Soccer squads qualify for post-season play
The soccer season will be extended for at least nine and possibly 11 high school teams in the region.
The Presque Isle, Ashland, Central Aroostook and Easton girls and boys and Fort Fairfield boys have post-season bids wrapped up. All will be involved in prelim games to be played either Friday or Saturday with the exception of the PI boys, who have sewn up the No. 3 position in Class B, and the No. 1-ranked teams in Class D – the Ashland girls and Fort Fairfield boys. Those three squads earned a bye into next week’s quarterfinal round.
The Ashland boys were ranked No. 3 at presstime, but just percentage points behind No. 2 Bangor Christian. The impact of regular season games played Tuesday night could possibly move the Hornets into No. 2, which would mean they would also advance directly into the quarterfinals.
Both Washburn squads still had a shot to get in at presstime. The girls owned the 12th and final spot in Class D and the boys were 15th and just one position out of the playoff picture heading into their matches at Fort Fairfield Tuesday. The boys most likely needed a win or a tie over the undefeated Tigers to advance, while the girls guarantee themselves a spot with a victory and are most likely still in even with a loss.
The final standings will be finalized today. A look at each of the nine definite playoff teams follows:
Presque Isle boys (9-5)
The Wildcats got off to an underwhelming start but picked it up by mid-season and enter the Class B playoffs as a legitimate threat.
“We have been a streaky team this season and luckily we’ve been able to string some wins together heading into the post-season,” said coach Joe Greaves.
The lack of goal scoring was an issue early on, but Greaves said lately, “it seems like every game we have someone different step up offensively.”
The Wildcats have always been defense-oriented and Greaves will rely on a veteran crew in the back in order to make a run in the playoffs.
“We have three seniors back there and a senior goalie,” he said. “Playoff games are typically low-scoring, one-goal games, so we have to lean on those guys and they need to lead us.”
Nick Bartlett, Jake Kinney and Khasen Lowe are the senior defenders and classmate Pat Cash gets the start in goal. Jonah Hudson, a sophomore, is the other starting back.
The four midfielders are juniors Randon Mortland and Griffin Guerrette and sophomores Kyler Caron and Zech Morse, while senior Josiah Morse joins junior Ryle Mortland on the front line.
Seniors Marcus Ouellette and Denny Young and junior Adam Paterson are impact players off the bench.
“Our wins don’t have to be pretty,” Greaves said. “We need to grind out 80 minutes of tough soccer and do what it takes.”
Ashland girls (14-0)
Coach Peter Belskis’s Hornets are perennial contenders for a championship and this year is no exception.
Ashland has coasted through another regular season and hopes to make it back to the state finals.
The Hornets’ closest margin of victory so far is three goals. They posted nine shutouts, including five in the last six matches, and ended up outscoring the opposition 111 goals to six. Ashland scored in double digits on five occasions.
They have one of the top weapons in junior Mackenzie Carter, who owns career and single-season goal scoring marks with 103 and 43, respectively, and counting. She is surrounded by plenty of helpers on the offensive side, as junior Morgan Doughty and freshman Shelby Stolze have also recorded numerous goals.
Junior Micayla Driscoll is a pesky defender with a non-stop motor and Cassidy Pelletier, one of just two seniors on the team, is a four-year starter at sweeper and fortifies the team’s last line of defense in front of junior goalkeeper Megan Cote.
Fort Fairfield boys (13-0)
The Tigers took on Washburn last night but have already clinched the No. 1 position in Class D.
As good as Fort Fairfield was last season in picking up a state championship, this year’s team could be as good or even better. The Tigers have outscored opponents by a 78-4 margin and have not allowed more than one goal in a match all season. They have nine shutout wins to their credit.
The team had to replace its starting goalkeeper and two starting defenders from last year’s title team, but everyone else returned for coach John Ala’s squad and some important newcomers were added to the roster.
“Some returning players have stepped up to fill the vacancies with limited interruption and a smooth transition,” he said. “This team has also been bolstered by a strong freshman class, as well as some first-year players who have joined the program.”
Malcolm Langner did not play his sophomore year, but returned as the new primary goalkeeper, with veteran Solomon Daigle also seeing some action. Juniors Colin Goshorn, Jared Harvey and Dylan Jandreau and senior Greg Jellison are this year’s starting backs.
The midfield group is made up of four talented veterans, including leading scorer Ryan Player, a senior who is regarded as perhaps the top player in the County and one of the best in northern Maine. He is joined by senior Chris Giberson, who scored the game-winning goal in last year’s state game, senior Landen Kinney and junior Isaac Cyr.
Sophomore Jonah Daigle and junior Yoni Mejia are the starting strikers and are both capable scorers.
