The regular season comes to an end Tuesday for boys and girls soccer teams, with many local squads eyeing playoff berths. The postseason begins Friday with the preliminary round for boys teams, while the girls squads will see their first postseason action on Saturday.
Local squads are well represented in the Maine Principals Association Heal Points standings. As of Monday morning, the Caribou boys (11-1-1) are in first place in Class B North, followed by Presque Isle (10-1-2) in second place.
In boys Class C North, Houlton (10-3-1) is in second.
In boys Class D North, the local squads in the playoff mix are: Central Aroostook (14-0), first place; MSSM (3-5-1), eighth; Easton (7-5-1), ninth; Hodgdon (9-4), 10th; Fort Fairfield (6-7), 11th; and Southern Aroostook (3-10), 14th. Katahdin (3-9-1) is close behind SA in 15th spot and may overtake the Warriors. The two teams meet Monday in the regular season finale. Squads not in the playoff mix include: Ashland (2-10-1) at 17th and Washburn (1-11) in 19th.
For the girls, Presque Isle (10-1-2) is in first place in Class B North, while Caribou (6-4-3) is ninth. In Class C North, Houlton (10-1-2) is in second place.
In girls Class D North, Central Aroostook (13-0-1) is in the top spot, while other playoff-bound squads are Ashland (10-2-1) in second; Southern Aroostook (9-4) in fourth; Katahdin (8-5) in seventh; Fort Fairfield (6-6-61) in 10th; and Hodgdon (4-8-1) in 12th. Not in the playoff mix are MSSM (2-6-1) in 14th; Washburn (3-9) in 15th; and Easton (1-11-1) in 16th.
The following is a recap of local games played through Saturday.
Boys soccer
Presque Isle 5, John Bapst 0 — Five different players scored goals Monday as the Wildcats bested the Crusaders in Presque Isle Oct. 8. Drew Cameron, Connor Michaud, Colby Carlisle, Gage LeTourneau and Jacob Bonville had the goals, with Jacob Sjoberg, Cameron, Zech Morse, Sam Beaulieu and Will Bridges getting assists.
The Wildcats picked up their sixth shutout, with Mason Young and Xavier McAtee both seeing action in goal.
Caribou 7, Nokomis 1 — The Vikings took the early lead and easily handled the visiting Warriors Oct. 8. Both Alex Ezzy and Cullin Caverhill had huge games, with Ezzy scoring five goals and Caverhill notching six assists. Hayden Hunter and Riley Bouchard also had goals and Parker Deprey an assist. Noah Hixon saved five of seven shots for the Vikings in goal.
Fort Kent 6, MSSM 0 — Noah Martin put in two goals to lead the Warriors’ offense in the Oct. 8 game in Limestone. Ryan Fitzmaurice stopped 21 of 27 shots in goal for the Penguins.
Easton 3, Van Buren 3 — Seth Faloon, Madison Bubar and Isaac Currier scored for the Bears as they returned from a three-week layoff due to harvest recess and tied the Crusaders Tuesday, Oct. 9.
Central Aroostook 13, Ashland 0 — Hunter Wardwell scored four goals and goalkeeper Brayden Bradbury recorded his 10th shutout of the season in the Panthers’ victory at home Tuesday, Oct. 9.
Hayden Kingsbury, Jacob Carvell and Ben Thomas added two goals apiece and Bryan Anthony, Samuel Rowe and Lucas Haines one apiece, with Thomas the only player contributing multiple assists with two. Garrett Tilley made six saves on 25 shots for the Hornets.
Katahdin 6, Southern Aroostook 0 — At Dyer Brook Tuesday, Oct. 9, the visiting Cougars scratched out the shutout over SA as Katahdin keeper Caleb Giles had seven saves on 11 shots. Jacob Brooks made 11 saves on 20 shots for the Warriors. Katahdin led 1-0 at halftime, but erupted for five goals in the second half.
Bradley Hotham and Garrett Hamm each scored two goals to pace Katahdin, while Grady Ritchie and Evan Tapley each added solo goals.
SACS played with just 11 for awhile and then one of its players was given a red card, leaving the team with just 10 players. “We held our own for awhile, but it was a warm afternoon and we eventually wore down,” SA coach Paul Sherman said. “At the half it was only a 1-0 game, but control steadily shifted to Katahdin, and we were out of gas by the time the score reached 3-0 after 10 minutes in the second half. My boys gutted it out but just couldn’t cover the field after awhile. Katahdin deserved to win.”
