As the soccer season rapidly winds to a close, the playoff picture is beginning to come into focus. Houlton, Hodgdon, Southern Aroostook and Katahdin are all in the postseason mix as of Tuesday morning.
The last countable day for regular season games is Oct. 20, with the playoff set to begin Oct. 23 and 24 with preliminary games.
Houlton (9-1, 72.0408 points) is ranked second in the Class C North region just behind top-ranked Calais (8-1-1, 81.9643) as of Tuesday morning. The top 11 teams make the playoffs in this region, with the top five squads earning a bye. If Houlton stays in the No. 2 spot, it would play the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 10 preliminary game. Those squads are currently Washington Academy (No. 7) and Fort Kent (No. 10).
Hodgdon (8-3, 23.9796 points) is seventh, SACS (2-4-2, 21.8878) is ninth and Katahdin (3-11, 12.1429) is 11th in the Class D North region as of Tuesday morning. East Grand (1-6-1, 3.3163) is 14th and not in the hunt as only the top 12 teams make the playoffs.
The following is a recap of games played through Monday.
Ashland 8, Southern Aroostook 0 — At Dyer Brook Sept. 29, Mackenzie Carter and Savannah Flint each recorded a hat trick goals to lift Ashland to 10-0 on the season. Flint also had two assists and Carter added one. Caitlin Paradis added two goals, while Morgan Doughty and Valerie Burby each had an assist.
Six of the Hornets eight goals came in the first half. Megan Cote was not tested in goal for the Hornets, while Alex Merry made 13 saves and Marissa Boulier had seven for the Warriors.
East Grand 0, Central Aroostook 6 — At Mars Hill Sept. 29, Karli Levesque and Kelsey Dominique each scored three goals to pace Central Aroostook. Panther Ashlee Harris made one save on three shots.
Bethany Lindsay was busy in net for East Grand, logging 10 saves on 24 shots.
Hodgdon 1, Katahdin 0 — At Stacyville Sept. 29, Megan Russell scored with an assist from Taylor Desrosier in the first half and the Hawks held on to defeat the host-Cougars. Katahdin’s Courtney Stevens finished with 20 saves and Hodgdon’s Jessica Drew had six.
Hodgdon 5, Limestone/MSSM 3 — At Hodgdon Thursday, Taylor Desrosiers scored two goals to help the Hawks beat the Limestone Community School/Maine School of Science and Mathematics Eagles. Angkanar Iamyang (a foreign exchange student from Thailand), Megan Russell and Jill Gough each added a goal for the Hawks, while Sydney Crane and Sarah Hutchinson each notched an assist.
Lily Tedford scored two goals for the Eagles and Francesca Armstrong added one.
Southern Aroostook 1, Katahdin 0 — At Dyer Brook Friday, Lily Leavitt scored unassisted with 18:39 remaining in the first half to lift Southern Aroostook past Katahdin in a battle of RSU 50 schools. Earlier this season, Katahdin defeated SACS.
In goal Alexa Merry had seven saves on seven shots for the Warriors and Courtney Stevens had eight saves on 11 shots for the Cougars.
Hodgdon 0, Ashland 5 — At Ashland Saturday, Caitlin Paradis had a hat trick to propel the Hornets past Hodgdon for their 11th consecutive win. Mackenzie Carter added a goal and two assists.
Freshman Olivia Tardie notched her first career goal to round out the scoring for 11-0 Ashland and Morgan Doughty added an assist. Megan Cote had two saves on as many shots.
Jessica Drew registered 23 saves on 39 shots for Hodgdon.
Schenck 2, Katahdin 0 — At East Millinocket Saturday, Kayla Falone scored on an assist by Nicole Chasse in the first half to help Schenck get their seventh win on the season. Emma Alley scored an unassisted goal in the second half.
Schenck’s Taylor McLaughlin made six saves on eight shots, while Stevens had 15 saves on 17 shots for Katahdin.
Calais 0, Houlton 11 — At Houlton Monday, it was senior night for the Shires and Houlton sent its veterans out in style. Natalie Hill notched four goals and added an assist to propel the Shiretowners to the lopsided win over Calais.
Tyra Gentle and Rebecca Mooers each recorded two goals for the Shires, while Katie Condon, Anessa Wilde and Chloe Davis each chipped in with one. Chelsea Gentle and Mia Hanning each had an assist. Emma Hines and Hannah Foley combined to make two saves for Houlton, while Calais goalie Anna Jean McClure made 22 saves on 35 shots.
Bangor Christian 0, Katahdin 2 — At Stacyville Monday, the Cougars had a strong first half and showed great teamwork in their play for the shutout over Bangor Christian.
Katahdin’s first goal was scored at 25:58 when Erin Lake delivered a perfect pass to Bailee Moody-Kay who converted for the score. Just a short time later (24:09), Moody-Kay assisted Erin Lake on the game’s second goal.
Rebecca Boutot had nine saves on 16 shots for the Patriots, while Stevens had four saves on four shots for Katahdin.
