It’s on to the next round for both of Aroostook County’s Class B boys soccer teams.
The top-seeded Caribou Vikings and the No. 2-ranked Presque Isle Wildcats enjoyed successful home quarterfinal matches Tuesday, with Caribou topping Mount Desert Island, 4-2, and Presque Isle shutting out Old Town, 4-0.
The two squads advance to compete in semifinal games Saturday on their home fields, with the Vikings taking on No. 5 Washington Academy at 2 p.m. and the Wildcats meeting up against No. 6 Brewer at 1 p.m. Both already own regular season victories over their opponents, with Caribou topping WA in East Machias on Sept. 24, 4-1, and PI besting the Witches Oct. 16 by a 4-0 final.
Caribou is now 13-1-1 after breaking out to a big lead in the first half and holding off a late charge by No. 9 MDI.
Alex Ezzy of the Caribou Vikings gets ready to make a pass to a teammate as MDI’s Fernando Avalos plays defense during the quarterfinal matchup in Caribou Tuesday, Oct. 23.
(Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg)
The Vikings wasted little time in moving out in front as Tommy Pinette served the ball from the right side and Alex Ezzy headed it in just 48 seconds after kickoff.
Caribou added two more goals before intermission as Austin Findlen scored from close range off an Ethan Holdsworth cross with 27:18 to play before Ezzy took advantage of a Trojan handball in the penalty area by ripping in a penalty kick for his 25th goal of the season. That goal came with 12:08 remaining in the half.
“[That great start] showed some real toughness on our kids’ part,” said Viking coach Scott Hunter. “MDI is much better than their record shows and I knew they’d be tough, so to go up like we did says a lot about the talent of our kids.”
Holdsworth scored off another assist by Pinette less than 10 minutes into the second half to make it a four-goal lead before the Trojans made their run. Caribou goalkeeper Noah Hixon stopped a penalty kick, but MDI struck when September Murray scored off a Leuan Howell cross with 15 minutes left and Leao Nelson netted an unassisted goal with 7:27 to play.
“They brought eight or nine people into their offensive end and we got a little sloppy for a few possessions, but we were able to hold on,” Hunter said.
Hixon made some great saves throughout and finished with 12 on the day. Nate Philbrook of the Trojans, who finished with a 6-8-2 record, collected nine saves.
In the other Class B matchup, Presque Isle (12-1-2) went scoreless in the first half, but then tallied all four of its goals in a 17-minute stretch following intermission to come out on top.
“It was a tough first half and we weren’t clicking on offense, but we believe in our defense and it stepped up and kept them off the board,” said Wildcat coach Joe Greaves.
Will Bridges (2) of the Wildcats gets up high for a header during a corner kick, as Old Town’s Nate Young (19) and Liang-Kang Lin (7) are in on the play during the quarterfinal soccer match played Tuesday, Oct. 23, in Presque Isle.
(Courtesy of Dave Allen Graphics)
Greaves said Old Town “had us on our heels a few times,” but he praised senior sweeper back Jacob Sjoberg for “being our anchor in the middle of the defense and fizzling out many of Old Town’s runs.”
In the second half, the offense began to come alive, starting with a corner kick by Zechariah Morse at the 29:44 mark that was headed in by fellow senior Kyler Caron.
“I was moving around so I could get my defender off me and luckily I was open and it came right to me and I finished it,” Caron said.
“We were fighting for our lives and we remembered what happened last season (a 1-0 home loss to Erskine Academy in the quarterfinals as the No. 1 seed) and didn’t want that to happen again,” he added. “[The goal] definitely livened us up and the floodgates opened.”
Goals by sophomore Colby Carlisle and seniors Drew Cameron and Will Bridges soon followed and the rout was on.
Goalkeeper Mason Young had a quiet game in goal, but Presque Isle still picked up its ninth shutout of the season. Tyler McCannell saved seven of 11 shots for the Coyotes, which finished up at 7-7-2 as the seventh seed.
In a Class D boys quarterfinal contest, top-ranked Central Aroostook kept its undefeated season intact with a 3-0 win over No. 9 MSSM in Mars Hill. Ben Thomas and Ethan Pryor put in first-half goals and Samuel Rowe netted another late in the second half for the 15-0 Panthers.
“I thought it was a well fought match by both teams,” said MSSM coach Jon Hamilton, whose team lost in the prelim round last year 9-0 to the Panthers. “We just had a couple breakdowns that cost us.
Presque Isle’s Connor DeMerchant gets tangled up with Old Town’s Gabe Talon during a scoring opportunity for the Wildcats in Tuesday’s quarterfinal matchup. Coyote goalkeeper Tyler McCannell gets ready for a save chance.
(Courtesy of Dave Allen Graphics)
“I think the difference between the two teams was experience and knowing what to do in certain situations. Central Aroostook has many offensive threats and if we were to break down defensively, they were going to capitalize and that is what happened,” he added.
It was shutout No. 11 of the season for CA goalkeeper Brayden Bradbury, who made eight saves. Ryan Fitzmaurice saved 16 shots for the 4-6-1 Penguins.
The Panthers will next play No. 4 Madawaska in the semifinals Friday at 4 p.m.
Fort Fairfield’s season came to an end with a 4-0 loss at Woodland in another Class D quarterfinal. Drew Hayward scored three of the goals for the Dragons, the third seed which improved to 15-1 and plays No. 2 Penobscot Valley of Howland in the semis.
The Tigers, seeded 11th, ended up 8-8 overall.
“I thought we grew as a team as we returned only one starter from last year and many players had to step up into roles they had never played before,” said Fort Fairfield’s first-year coach, Cody Tompkins. “We have a lot of young talent and I feel the program is in a good spot moving forward.”
