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For one evening anyway, youth won out.
The Wildcats sent the visiting Vikes home with their first loss after a 5-0 start, coming up with a 2-1 high school girls soccer victory in a game played under the lights on the turf field at the Gehrig Johnson Athletic Complex.
After a 1-1 tie at halftime in which PI controlled the first 20 minutes and Caribou the final 20, Wildcat junior Emily Wheaton came up with the biggest play of the match. Just 4:07 into the second half, an Eleanor St. Peter corner kick found the head of Wheaton seven yards in front of the goal. She directed it into the left corner to put PI in front.
“That was a confidence-booster for Emily, which she needed as she’s playing a new position (center midfield) after striking the last two seasons,” said Presque Isle coach Ralph Michaud. “She was in the right place, took the beautiful corner and put it in.”
The Vikings showed resolve and outshot the Wildcats 9-4 the rest of the way and forwards Maddie Doucette, Ashley Matlock and Searra Herbert all had opportunities over the final eight minutes. Presque Isle goalkeeper Savannah Rodriguez displayed good hands with some nice saves on hard shots.
In the victory, the Wildcats limited an explosive Caribou team, which came in averaging seven goals per game, to a single goal.
The Wildcats controlled play early on by winning a majority of the 50-50 balls and playing aggressively on defense (eight fouls in the first half compared with Caribou’s one). Maddie Michaud, PI’s sophomore striker, opened the scoring by notching her fifth goal of the season. With 21:07 left in the first half, she pounded a shot past Caribou goalkeeper Kerrigan Manter after receiving a through ball from Mackenzie Turner. “We played with a lot of guts,” Michaud said. “We had people in different positions because of injuries, but it was a great team win in another classic Caribou-Presque Isle game.”
Momentum then swayed toward the Vikings and they took advantage with 3:45 to go before intermission when Doucette fed a pass to Herbert from 12 yards out and she blasted one from the left side inside the far post to knot the score.
Caribou owned a 16-9 advantage in shots on goal, with Rodriguez making seven saves and Manter coming up with four. But in the end, a young Wildcat team proved too much on its home field.
“I looked on the field and one time we had eight freshmen and sophomores out there,” Michaud said. “It’s winning tight games like this that does so much for a young team’s confidence, and now they believe.”
Back home Saturday against Foxcroft Academy, the Vikes bounced back for a 4-0 triumph.
Caribou, now 6-1, featured four different goal scorers in Megan Thornton, Gabrielle Marquis, Herbert and Doucette.
Doucette, Herbert, Alexis Rodriguez and Hope Shea had assists and goalkeepers Kerrigan Manter and Jaelynn Doody each made four saves in combining for the shutout.
