DYER BROOK, Maine — The Southern Aroostook boys and girls soccer squads are teams of polar opposites this year.
On the girls side, the Warriors return almost everyone from a squad that finished 7-4-3 in the regular season and 8-5-3 overall. SA won a preliminary playoff game against Shead before falling to Ashland in the quarterfinals. The Warrior girls are likely to be one of the top contenders in Class D North this fall.
The boys team, however, lost the bulk of its team to graduation and is now in a rebuilding mode as 12 of the 16 players on the squad are freshmen. But as the girls team has shown in the past, being young does not necessarily rule out a shot at a successful campaign. It also bodes well for many years to come.
The SA girls are 1-0 to start the season, while the boys are 0-1.
The girls soccer squad is once again being led by coach Holly Vining, who is entering her sixth season of varsity soccer. SA may have a bundle of returning players, but did lose three starters to graduation. Gone are Mersia Thibodeau (defensive midfielder), Katie Stevens (forward and second leading scorer a season ago with 12 goals), and Marissa Boulier (defender).
“We have a number of things we are working on in the preseason, but long term we hope to improve our record from last year and make postseason play,” coach Vining said. “Desire and work ethic are our strengths. This is a great group of girls who want to be successful and improve their game. They love to compete and have great chemistry.”
Members of the SA girls squad include senior Tabbie Drake (midfielder); juniors Aaliyona Wenzloff (midfielder), Kassidy Mathers (midfielder/forward), Maddie Cummings (defender), Katelyn Slauenwhite (midfielder/forward) and Kylie Vining (forward); sophomores Makaelyn Porter (midfield), Hannah Landry (defender), Aliyah Morales (defender) and Sydney Brewer (goalie); and freshmen Kacy Daggett (defender), Paige Vose (midfielder), Emma Nadeau (midfielder/forward), Hannah Brown (midfielder), Delaney Greenlaw (midfielder), Skyla Nelson (midfielder); and eighth-grader Jordyn Legassey (forward).
Kylie Vining led the Warriors in scoring last season with 17 goals, which earned her All-Aroostook accolades. Porter and Brewer also were named to the All-Aroostook squad for their defensive prowess.
Daggett, Vose and Nadeau saw considerable time on the squad last year as eighth-graders.
Coach Vining said having Mathers back on the field this season after she suffered a knee injury during the summer of 2016 which forced her to miss the entire soccer campaign, will be a huge boost for the team.
She added that developing possession, good passing angles, creativity, communication and defending in the defensive third will be among the things she plans to focus on.
Boys in rebuilding mode
The Southern Aroostook boys are in a rebuilding mode after losing seven key players from last season, including the team’s top scorers (Tyler Batchelder and Jackson Mathers), goalie (Nolan Altvater) and the entire defense (Luis Morales and backs Nate Lilley, Hunter Lawlor and Tanor Batchelder).
Second-year coach Paul Sherman remains hopeful that the influx of new players will pay dividends down the road, calling this season a “building and learning year.”
“We’re very young and inexperienced,” Sherman said. “We have to improve our foot skills and our awareness of space. This will allow us to keep the ball longer in order to better compete against teams with older, more physically developed players.”
Members of the boys’ squad include senior Hunter Walker (midfield/halfback); junior Steven Rackliff (midfield/halfback); sophomores Brett Williams (forward/goalie) and Gavin Vining (midfield/forward); and freshmen Nick Anderson (midfield), Jacob Brooks (halfback), Glenn Cameron (midfield), Lucas Duff (halfback), Collin Grant (midfield), Wyatt Harthorne (midfield), Isaac Lee (midfield), Xavier Morales (midfield/forward/goalie), Gage Rigby (forward), Parker Skinner (midfield/goalie), Logan Swallow (forward) and Izayah Wenzloff (halfback).
“Walker and Rackliff are relentless defenders who play hard all the time,” coach Sherman said. “Gavin Vining (the team leader in assists last year), Brett Williams, and Logan Swallow show signs of forming an effective attacking unit. The players are generally unselfish and willing to share the ball.”
Southern Aroostook finished 6-7-1 last season, falling to Schenck 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
Among the goals coach Sherman has set for his team this year are to learn to defend better; become better passers and trappers; learn to see and use open space, wherever it is; learn to value ball possession more highly; and learn to compete for the entire game, even when down a few goals.
