Soccer squads readying for postseason

The regular season came to an end Monday, Oct. 21 with the final games of the year, but the work is not yet done for many teams.

The playoffs begin Friday, Oct. 25 for Class C boys, while Class D boys and C and D girls will take to the field on Saturday, Oct. 26 for preliminary round games.

In girls Class C, Houlton (11-2) is ranked third in the region behind No. 1 Fort Kent (10-1-2) and No. 2 Central (11-3). The Shires could move up to second with a win in their final game of the season hosting Madawaska Monday, Oct. 21. Regardless, the Shires will have a first-round bye and host a quarterfinal on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

In Class D North, Southern Aroostook (8-5) is fourth, Katahdin (9-3-1) is seventh and Hodgdon (9-5) is eighth. All three squads are heading to the postseason. Only the top four squads receive a first-round bye, and much could change based on Monday’s final games. East Grand (0-13) is 17th and not in the playoff picture.

For the boys, Houlton (6-5-2) is ranked eighth in Class C North and looking at a prelim game on Saturday, Oct. 26. The Shires could be at home for that game, if the standings hold true.

In Class D North, Hodgdon (12-1-1) is fourth and Southern Aroostook (6-6-1) is 12th. Both squads are playoff bound, but will be required to play preliminary round games on Friday, Oct. 25. Katahdin (3-10) is 16th and not in the mix this year.

A full playoff review for local squads will appear on our website (www.thecounty.me) Wednesday morning.

The following is a recap of games that were reported to the newspaper. Coaches are asked to report results to jcyr@bangordailynews.com after each game.

Girls Soccer

Houlton 3, Fort Kent 0 — At Houlton Saturday, Oct. 12, the Shires shut out previously-unbeaten Fort Kent.  The Shires received solo goals from Bre Barton, Samantha Johnson and Maddie Marino. Barton also had an assist in the game.

Fort Fairfield 2, Hodgdon 1 — At Hodgdon Oct. 15, Kira Rogers and Camryn Ala each scored a goal to life the Tigers past Hodgdon. Cammi King and Kennedy Bencivenga each had an assist. For Hodgdon, Emma Drew scored the lone goal. 

Boys Soccer

MSSM 4, Hodgdon 2 — At Limestone Oct. 11, Kyle Carver and Josh Foster scored for Hodgdon, who fell for the first time on the season. Toben Streevy, Aryan Bawa, Dahoon Bae, and Harrison Walters scored for MSSM. Benji Gilman made 15 saves in goal for MSSM, while Elijah Matheson had six saves and Drew Duttweiler had five sharing net duties for Hodgdon.

Ashland 5, Southern Aroostook 1 — At Ashland Oct. 11, Weston Robinson and Josh Celestre each had two goals and Brady Holmes added one as the Hornets beat SA. ​Brady Holmes, Sam Craig and Lukas Deabay each had an assist. For Southern Aroostook, Gavin Vining scored the lone goal. Garrett Tilley had three saves on five shots for Ashland, including a penalty kick save. Jacob Brooks made 16 saves on 29 shots for the Warriors.

Fort Kent 1, Houlton 1 — At Houlton Saturday,  Oct. 12, the Shires battled Fort Kent to a 1-1 stalemate. Keegan Gentle scored for Houlton, while Keegan Cyr scored for Fort Kent. Drew Foley made five saves on 14 shots in goal for the Shires.

Houlton 3, Madawaska 1 — At Madawaska Monday, Oct. 14, Keegan Gentle, Jaron Gentle and Jadon Gentle each had a solo goal to lead the Shires past Madawaska. Ian Beaulieu had the only goal for the Owls. Foley made six saves on seven shots for the Shires and Andrew Nadeau had five saves on 15 shots for  Madawaska.

Hodgdon 3, Fort Fairfield 2 — At Hodgdon Oct. 15, the Hawks picked up a big overtime win against Fort Fairfield. Hodgdon scored the tying goal with 4:38 left in the second half, and produced the game winner with just 55 seconds remaining in overtime. Josh Foster scored two goals and had an assist for the Hawks, while Elijah Matheson added one goal. Alexander Oakes and Wyatt Keegan each scored for the Tigers. Hodgdon’s Michael Sanders and Drew Duttweiler combined for three saves on eight shots. For the Tigers, Kobe West had four saves on 13 shots.

Southern Aroostook 3, Katahdin 1 — At Stacyville Tuesday, the Warriors received two goals from Logan Swallow and a solo goal from Gavin Vining in victory over the Cougars. Josiah Walker scored the lone Katahdin goal. Jacob Brooks had four saves for SA, while Caleb Giles had 12 saves.

Hodgdon 3, Katahdin 1 — At Stacyville Thursday, Oct. 17, Josh Foster, Hunter Tapley, and Drew Duttweiler all had one goal to lead the Hawks to victory. Grady Ritchie had one goal for Katahdin. Michael Sanders made five saves in goal for Hodgdon and Caleb Giles had 15 saves for the Cougars.

Hodgdon 9, Shead 2 — At Hodgdon Saturday in a makeup game, Hodgdon defeated a depleted Shead squad as the visiting Tigers of Eastport only had seven players available for the game. Team’s normally field 11 players for a soccer contest.

Nine different players scored for Hodgdon as Josh Foster, Lif Gaug, Elijah Matheson, Hunter Quint, Kyle Carver, Michael Sanders, Lucas Ramsey, Aaron Brooker and Hunter Tapley all had solo goals. Notching assists were Aaron Brooker (two), Hunter Quint and Josh McGillicuddy.

Michael Sanders, Elijah Matheson and Hunter Quint shared goaltending duties and combined for three saves on five shots.