CARIBOU, Maine — It was a disappointing end to an otherwise magical season for the Caribou boys’ soccer team.
The Vikings started strong and scored two quick goals in Saturday’s North Class B semifinal match to forge out to the lead, but Washington Academy responded by getting one back before intermission and then outscored Caribou 3-0 in the second half to earn a 4-2 triumph and a berth in Wednesday’s regional championship.
Washington Academy, the fifth seed, will take on No. 2 Presque Isle for the title.
Caribou entered with 12 wins and a tie in its last 13 matches, including a 4-1 victory over its Saturday opponent back on Sept. 24. The Vikings gained other decisive wins over most of their opponents along the way.
Ethan Holdsworth put Caribou on the scoreboard with an unassisted goal just 2:53 into the match with a left-footed shot that struck the far post then off a defender and into the net.
The second goal came at the 24:43 mark when Tommy Pinette finished off a pass from Austin Findlen for what Caribou coach Scott Hunter called “one of the prettiest goals of the season.”
“We got off to a great start as we have most of the season, attacking with speed and connecting passes and moving the ball beautifully,” Hunter said. “At that point, we were feeling pretty good and we kept the pressure on them.”
Soon after, Caribou had a good opportunity to move ahead by three goals, but a shot from Alex Ezzy was just wide of the post. Washington Academy countered quickly and scored on a nice through ball from Khiariri Hayward to Noah Wang with 21 minutes left before intermission.
“This gave them a big lift and they brought a lot of physical intensity to the game in an effort to slow us down and keep us from connecting passes,” Hunter said. “It disrupted our rhythm.”
The score remained 2-1 into halftime, but Washington Academy carried the momentum into the second half and netted the equalizer on a Hayward goal 5:44 in and the go-ahead tally at the 21:33 mark as Yen-Tang Noah Huang converted a Jakub Figel assist. Mahuni Yahuli then iced it with 33 seconds to play.
Washington Academy’s physical play, made evident by the four yellow cards and one red card the team received, wore down the Vikes and stopped the flow of the game, according to Hunter. Washington Academy committed 22 fouls, compared with seven by Caribou. The coach said the deteriorating condition of the field also took its toll and prevented the hosts from executing its favored passing game.
Noah Hixon finished with 12 saves on 18 shots for Caribou.
The Vikings finished with a 13-2-1 record, the best in Caribou boys soccer history. They also won the Penobscot Valley Conference and ended up No. 1 in their division, both firsts for the program.
“Our goal was to play in and win the Northern Maine championship and get a shot at a state championship and the boys did everything day after day, game by game to put themselves in position to reach that goal,” Hunter said. “We fell two games short, but soccer can be a cruel game and there are no guarantees.
“Besides being great players, we have 17 great young men. This team has been a coach’s dream to be a part of and it has been an absolute treat to watch them compete,” he added. “It takes special players to have such a special season and [assistant coach Kyle Corrigan] and I have been blessed to be a part of it.”
