CARIBOU, Maine — An already banged up Viking girls’ soccer team suffered a few more injuries in the second half of Saturday’s Class B North playoff match against Mount Desert Island.
Senior back Monica McLaughlin hurt her knee 44 seconds into the half. After sitting out just over 15 minutes, she was able to return to her position on defense for the remainder of the contest.
Senior Alexis Rodriguez, the team’s leading goal scorer, and freshman Gabby Sutherland both suffered ankle injuries later and did not return.
The Vikings played to a scoreless draw and were outplayed by the lower-seeded Trojans in the first half, but Caribou coach Mark Shea said the team seemed to rally after McLaughlin went down at the start of the second half.
Caribou senior Monica McLaughlin is assisted off the field by athletic trainer Stephen Hopkins, left, and assistant coach Shawn Dubay early in the second half of Saturday’s Class B North preliminary playoff match held Saturday in Caribou. McLaughlin later returned to the field and the Vikings recorded a 2-0 victory over Mount Desert Island. (Kevin Sjoberg)
“[MDI] outworked us in the first half, and we came to grips with the fact we needed to pick it up,” Shea said. “Unfortunately it was an injury that woke us up, but really that was the turning point.
“We shifted things around and the girls really stepped up and I’m proud of them,” the first-year coach said.
The fifth-seeded Vikings went on to capture a 2-0 victory over the No. 12 Trojans. With the win, Caribou (8-4-3) advances to play No. 4 Medomak Valley (a 5-0 winner over John Bapst) in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round match to be played in Waldoboro. MDI’s final record ended up 5-9-1.
Five minutes after McLaughlin was assisted off the field, senior Jocelyn Hartin netted her sixth goal in the last seven games, taking a cross from junior Kimberlee Susi and getting a shot from eight yards out past MDI goalkeeper Sabine Costello-Sanders.
Alexis Rodriguez of the Caribou Vikings, left, tracks a bouncing ball while defended by MDI’s Rachel Leonard during the Class B North preliminary playoff soccer match Saturday in Caribou. (Kevin Sjoberg)
“We like to play her on the wing, but she was playing striker at the time and she just has a nose for the goal and seems to make things happen,” Shea said.
With 22:13 remaining, senior Willow Whitten was rewarded after having played a great game from her midfield slot. The tri-captain ripped a shot from 25 yards away and Costello-Sanders slipped while going after the ball and couldn’t recover. The ball tucked inside the left goalpost to give the Vikings an insurance goal.
MDI’s best chance to score came with 24:40 left in the first half when freshman Leila Ward took a long pass and found herself 1-on-1 against Caribou goalkeeper Sage Dubay, who ran out quickly to deflect the shot with her arm and the ball trickled out wide.
Dubay, a sophomore, made four other saves while facing a total of nine shots to earn her sixth shutout of the season. The Vikings had blanked MDI, 3-0, in their only regular season game also played at Caribou Sept. 22. Costello-Sanders made three saves on 10 shots for the Trojans.
