Several teams from the region advanced and a few others were eliminated in quarterfinal soccer matches played Tuesday.
No. 2 Central Aroostook boys 9, No. 7 MSSM 0 — At Mars Hill, Hunter Wardwell recorded four goals to power No. 2 Central Aroostook by No. 7 Maine School of Science and Mathematics in a Class D North quarterfinal.
Ethan Pryor chipped in with two goals for CAHS (14-1) while Hayden Kingsbury, Caleb Harris and Zack O’Leary each added one. Kingsbury contributed two assists and Malachi Fitzherbert had one. Brayden Bradbury made four saves on 12 shots.
Tobyn Blatt of MSSM, right, dribbles past Colby Kingsbury of Central Aroostook during the quarterfinal playoff match held in Mars Hill Tuesday, Oct. 24. (Kevin Sjoberg)
Myles Benica finished with 10 saves on 19 shots for MSSM of Limestone (7-3).
No. 4 Fort Fairfield boys 3, No. 12 Ashland 1 — At Fort Fairfield, Lorenzo Viano, Jonah Daigle and Grayden Griffeth tallied a goal apiece to lead the fourth-seeded Tigers past No. 12 Ashland.
Jared Harvey, Isaac Cyr and Alex Sprague provided assists for Fort Fairfield (13-3). Malcolm Langner had five saves on nine shots.
Alex Kaiser scored on a penalty kick for the Hornets (7-7-2). Steven Bellanceau collected 15 saves on 25 shots.
No. 1 Bangor Christian boys 3, No. 8 Hodgdon 0 — At Husson University in Bangor, in a rain-soaked game, the Hodgdon boys soccer team struggled to find an offensive rhythm against the top-ranked Patriots.
Patriots Erik Gorczok, Dean Grass and Christian Boone each scored goals for Bangor Christian. Wyatt Foster and Josh Foster combined to make 19 saves on 41 shots for No. 8 Hodgdon (9-5-2).
BC goalie Austin Keib went untested and did not record a save for Bangor Christian (13-2).
“We knew that BC passed well and they were a team with many returning players,” Hodgdon coach Jason Little said. “Our plan was to go more defensive with Josh Foster in goal, our four fullbacks, and Wyatt Foster in front of them to clear everything.”
Will Whitman of MSSM tries to shield Central Aroostook’s Taylor Campbell from the ball during the Tuesday, Oct. 24, Class D North quarterfinal played in Mars Hill. (Kevin Sjoberg)
This strategy left Hodgdon shorthanded on the front line with just Dylan Oliver up front to start the game. “We figured that if we could hold the score to a tie, we would have a good chance if we could get to penalty kicks,” coach Little said. “This set worked until Josh Foster went down with an injury.”
With the Hawks already down a player without the services of Seth Tapley, the second loss of a player forced the team to get creative with it’s lineup. “Wyatt Foster moved to goal, while Bobby Ramsey and Josh Palmer demonstrated their leadership by dropping back as defenders,” the coach said. “Our younger guys, who had not played that many minutes, really stepped up and filled the gaps.”
Coach Little said he was proud of his squad’s effort against one of the top teams in the region.
“Our guys fought extremely hard with most of them playing all 40 minutes,” he said. “We had a great year and are looking forward to next year with the group we have. As always, we will greatly miss our outgoing seniors and the leadership they have shown all year.”
No. 2 Ashland girls 10, No. 10 Katahdin 0 — At Ashland, Morgan Doughty scored three goals and Amber Chasse provided two to power No. 2 Ashland to a Class D quarterfinal win over No. 10 Katahdin of Stacyville.
Willow Hall, Kassandra Nelson, Shelby Stolze, Jamie Poulin and Marissa Michalka scored a goal apiece for the 14-1 Hornets, while Megan Cote recorded her 10th shutout of the season, making two saves on five shots.
Natalie Rickards came up with 10 saves on 26 shots for the Cougars (6-9-1).
No. 4 Madawaska girls 3, No. 5 Central Aroostook 2 (OT) — At Madawaska, Hannah Nadeau scored the game-winner on a Jenna Dugal assist at 8:22 of the first overtime as the fourth-seeded Owls edged the No. 5 Panthers.
Madawaska (13-3) took a two-goal lead in the first half on an unassisted goal by Emily Boucher and a goal by Brianne Thibeault assisted by Boucher.
Central Aroostook’s Ben Thomas, left, dribbles around MSSM’s Richard Cheung during the Class D North quarterfinal played Tuesday, Oct. 24, in Mars Hill. (Kevin Sjoberg)
Central Aroostook of Mars Hill (10-6) countered with a first-half goal by Kate Levesque, which was assisted by Breann Bradbury. The visitors equalized early in the second half on an Olivia Pelletier goal assisted by Kayla Martin.
Caitlyn Harris of Central Aroostook turned away 18 of 25 shots while Cassidy Beaulieu of Madawaska made nine saves on 18 shots.
No. 1 Penobscot Valley 4, No. 9 Washburn 0 — At Howland, Lexi Ireland led the top-seeded Howlers to victory, scoring three goals and assisting on another.
Ireland finished a Judy King cross 1:15 into the game to give Penobscot Valley (13-2) the early lead. King recorded two assists and Brianna Moon added one. Ryley Buck capped off the scoring with a second-half goal. Paige Thibodeau stopped all four shots she faced.
Carly Bragg made 12 saves on 23 shots for No. 9 Washburn (8-6-2).