Presque Isle girls (9-3-2)
The Wildcats will be either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed, depending on the outcome of Caribou’s game against Madawaska Tuesday, and either way will host a prelim match on Saturday.
Despite a roster consisting of 15 freshmen and sophomores and only two seniors and four juniors, Presque Isle put together an impressive regular season and finished with five consecutive victories.
“With this young of a team, we are tremendously happy with the way we are playing,” said coach Ralph Michaud.
Sophomore Madison Michaud was banged up and missed some action midway through the season, but put together another big offensive year with 20 goals to lead the way.
Sophomore goalkeeper Savannah Rodriguez, in her first year as the starter, has been solid. Senior back Tori Koch gives PI a reliable weapon on defense, which as a team has been stellar lately by allowing just six goals during the winning streak.
All five of the team’s ninth-graders have contributed at least one goal, many of the eight other sophomores beside Michaud and Rodriguez play important roles and senior Grace Player and juniors Emily Wheaton, Chrissy Skidgel and Natalie Bates join Koch as key veteran players.
“It should be an interesting playoff season,” coach Michaud said.
Ashland boys (9-3-2)
The Ashland Hornets were able to quietly put together a fine season. Defense has been the cornerstone as outside the team’s two games against powerful Fort Fairfield, the team surrendered just 10 goals in those 12 matches.
Goalkeeper Steven Bellanceau, in his first year as the starter, has four shutouts to his credit. Mason Moro is the defensive stopper and Baily Clark, Isaiah McIntyre and Drew Condon have all shown constant improvement and have turned in big plays in key moments, according to coach Trevor Hews.
Kyle Beaulier and Lucas Craig are two of just three seniors on the team and have spearheaded the offense with nine goals and five assists each. Junior Alex Kaiser has been an ideal offensive complement with eight goals.
“We are excited for the playoffs and look forward to whoever we have to play,” Hews said.
Central Aroostook boys (10-4)
Just a few spots behind Ashland in the standings is Central Aroostook, which went 10-4 under second-year head coach Cody Tompkins.
The Panthers played just two games between Sept. 16 and Oct. 10 as the school took its normal three-week harvest break, but the team finished out the regular season with shutout victories over Easton and East Grand and appear ready for the post-season and will begin with a home prelim game as a lock at the No. 5 seed in Class D.
“We are starting to recondition under the cold conditions that are ahead of us,” Tompkins said.
Caleb Harris is the leading goal scorer with 13 and Colby Kingsbury leads the team in assists with seven. Hunter Wardwell and Ben Thomas are other capable goal scorers. Chandler Garrison, Clark Bradbury, Zach Crouch and Logan Grass spearhead the defense in front of Luke Kearney and Brayden Bradbury, who have both seen action in goal.
Easton boys (9-4-1)
The Bears have had an up-and-down season and like the Panthers had to go through a period without playing games from mid-September through early-October. However, Easton has some veterans who have been through the rigors of playoff soccer and would like to play spoiler as either the No. 9 or No. 10 seed.
Coach Ryan Shaw has the luxury of having one of the top goalkeepers around in four-year starter Jake Flewelling. He has kept his team in contention throughout and posted four shutouts over the final five matches. After missing most of the first half of the season with a broken nose, senior Hunter Brown is back and is another dependable veteran Shaw can rely on.
Central Aroostook girls (10-4)
The Panthers appear to have a hold on the No. 4 seed in the girls’ Class D ranks. Injuries affected the team greatly, especially when goalkeeper Caitlyn Harris was hurt in the potato fields and missed the final three games. Coach Joe Levesque is hoping to have her back for the home preliminary playoff match coming up later this week.
“If we can get healthy, I think we will be strong and can contend with the top-tier teams,” Levesque said.
Central Aroostook is very young with four freshmen in the starting lineup, but the team gave No. 1 Ashland its two toughest games of the year. Two of those ninth-graders were among the leading goal scorers for the Panthers, with Kate Levesque leading the way with 32 of them and Breann Bradbury adding nine, putting her third on the team in that department. Jadeyn Giberson, one of only three seniors on the squad, posted 14 goals.
Easton girls (7-6-1)
The Bears came back from harvest recess with a vengeance, pulling out three consecutive wins to close out the regular season. As a result, the team moved up to No. 7 in the standings and will host a prelim match.
Easton scored late-season victories over Central Aroostook and Katahdin, teams that finished in the top five in Class D.
“This year we have a group of girls that wants to win,” said second-year coach Audra Fitzherbert. “They had a sense of what to expect this year from me and the type of style I have.
“I have quite a few girls who are all in and see the big picture. I’ve told the girls since the beginning that they need to find what motivates them and what will fire them up,” she added.
Isabelle Morin is the goal-scoring leader with 16 and Delia Bonner has added seven.
