HODGDON, Maine — The Hodgdon girls soccer team has opened its season with an impressive undefeated record for the first time in recent memory and has played exceptional soccer, outscoring opponents 15-4 in the first three games.
The Hawks beat Katahdin 3-2 Monday and defeated East Grand 7-1 Sept. 8 in a dominating game. The 3-0 Hawks opened their season with a 5-1 victory over Van Buren.
“We’re a pretty quick team, but we are fairly young,” Hodgdon first-year coach Seth Dorr said. “The key is, I had a lot of these girls when I coached the middle school team, so we kind of jumped right back into where we were.”
Dorr said his players have shown good ability to possess the ball, which has been helpful given that the team is not extremely deep.
East Grand goalie Bethany Lindsey shows great concentration as she prepares to catch the ball during a Sept. 8 game against Hodgdon.
(Joseph Cyr)
“The second-half has been really good for us,” he said. “We’re still getting used to each other, and learning to make the right runs. Typical stuff. We still have a long ways to go.”
Against Katahdin Monday, Jill Gough scored two goals to lift the Hawks over the Cougars. Taylor Desrosiers chipped in with a goal and Megan Russell added an assist for Hodgdon.
Kelsey Hamm and Erin Robinson each scored a goal for Katahdin (1-2) and Georgia Landry contributed an assist.
Hosting East Grand, Sept. 8, Sidney Crane scored three goals for the hat trick while Desrosier added two goals and Gough had a goal and an assist. Madison Merritt also scored a goal and Jesse Drew had an assist.
East Grand’s Kianna Caissie scored on a breakaway for the Vikings.
As of Tuesday morning, Hodgdon was eighth in the Class D North standings; Southern Aroostook (0-3-1) was 11th; Katahdin (1-1) was 13th; and East Grand (0-3) was 16th.
In Class C North, Houlton (3-0) is the top-ranked team in the region.
The following is a roundup of other girls soccer action played through Monday, Sept. 14.
Houlton 2, Mattanawcook 0 — At Houlton Sept. 9, the Shires broke open a scoreless stalemate with a pair of second-half goals for the team’s second win of the season.
“Offensively, it was a very frustrating game because Mattanawcook employed a very defensive strategy,” Houlton coach Tim Tweedie said. “They had 10 or 11 players behind the ball at all times. We had 18 shots on goal in the first half and I think the ball only crossed midfield once, but it was still 0-0 at the half. Every single shot we took had to make its way through a crowd.”
The Shires made a few adjustments at halftime and were able to get on the board at the 30:15 mark as Kolleen Bouchard scored off a rebound from a shot by Katie Condon. Three minutes later, Natalie Hill scored off a Mia Hanning assist to make it 2-0.
Emma Hines made one save to earn her first career shutout for Houlton. Kiana Hafford registered 20 saves on 34 shots for the Lynx (0-2) of Mattanawcook Academy.
Houlton 6, Schenck 0 — At Houlton Monday, Hill tallied three goals for the hat trick and added an assist to lead the Shiretowners past Schenck. Condon added two goals and an assist, while Bouchard chipped in one goal and three assists. Jamie Brown had one assist.
For Schenck, Taylor McLaughlin made 21 saves on 32 shots. Hines earned the shutout for Houlton.
Ashland 10, Southern Aroostook 1 — At Ashland Sept. 9, Mackenzie Carter tallied four goals to lead the Hornets past Southern Aroostook. Morgan Doughty also added two goals and two assists, while Savannah Flint had two goals and one assist. Lexi Craig and Kassandra Nelson each contributed a goal to round out the scoring for undefeated Ashland (7-0).
For Southern Aroostook (0-3-1), Katie Stevens scored the lone goal. Ashland goalie Megan Cote made two saves on seven shots. The Warriors’ Marissa Boulier made 26 saves on 49 shots.
Fort Fairfield 10, East Grand 0 — At Danforth Sept. 10, Chelsea Pelkey recorded three goals and added three assists, while Taylor Churchill added three goals and an assist as the visiting Fort Fairfield Tigers romped to their fifth win on the year.
Sarah Watt got the shutout, stopping all four shots she faced for the Tigers. East Grand keeper Bethany Lindsey had 18 saves on 28 shots. The Vikings drop to 0-3.
