ROYAL OAK >> Troy got a pair of goals from Graham Bauman and dispatched Birmingham Seaholm 2-0 in Monday’s district semifinals.

Bauman opened the scoring midway through the first half when he stole the ball from a defender and picked the top corner from about 20 yards out, giving Troy a 1-0 lead with 19:24 to play in the opening half.

“I think coming into it, we knew in any game you have to start fast, especially the first 10, 20 minutes of games,” Troy head coach Adam Spinks said. “If you can control the first half of the first half, and if you can get an early goal, then that settles your team down perfectly. And that’s what we did.”

Bauman got his second goal right after halftime. Cole Cusmano launched a long throw into the penalty area, which Seaholm was only partially able to clear. Bauman pounced on the loose ball and ripped it home just 3:24 into the second half.

“Honestly, I just told myself, like, it was non-negotiable (that) I had to work hard the whole game,” Bauman said. “Our team, we’re a family, and all agreed that we’re going to work hard no matter what.”

The Colts dominated possession for much of the game, and they dominated the stat sheet as a result, finishing with a commanding 10-2 edge in shots on goal.

“It was getting numbers into the right areas. We didn’t sustain the ball long enough to do that,” Maples head coach Greg Perkins said.

Even when the Maples pushed players forward late in the game, they struggled to generate offensive chances. Seaholm’s best chance came with 21:40 to play, but Simeon Kolev came up with a nice save at the near post, and the Maples never really threatened again. In all, the tough Troy defense just seemed to be too fast, too well positioned with too high a work rate for the Maples to break down.

“We have full trust in our whole team in defending as a unit,” Troy captain and center defender Nahuel Larroquette said. “So when we put one in, we’re very confident that we can hold out a whole game because we’ve been doing it all season.”

The Colts (13-2) move on to Wednesday’s district final where they will face Berkley. The teams met about three weeks ago in league play with the Colts claiming a 2-1 win.

“They (Berkley) are very well-organized,” Spinks said. “Steve (Bears head coach Wloszek) does a very good job with them. So I expect them to be well organized and be very difficult to break down. We’ll do some video tomorrow, and we’ll come up with a good game plan.”

Seaholm finishes the year 12-6-2. The Maples will return seven starters next year.

“We can build on that a little bit, a little bit better than last year. So we obviously want to be a part of that group every year,” Perkins said. “It’s just about getting a little bit mentally stronger and physically stronger, so that’s what we’ve got to figure out and come back with next year.”