PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Maddie Michaud scored a hat trick as her young Presque Isle girls soccer team avenged an early-season loss at Caribou to gain a 3-1 victory last Wednesday.
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 the Wildcats to the victory in the Class B North battle played at the Johnson Athletic Complex.
Caribou wrapped up its regular season slate Tuesday with a home match against Madawaska.
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 by Michaud at the 8:27 and 8:07 marks.
“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 came off assists from teammates. She finished the regular season with 22 goals after scoring three more at Ellsworth Saturday.
“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.”
