Greenville — To say that No. 5 Vinalhaven had a tough draw in the opening round of the Western Class D playoffs would be an understatement.

No. 4 Greenville was 7-1 and the top team in the 11-team region in late September before they were forced to forfeit five of those victories when it was discovered the team was using an ineligible player.

Fast-forward to the end of the season and the Lakers, who had dropped to the fourth seed, hosted Vinalhaven in a regional quarterfinal game on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 24, with the islanders facing the arduous task of eliminating arguably the region's top team in its first game.

The Lakers, which defeated the Vikings twice earlier in the year, made it a clean sweep with a 3-0 victory.

Henry Hersey scored a goal in each half for Greenville (8-7), which moves on to face No. 1 Richmond (14-0) in the semifinals. Tristan Richards also tallied a goal in the win.

Vinalhaven's season ended at 8-7.

Hersey and Richards scored first-half goals, while Hersey added an insurance goal in the second half.

Scott James made 14 saves on 17 shots in net for Vinalhaven, while Corey Henderson made two saves on two shots in goal for Greenville. The Lakers led 5-2 in corner kicks.

Vinalhaven lost both meetings to Greenville during the regular season, 10-1 Sept. 21 and 6-1 Sept. 22, both in games in Greenville.

Viking coach Richard Carlsen admitted it was "disappointing" the way the Heal Points played out.

"I told my kids 'Hey, if you're meant to win [the regional title], it doesn't make a difference. You'll have to go through them anyways. But [we] played good. We had our moments."

Courier Publications sports staff can be reached by phone at 207-594-4401 or by email at sports@courierpublicationsllc.com.