Woodland 1, Hodgdon 0 — At Hodgdon Wednesday, Oct. 10, the Hawks were unable to crease the net. Hawk goalie Michael Sanders made 12 saves on 21 shots, while Woodland keeper Alex Morrison made seven saves on 11 shots. Drew Hayward scored the lone goal for Woodland.
MSSM 1, Wisdom 0 — Harrison Walters converted a penalty kick for the game’s only goal as the Penguins blanked the Pioneers in Limestone Wednesday, Oct. 10.
Central Aroostook 2, Hodgdon 1 — The Panthers outshot the Hawks by a 25-4 margin Friday, but had their closest match of the season and survived for the home victory. Hunter Wardwell and Ben Thomas scored CA’s goals, while Kyle Carver had Hodgdon’s goal. Brayden Bradbury had two saves for the Panthers and Michael Sanders collected six saves for the Hawks.
Caribou 2, John Bapst 0 — After a scoreless first half, Alex Ezzy tallied his 23rd goal of the season off a Tommy Pinette assist and Riley Bouchard scored his fourth goal in as many matches as Caribou prevailed at UM-Orono Saturday. Cullin Caverhill picked up his 20th assist on Bouchard’s goal. Goalkeeper Noah Hixon made three saves on six shots for his fifth shutout in the last six games.
MSSM 7, Southern Aroostook 0 — Trevor Gava earned the hat trick with three goals in an 11-minute span in the first half, leading the Penguins to the victory Saturday. Will Whitman, Rudy Ye, Taesu Joo and Dohoon Bae were the winners’ other goal scorers and Ryan Fitzmaurice had to make only two saves for the shutout in goal. Jacob Brooks faced 42 shots and saved 17 for the Warriors.
SACS played with only 10 players in the game. “Our team is hurting partially due to injury but mostly due to some self-inflicted wounds because of disciplinary or academic problems,” coach Sherman said. “MSSM is well-coached and has added a few good players since we first played them. We had good stretches of ball possession, but simply didn’t have the manpower and skill to sustain attacks.”
Presque Isle’s Connor DeMerchant tries to shake off a John Bapst defender for an offensive chance during the Oct. 8 game in Presque Isle. (Kevin Sjoberg)
MSSM scored three of its goals off corner kicks.
Fort Fairfield 2, Wisdom 1 — The Tigers doubled up on the Pioneers on the road Saturday for their sixth win of the season. Dawson Watson put in a pair of unassisted goals for Fort Fairfield.
Central Aroostook 3, Easton 1 — Hunter Wardwell scored twice and Hayden Kingsbury added another goal as the Panthers completed their undefeated season at Easton Saturday. Ben Thomas had an assist for the winners and goalkeeper Brayden Bradbury made 10 saves on 14 shots.
Seth Faloon scored for Easton and goalkeeper Kody Carter had 13 saves on 17 shots.
Presque Isle 3, Hermon 0 — Goals by Zechariah Morse, Will Bridges and Connor DeMerchant pushed the Wildcats (10-1-2) past the Hawks (6-4-3) Saturday in Hermon. Mason Young earned the shutout, his sixth of the season.
Houlton 1, George Stevens Academy 0 — At Blue Hill Saturday, the Shires picked up the 1-0 victory. Game details were not reported.
Girls soccer
Presque Isle 5, John Bapst 0 — Madison Michaud netted her 28th and 29th goals of the season and teammates Alana Legassie, Maggie Castonguay and Rhylee Kinney also scored goals in PI’s shutout win Oct. 8 at home. Charlotte Carrier and Paige McHatten each had assists for the winners.
Savannah Rodriguez and Rebecca Rider split the goalkeeping chores and combined for three saves on four shots.
Caribou 4, Nokomis 0 — On Oct. 8 at Caribou High School, Joycelyn Hartin and Edie Shea each scored twice as the Vikings defeated the Warriors. Taylor Devoe, Willow Whitten, Emma Hixon and Gabby Sutherland picked up assists and Sage Dubay made three saves on three shots.
Alexis Rodriguez of the Caribou Vikings gets clear for a shot attempt during the Oct. 8 home match against Nokomis. (Kevin Sjoberg)
Fort Kent 7, MSSM 0 — Lexi Lovley and Gabby Martin each scored two goals and combined for three assists in the Warriors’ win Oct. 8 at Limestone. Sadie Hartt had a busy match in goal, facing 45 shots and saving 13.
