By Joseph Cyr
Sports Editor
It’s down to crunch time for girls soccer squads as the regular season comes to an end next week. For some, the soccer season will continue to the playoffs, while others will have to wait until next year.
Contributed photo/jMavor Photography
Caribou’s Olivia Sleeper soars through the air after being tripped up during Saturday’s home game against Mount Desert Island Saturday. Caribou’s record improved to 10-1-1 following the 4-0 victory. The team is in first place in the latest release of the Eastern Maine Class B Heal Point rankings. The Vikings close out the regular season with games against Fort Kent and Presque Isle.
The final countable day for regular season games is Tuesday, Oct. 19, with preliminary playoffs beginning Oct. 22-23 in Class B. Because of the number of teams that qualify for the postseason in Class D, there are no preliminary seeds.
As of Monday morning, Caribou (10-1-1, 100.5740 Heal Points) was the No. 1 seed in Eastern Class B thanks to Saturday’s win over Mount Desert Island. Close on the Vikings’ heels is second-ranked Camden Hills (9-2, 91.0714), while Presque Isle (8-2-1, 85.2041) is third.
The Vikings control their own destiny when it comes to keeping that top spot. Caribou travels to Fort Kent (9-1-1 and the No. 1 seed in Class C) Thursday and closes out the season with a huge contest against Presque Isle Monday, Oct. 18. If Caribou is successful in both of those games, the Vikings should secure the top seed, and home field advantage, in the playoffs.
In Eastern Class D, games have been few and far between over the past week, due to the harvest recess. Washburn (7-3-2, 52.9677) is third in the region, while Fort Fairfield (6-5-1, 23.8776) is seventh and Limestone-MSSM (2-8, 4.5408) is 14th.
The top eight teams make the playoffs in Class D, with no team receiving a bye.
The following is a recap of games played through Monday, Oct. 11.
Caribou 4, MDI 0 — At Caribou Saturday, the Vikings blanked the visiting Trojans 4-0 on the strength of two Jamie Martin goals. Paige Small and Katelynn Tardie also scored solo goals for Caribou, while Meredith Sleeper added two assists and Rahel Donner had one.
Morgan Swan stopped seven of 11 shots for the Vikings, while MDI’s Taylor Walls had nine saves on 18 shots.
“We played a good game,” Viking coach Todd Albert said. “We played better in the second half with the wind to our back. Hannah Hebert has been playing great at sweeper, and the rest of the defense has been better the past couple games.”
With Caribou essentially controlling it own destiny for the playoffs, coach Albert said his squad was eager for the challenge.
“This last week is when all the spots become decided,” he said. “We have to play well the last two games to give ourselves a chance to host through the playoffs. I expect both the Fort Kent and Presque Isle games to be competitive. All good teams trying to earn top spots. We played both early in the season and each team will be a little different with more games under their belt. I am sure we all be ready to play.”
Caribou tied Fort Kent 1-1 and beat Presque Isle 5-3 in its earlier meetings.
Madawaska 1, Fort Fairfield 0 — At Fort Fairfield Thursday, Madawaska’s Shannon Blanchette scored a first-half goal that stood as the Owls blanked Fort Fairfield. Madawaska goalie Amanda Nadeau had five saves on seven shots, while Katy Donovan had six saves on nine shots for the Tigers.
Fort Fairfield 4, Limestone-MSSM 2 — At Limestone Oct. 5, Kylie Plourde scored two first-half goals to lift the Tigers past Limestone-MSSM. Alyssa Murchison and Logan Bubar added second-half goals for Fort Fairfield. Cassidy Godin added an assist.
Amanda Allen and Daniele Pelkey scored for the Eagles, while Stephanie Leighton and Mariah Williams provided assists.
Katie Donovan stopped 10 of 16 shots for the Tigers , while Autumn Beauchamp saved eight of 15 shots for the Eagles.
