Michaud’s three goals power Wildcats past Vikings
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Maddie Michaud’s hat trick has her young Presque Isle girls soccer team one step closer to a home playoff game next week.
The freshman scoring dynamo put her team in front 7:57 into the match and broke a tie with a pair of goals 20 seconds apart in the late going, lifting Wildcats to a 3-1 victory over Caribou on Wednesday night in a Class B North battle played at the Johnson Athletic Complex.
The win avenged a Sept. 2 loss at Caribou by the same 3-1 score. Presque Isle improved to 8-4-1, while the Vikes, also playoff-bound, fell to 8-5.
Michaud opened the scoring by taking an Emily Wheaton pass on the left side from eight yards out and sending it past Viking goalkeeper Jaelynn Doody.
The Wildcats carried play throughout the remainder of the first half, winning a majority of the 50-50 balls and beating the Vikings to the ball on most occasions. It led to a 10-3 margin in shots and the one-goal advantage.
Caribou picked up its game in the second half and was able to get the equalizer when its top goal-scoring threat, junior striker Maddie Doucette, netted her 21st of the year on a blast from 10 yards off a Gabrielle Marquis assist with 17:43 remaining.
The Presque Isle offense then went back to work with a couple quick strikes. Senior Taylor Williams had her back to the goal when she settled a pass at the top of the 18-yard line. She turned her body and led the ball ahead to Michaud, who beat Doody to put PI back in front with 8:27 to play.
Just 20 seconds after the restart, senior Kerrigan LeBlanc connected on a long ball from midfield that Michaud ran onto, leading to the clinching breakaway goal.
“We did some things defensively I thought we could have done a little bit better,” said Caribou coach Todd Albert, whose team outshot PI 10-6 over the final 40 minutes.
“I didn’t think the turf played to our strengths at all and we went offsides so many times,” he added. “It’s things like that, not playing smart enough, that can be the difference in the game.”
Michaud said it is no coincidence that all three of the goals, which brings her season total to 19, came off assists from teammates.
“I’ve had a lot of help with my goals. It’s a team sport and there are 11 players on the field and we all play together,” she said. “It’s what we work on in practice and what we try to do in games.”
PI coach Ralph Michaud is thankful to have a scoring weapon like her at his disposal.
“She’s special,” he said, “and what’s really cool is what she’s doing we’re going to have for three more years after this.”
The Wildcats finished their regular season home slate with an impressive 6-0-1 mark and following Saturday’s finale at Ellsworth will prepare to play on their home field again in the Class B preliminary round Oct. 23.
“We’re a much different team than we were when we played Caribou the first time,” said coach Michaud. “We have seven freshmen and they’ve shown a lot of growth throughout the year. I think we’re a team nobody is going to want to play in the playoffs.”
