our pink sticks,” Dunakin said. “We’re the only two on the team who have pink sticks.”

Bangor boys ranked ninth

The Bangor boys soccer team is currently ranked No. 9, in a tie with Brunswick, in the most recent regional standings put out by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Maine is in Region I, which is made up of the six New England states.

The Rams are 11-0-1 after Friday’s 0-0 double-overtime tie against Lawrence of Fairfield, while the Dragons are 12-0.

On the girls side, Gorham (11-0-1) is not only tied for the top spot in the region with Acton-Boxborough of Acton, Mass., but the Rams are also ranked seventh overall in the nation.

The Falmouth girls (12-0) are No. 6 in the region.

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.