Van Buren 1, Easton 0 — The Crusaders won for the first time this season, beating the Bears at home Oct. 9.
Central Aroostook 1, Ashland 1 — Ashland junior Shelby Stolze scored her 23rd goal of the season with 7:14 to play, allowing the Hornets to play to a 1-1 draw with Central Aroostook Oct. 9. Junior Danni Carter picked up the assist on the tying goal.
Central Aroostook scored the first goal of the match as junior Kayla Martin put one past Ashland goalkeeper Reagan Libby on a corner kick that came with 23:44 left in the opening half.
Libby made nine saves on 16 shots, while her opposite, Central Aroostook’s Olivia Blackstone, turned away six of 22 shots during the match.
“We didn’t play as well as we are capable, but that could have something to do with Central Aroostook,” said Ashland coach Peter Belskis. “They squish you one on half of the field and are very physical.
“But we found out we can compete with them and I’m happy we played them toe to toe,” he added.
Katahdin 4, Southern Aroostook 1 — At Dyer Brook Oct. 9, the visiting Cougars notched the upset victory over Southern Aroostook. Game results were not reported.
Presque Isle 7, Caribou 0 — The Wildcats’ Madison Michaud scored three more goals and is now up to 32 for the season following the Oct. 10 road win over the Vikings. Libby Moreau, Rhylee Kinney, Portia Shaw and Paige McHatten also scored for PI. Clara Kohlbacher had three assists, Michaud two and Alana Legassie one.
Presque Isle’s Savannah Rodriguez saved all eight shots she faced and Rebecca Rider came on late to relieve her and had one save. Caribou’s Sage Dubay collected 11 saves on 18 shots.
Wisdom 5, MSSM 1 — Dolcie Tanguay scored the Penguin’s lone goal in the home loss to the Pioneers last Wednesday, Oct. 10. Sadie Hartt handled the goalkeeping chores for MSSM.
Hodgdon 5, Woodland 0 — At Hodgdon Oct. 10, Mikyla Howland had two goals to lead the Hawks. Delaney Little, Emma Drew and Sabra Scott each had solo goals. Scott also had two assists. Autumn Ganzel 11 saves; Woodland (0-10): Sadie Smith 10 saves.
Central Aroostook 7, Hodgdon 0 — Kate Levesque scored four times and assisted on another goal, while teammate Kayla Martin added a pair of goals and an assist as the Panthers topped the Hawks in their final regular season home game Friday. Libby Grass contributed a goal and Janelle Tweedie and assist for CA. Olivia Blackstone made two saves for the Panthers and Autumn Ganzel had 10 on 30 shots for Hodgdon.
Caribou’s Willow Whitten attempts to dribble past Nokomis defender Madeline Tardif during the match played Oct. 8 in Caribou. (Kevin Sjoberg)
Caribou 2, John Bapst 0 — The Vikings shut out the Crusaders Saturday at UM-Orono for their sixth win of the season. Joycelyn Hartin and Alexis Rodriguez scored for Caribou and goalkeeper Sage Dubay turned away all three shots she faced.
Southern Aroostook 3, MSSM 2 — The Warriors nipped the Penguins Saturday in Limestone. Game details were not reported.
Wisdom 4, Fort Fairfield 1 — Camryn Ala scored the Tigers’ lone goal Saturday, with Kourtney West assisting on the play, but Fort Fairfield fell to the Pioneers in St. Agatha.
Central Aroostook 1, Easton 0 — The Bears kept the score close by making it a defensive game, but the Panthers came out on top Saturday. CA outshot Easton by a margin of 24-0, with Kayla Martin managing the only goal in the first half. Eva Callioras made 15 saves for the Bears.
Presque Isle 1, Hermon 0 — Madison Michaud scored her 33rd goal of the season on a breakaway with 39 seconds left in the first half. It was the only goal of the match as the Wildcats sent the Hawks to their first loss of the season Saturday.
Michaud’s goal came from what looked like an impossible angle 15 yards out along the end line, according to coach Ralph Michaud. Paige McHatten made the assist. Savannah Rodriguez made three very difficult saves for the shutout in goal.
Katahdin 3, Woodland 0 — At Baileyville Saturday, the Cougars posted the shutout over Woodland. Game details were not reported.
Houlton 1, George Stevens Academy 1 — At Blue Hill Saturday, the Shires came away with a tie for the second time this season. Game details were not reported.
