By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
PRESQUE ISLE — Score round one of the rivalry soccer matches between Presque Isle and Caribou to the Wildcats, but it certainly wasn’t easy.
Contributed photo/Dave Allen Graphics
Caribou’s Lucien Caverhill (4) tries to get to a cross from a teammate, while Presque Isle goalkeeper Cody Lyford approaches to make a play on the ball. Wildcats’ Tyler Seeley and Brandon LeBlanc (10) are also in on the action. The Wildcats won the match, 2-1.
The girls and boys contests were played on back-to-back nights last week on the turf field at the Gehrig Johnson Athletic Complex.
Last Wednesday, the girls’ game took place and the visiting Vikings ran out to a 3-1 lead, only to lose by a 6-4 margin.
The following evening, the boys’ game was tied late before the Wildcats came through with some heroics inside of two minutes to play for a 2-1 victory.
In the girls’ match, Presque Isle took the advantage 2:53 in when Chandler Guerrette had a 1-on-1 with Caribou goalkeeper Morgan Outing following a Megan Ireland pass and touched the ball into the left corner.
At that point, however, momentum swung in favor of the visitors. Seven minutes after the PI goal, Delaney Williams found Sarah Doak with a corner kick that was headed over the cross bar. About a minute later, another Williams corner was converted after it bounced once and was headed in by Olivia Sleeper.
Caribou took a 2-1 lead 52 seconds later on a direct kick from 20 yards out by Doak got over PI goalie Meredith Stewart and into the back of the net.
With 17:41 to go before intermission, Caribou made it 3-1 on another successful corner kick by Williams that was finished by Sleeper.
Presque Isle scored an important goal at the 5:17 mark as Guerrette scored off an Abbie Carrier assist on a shot from in front of the goal that was tucked into the upper right corner.
“Coach told us we needed to keep pushing the ball and to keep shooting,” Ireland said of coach Ralph Michaud’s halftime speech.
The team responded as Ireland headed in a Guerrette corner 50 seconds into the half and then 1:30 later rebounded in a shot by Carrier that was saved initially by Outing but landed at Ireland’s feet for an easy goal.
Kali Warner scored off a Shea Brown assist with less than 30 minutes left to make it 5-3 before Caribou made it a one-goal game 10 minutes later on a Doak goal off Erin Patton’s assist.
Warner notched a key insurance goal, unassisted, with 10:26 remaining.
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| Contributed photo/Dave Allen Graphics Caribou’s Kendra Stephens gets tangled up with Presque Isle’s Chandler Guerrette, left, as the two battle for a loose ball during last Wednesday’s match in PI. The Vikings led 3-1, but could not hold on and fell, 6-4. |
“We don’t get our heads down [when we fall behind], we just play harder,” Ireland said. “We knew we weren’t just going to go on the field and get an easy win, we knew we’d have to work for it.”
Caribou coach Todd Albert was pleased with the offensive barrage his team displayed in the first half, but “we didn’t defend and mark well enough in the second half,” he said.
“I thought we worked hard, but have to get a little tougher,” Albert added.
Outing saved 19 of 27 shots in goal for Caribou, while Stewart turned away six of 12 for the Wildcats.
In the boys’ game, Caribou was the dominant team in possessing the ball and generating shots on goal, but the Wildcats took advantage of their few attempts in recording a 2-1 decision.
With the score tied at 1-1, PI’s Jonah Stephenson hustled for a loose ball in the corner and sent a cross in front of the goal to teammate Ben Nickerson, who blasted it in with 1:43 left to give their team the win.
“I was working hard to try to get past the defender and luckily I did,” Stephenson said of the game-winning play. “I just saw Ben there and kicked in through the middle and he put it in the net.”
Stephenson had scored on a Nickerson assist with 15:50 to play in the first half to put the Wildcats in front, but Caribou tied it with 11:22 to go before intermission on a penalty kick by Dean Walker.
Caribou was able to continue with its strong possession game into the second half, but was denied of scoring by the PI defense and goalie Cody Lyford, who ended up with 13 saves on 17 shots.
“Their forwards seemed a little faster than us, but our defense was strong,” Stephenson said. “They wanted it as much as we did, but luckily we had a little more heart and pulled through.”
Caribou put plenty of pressure on throughout, as a Walker shot in the first half was deflected by Lyford and kicked off the cross bar before being collected by the junior goalie. Viking junior Cody Herbert also used his size to get a couple attempts toward the goal with his head, one in each half, but couldn’t score.
Viking coach Scott Hunter praised his team for its dominating play.
“It was a tremendous effort and we had stretches where we played really good soccer,” said the second-year coach, “and I think we deserved better than we got, but that’s the way the game is sometimes.
“We are as good a team as anyone in the conference, but we have to find a way to get the ball in the back of the net and get it done,” Hunter added.
Viking goalkeeper Matt Manter saved four of seven shots in the match.
