CARIBOU, Maine — The Caribou Parks and Recreation Department’s pee wee soccer leagues concluded with games played Sept. 18-25.
Summaries of the two World League matches, for grades 5 and 6, and the five Premier League matches, for grades 3 and 4, are as follows:
Colombia vs. USA — USA and Columbia played to an exciting tie on Sept. 18. Jaden Picard and Brayden Brescia scored the goals for the USA and speedster Naliyah Love helped keep the pressure on the Columbia defense. Emily Fraser and Isabella Cherrier kept moving the ball upfield from their midfield positions. Joseph Peter Paul had another outstanding effort as goalkeeper as he turned away several good shots.
Brazil vs. USA — In a match played Sept. 22, USA lost its season finale to Brazil in a game that was close until the second half. Edison Sleeper scored the lone goal for USA off a nice pass from Macie Towson. Gage Hale had several nice shots on goal as he was moved up to the striker position from his normal sweeper position. Braxton McCrossin, Jayden Fournier and Emmie McIntire played tough defense and helped keep the ball away from the USA end of the field. Calvin Hersey had another great game as goalkeeper by turning away some great shots by Brazil.
Galaxy vs. Revolution — In Premier League action on Sept. 18, Caela Day and Faith Lagasse applied great offensive pressure throughout the match and Kadence Hafford played super defense for the Galaxy. Cayden Ala put two balls in the back of the net while Owen Corrigan and Lucas Belanger contributed one each.
D.C. United vs. Red Bulls — Also on Sept. 18, D.C. United played a tough game against the Red Bulls, whose offense is very strong. The D.C. defense held its own with many great stops and saves. Landen Belanger scored a “hat trick” with three goals. The Red Bulls offense only put one in the net in the first half, with Declan Miller assisting Levi Cole. In the second half, both players switched roles with Cole assisting on two goals and Miller scoring four times.
Timbers vs. Revolution — Ben Bouchard, the Timbers’ leading scorer, notched a goal in the Sept. 20 contest. Excellent goalkeeping by Gage Theriault, who stopped several shots, and tough defense by Hannah Willey-Forbes, who cleared the ball multiple times in the fourth quarter, keyed the effort. Marshall Hersey had a strong debut on offense with Carter Carpine and Phoebe Butler pitching in on defense with Jade Cray. Seth Dubay and Taylor St. Peter were solid as midfielders.
Galaxy vs. Red Bulls — This Sept. 20 match was close through three quarters as Lily McCrossin scored the first goal of the contest. Riley Williams and Jeremy Martin applied great offensive pressure throughout the game. Brock Gagnon played great in goal in the fourth quarter coming up with some big saves. In the fourth quarter, the Galaxy broke through with Lucas Cormier putting two in and Owen Corrigan and Cayden Ala also scoring.
The Red Bulls played extremely hard in this contest. Kody Tracy managed to get one by the goal line in the second half.
Timbers vs. D.C. United — In the final night of soccer Sept. 25, D.C. scored all of its goals in the first half of action with Carsen Richards and Landen Belanger each putting two in. Bella Clayton and Mason St. Peter were great defenders in the first half, while Nikko Love and Landon Spooner controlled the midfield. Kaleb LeTourneau played excellent in goal.
Timbers were scoreless against a tough D.C. United team, but Gage Theriault was excellent in goal and good ball control was displayed by Ben Bouchard. Jade Cray, Trent Hersey and Willey-Forbes were strong defenders and Phoebe Butler, Carter Carpine and Marshall Hersey kept the pressure on offense.
