It should take more than a few years to determine whether the 1990 Bangor High School boys’ soccer team ranks as one of the school’s all-time best. But for now, this Bangor team is the standard against which future teams will be judged.

Coach Roger Reed’s Bangor Rams finished the season with a 14-2-1 record after losing to Waterville in an Eastern Maine Class A semifinal.

The Rams also won their first playoff game (2-1 over Cony in triple overtime), beat Ellsworth for the first time and gave the Eagles their first loss in a night game, and won 11 straight games before losing in postseason.

This Bangor team had everything: speed, toughness, aggressiveness, passing ability, youth, depth and experience.

Experience is the one thing Bangor had in abundance.

Thirteen seniors played their last high school soccer seasons for third-year coach Roger Reed. They also played their best seasons.

Captains Jason Hill, Liam McCarthy, Andy Seguin and Aram Khavari, and fellow seniors Jason Simmons, Tom Placella, Greg Arata, John Thibodeau, Rob Young, Kimo Grant, Gerrick Rodrigues, Eric Elliott and Todd Nicholas are the first “bumper crop” of players harvested from the Bangor youth soccer program.

“These kids all arrived here at the same time to play together. And most of these kids came up through the youth soccer program together,” said Reed.

Each of the seniors played key roles during the season. Hill finished the season with 13 goals and 4 assists, Simmons had 10 goals and 3 assists, Placella tallied 3 goals and 3 assists and Rob Young had 3 goals and 2 assists to finish among the team scoring leaders.

The perfect mix of diverse abilities is clear: Jason Hill (center halfback) – hard kicker, takes most of the penalty kicks, dangerous scorer. “If we had a star player, he would be it,” said Reed. Aram Khavari (center halfback) – gutsy, has good passing skills. “Probably the best all-around player we had, both in leadership and ability.”

Andy Seguin (defensive back, stopper) – plays tough and unafraid. “He loves soccer and goes all out.” Liam McCarthy (sweeper) – versatile team player. “He’s a very smart player with a lot of emotion and energy.” Jason Simmons (left wing) – very quick. “Jason improved a lot in the off season and gained a lot of confidence.” Tom Placella (right wing) – unselfish, very smart. “Tom excels at crossing the ball and corner kicks.” Greg Arata (halfback, stopper) – good ball handler. “He always marks his man well.” John Thibodeau (halfback) – good team player. “He gets the job done. He always carries out whatever you ask of him.” Rob Young (striker) – tenacious and tough. “Robbie … is very strong and is always around the goal.” Kimo Grant (left wing, halfback) – very quick. “He has a good left kick.” Gerrick Rodrigues (midfielder, halfback) – good speed and fundamentals. “He has a good understanding of the game.” Eric Elliott (right fullback) – good defensive marker. “Eric has a great ability to contain people.” Todd Nicholas (defensive back) – good ball stealer, very fast and physically strong. “No question he helped anchor our defense.”

Each of the captains agreed that the 1990 Rams could be the team against which all others will be measured. “I think everyone is always going to look back to us since we were the first team to win in the playoffs,” said Seguin.

“This is probably the best team that I’ve ever had, from Classes A to C,” said Reed, who has coached high school soccer for nine years. “If the tradition of good soccer continues (at Bangor), this is where it begins.”