Hornet, Wildcat playing well in recent matches
After starting a bit slowly, a couple local boys’ varsity soccer teams are now getting on a roll at the midway point of the regular season.
The Ashland Hornets and the Presque Isle Wildcats are riding hot streaks heading into their matches this week.
Ashland has only one blemish during the month of September, a loss at home to the undefeated and defending Class D state champion Fort Fairfield Tigers on Sept. 13. The Hornets have won all four of their other matches by a combined margin of 17-3 and took a 5-2-2 and No. 2 ranking (behind Fort Fairfield) into their home game against Southern Aroostook Tuesday afternoon.
“Our guys are really coming together and playing well with each other,” said Ashland coach Trevor Hews. “Many of our goals last week were created by a pass from another player on the team and another key to our success is overall team defense and the play of our goalie, Steven Bellanceau. Our defense has to play well and so far this season they have done so.”
The senior duo of Kyle Beaulier and Lucas Craig has also provided a bright spot for the Hornets.
“They have really stepped up as leaders on the team and have done a great job so far playing well and giving their teammates opportunities for success,” Hews said.
Last week, Ashland topped Washburn, 3-1, and LCS/MSSM of Limestone, 7-1, on back-to-back nights on the Hornets’ home field. The opponents in each contest scored the first goal, but the Hornets eventually took control.
In Thursday’s contest, Jovanni Tavares gave Washburn the early lead by netting a direct kick, but the second half was all Ashland. Mason Deabay connnected on a shot from 20 yards out to tie the game, Alex Kaiser converted a Kyle Beaulier assist to give Ashland the lead and then Lucas Craig provided insurance with a goal following a scramble in front of the net.
“It was a tale of two halves for our guys, but we also hadn’t played a game for 10 days so we had a very slow start,” Hews said.
Tobyn Blatt’s goal put the Eagles ahead early in the Friday game, but Ashland dominated play throughout and won going away. Kaiser notched the tying goal 50 seconds after Blatt scored, with Beaulier picking up the assist, and then Craig, Beaulier, Jesse Wortman and Dylan Haley added first-half goals. Craig scored in the second half and Parker O’Clair registered his first goal of the season to close out the fine offensive outing.
“Our guys controlled the game even with poor field conditions caused by the rain earlier in the day,” Hews said.
Presque Isle began the campaign by losing its first two matches, but since then has reeled off five consecutive victories. The Wildcats, now ranked fourth in Class B North, travel to take on No. 5 Ellsworth this afternoon in an important Class B matchup.
After struggling early to score goals, PI has delivered 18 goals during the winning streak, including five each against Caribou and Fort Kent, both in home games.
“Early on, the post and the crossbar were not our friends and it just seemed like we couldn’t catch a break offensively,” said PI coach Joe Greaves. “That has changed for us and once we got moving in the right direction, we’ve been able to ride that momentum.”
In last Tuesday’s 5-3 victory over the Warriors, five different Wildcat players scored goals. Nick Bartlett, Denny Young, Griffin Guerrette, Zechariah Morse and Randon Mortland all tallied for PI, with Josiah Morse picking up three assists.
On Saturday, the Wildcats bested previously-undefeated John Bapst by a score of 4-0. Again, the scoring was spread out as Ryle Mortland, Randon Mortland, Josiah Morse and Guerrette notched one goal apiece. Khasen Lowe and Ryle Mortland had assists. Patrick Cash stopped all six shots he faced.
Greaves said the team’s defensive play has also picked up recently.
“We have to have all 10 guys on the field playing tough defense and I think we were a little soft in that department early on,” Greaves said, “but now our boys are taking pride in their team defense.”
The Central Aroostook Panthers are now 8-2 and in third place in Class D North. They won easily at home against East Grand Monday, 10-0. Hunter Wardwell had a hat trick and Caleb Harris contributed a pair of goals for the winners.
Fort Fairfield improved to 9-0 following a 5-0 win over Van Buren last Wednesday. The No. 1 Tigers took on Fort Kent Tuesday afternoon in a key match. They played to overtime earlier in the season, with FF coming out on top thanks to a Chris Gill goal in the extra session.
On the girls’ side, Ashland’s stellar season continued after the team coasted to wins over Washburn Thursday, 9-1, and LCS/MSSM Friday, 10-0. Junior Mackenzie Carter had five goals against the Beavers and added three more against the Eagles as the Hornets improved to 9-0 and strengthened their hold on the No. 1 position in Class D North.
Morgan Doughty had a combined five goals and three assists in the two wins. Shelby Stolze and Dani Carter netted a goal each against Washburn, while Jamie Poulin, Willow Hall, Kassandra Nelson and Stolze scored against LCS/MSSM.
Skylar Mette scored Washburn’s goal.
The Panthers of Central Aroostook sent their mark to 8-2, good for second place in the division, after a 12-1 thrashing of East Grand Monday. Brea Bradbury and Kate Levesque both scored three goals, while Kassie Levesque had a big game with two goals and two assists. Kayla Martin added a goal and a pair of assists and Keara McCrum, Libby Grass and Michaela Pelletier all chipped in with goals in the win.
The Presque Isle girls played to a scoreless draw at home against Fort Kent last Tuesday and then were beaten in overtime by visiting John Bapst Saturday, 2-1. Tori Koch drilled a free kick with inside two minutes to play in regulation to send the game against the Crusaders into overtime. However, Gina Cambria broke the tie with a goal 2:26 into the first overtime period.
The Wildcats were without their leading scorer, sophomore Madison Michaud, in Saturday’s match after she was injured late in the match against Fort Kent. PI holds a 3-2-2 record and is in fifth place in the Class B North Heal Point rankings.
