The final push is on for boys soccer squads as the regular season rapidly comes to a close. Only 12 days remain on the season, as the last countable day for games is Oct. 20. The preliminary playoffs are set to begin Oct. 23-24, but could feature only a couple of local squads.
Houlton and Southern Aroostook are the only two teams currently in the playoff mix as of Tuesday morning.
Houlton (5-3-1, 30.1531 points) is ranked 6th in the Class C North region. If the Shires hold as the No. 6 seed, they would host a preliminary playoff against the No. 11 team, which is currently Deer Isle-Stonington (4-4, 17.2606).
In Class D North, Southern Aroostook (4-4, 10.8163) is 14th, while Hodgdon (5-6, 8.0612) is 15th, East Grand (0-8, no points) is 18th and Katahdin (0-9, no points) is 19th. The top 14 teams make the playoffs, so presently on the Warriors are in the mix.
Hodgdon played SACS Tuesday afternoon in a pivotal Heal Point match which could see the Hawks leapfrog past the Warriors. Hodgdon hosts Shead Friday and ends its season at home with Ashland Oct. 16.
The following is a recap of games played through Monday.
Ashland 5, Southern Aroostook 1 — At Dyer Brook Sept. 29, Kyle Beaulier recorded a hat trick and added an assist on Lucas Craig’s goal as the visiting Hornets downed Southern Aroostook. Alex Kaiser also scored for the Hornets.
For the Warriors, Nolan Altvator headed a goal from Jackson Mathers in the second half.
Timothy Tarr had four saves on 10 shots for Ashland. Altvator and Steve Rackliff combined for 10 saves on 21 shots for Southern Aroostook.
Hodgdon 5, Katahdin 2 — At Stacyville Sept. 29, Jimmy Buzzell had a hat trick to pace Hodgdon to the win against Katahdin. Matt Foster scored on penalty kick and Jordan Merritt added a goal for the Hawks.
For Katahdin, Rilley Somers had goal and Danny Moody-Kay scored on a Tyson Porter assist.
Schenck 6, Katahdin 2 — At East Millinocket Thursday, Mitchell McDunnah booted in three goals as the host Wolverines rolled past Katahdin. Justin Thompson scored two goals and Kody Pelletier added one for Schenck. Riley Dionne registered three assists and Erick Green had one.
Chris King and Travis Thompson combined for three saves on six shots.
Porter led Katahdin with a goal and an assist, while Moody-Kay scored one goal. Tanner Lane made 17 saves on 25 shots.
Limestone 4, Hodgdon 0 — At Hodgdon Thursday, Ahmed Beshir netted two goals and added an assist as Limestone Community School/Maine School of Science and Mathematics shut out the Hawks.
Garrett Barb and Tobyn Blatt scored a goal each for the Eagles, while Alex Sprague and Nathan Gere added assists. Mathew Pelkey made 11 saves on 12 shots. Blake Woods made 17 saves on 21 shots for Hodgdon.
Woodland 7, East Grand 1 — At Woodland Friday, Noah Southard and Drew Hayward combined for three first-half goals was Woodland rolled to the lopsided victory over East Grand. Hayward scored once in the first half and set up two of Southard’s goals, then tallied three second-half goals for unbeaten Woodland (7-0). Southard added a second-half goal to complete his hat trick and Riley Russell provided two assists.
Phillip Farley scored unassisted for East Grand.
Southern Aroostook 3, Katahdin 0 — At Dyer Brook Friday, Jackson Mathers netted two goals and Steve Rackliff made three saves on seven shots in the Warriors’ shutout of the Cougars in a battle of RSU 50 schools.
Tyler Batchelder scored on a Nolan Altvator assist and Hunter Lawlor provided an assist for Southern Aroostook. Tanner Lane made nine saves on 19 shots for Katahdin of Stacyville.
Houlton 0, Orono 1 — At Houlton Friday, a strong defensive effort from both squads resulted in the low-scoring tilt. Orono’s Sam Sheppard found the goal at 20:07 from a long shot to score the only goal of the game.
Both teams were scoreless in the second half. AJ Henderson made 10 saves for the Shires, and Dennis Famham made one save for Orono.
Ashland 7, Hodgdon 2 — At Ashland Saturday, Jarrett Beaulier and Kyle Beaulier each recorded a hat trick to power the Hornets to victory over visiting Hodgdon. Alex Kaiser added a goal and an assist for 7-4 Ashland. Jarrett Beaulier chipped in an assist. Timmy Tarr and Steven Bellanceau combined for two saves on four shots.
For the Hawks, Buzzell and Daden Palmer each scored for a goal. Woods had 18 saves on 29 shots.
Houlton 1, Lee Academy 0 — At Lee Saturday, Connor Grant scored on a header with 27:39 left in the first half, leading the Shiretowners to their second win of the week over the Pandas. Henderson made 11 saves to earn the shutout for 5-3-1 Houlton. Maurice Kopp made 13 stops for Lee Academy (3-2-3).
Bangor Christian at Kathadin — At Stacyville Monday, Tyler Welch scored three goals to lift the Patriots by Katahdin. Josh Palmeter chipped in with a goal and Austin Keib made four saves on seven shots.
Riley Somers made five saves on 17 shots for the Cougars.
