PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Wildcat boys made soccer history this fall by becoming the first Presque Isle High School boys team to finish No. 1 in the Heal Point standings in its division since 1995.
Dick Gardiner coached that squad and PI was a Class A team then. The Wildcats were beaten by Messalonskee in the semifinal round.
The objective for this year’s Presque Isle team, according to coach Joe Greaves, was to finish somewhere in the top three and earn a bye into the quarterfinals, but the Wildcats achieved much more than that.
Despite an early-season home loss to Fort Kent, Presque Isle went 11-2-1 overall and an Oct. 16 victory at Brewer secured the top position in the Class B North rankings.
“After losing to Fort Kent, we knew there wasn’t much room for error, but our guys put their heads down and went to work and accomplished their goal of finishing the season very strong,” Greaves said. “I’m very proud of the team.”
Presque Isle will take on the eighth seed, Erskine Academy of South China, Wednesday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. at the Johnson Athletic Complex in the quarterfinal round.
The Wildcats have been idle since Oct. 16, while the Eagles played in a preliminary playoff game against No. 9 Foxcroft Academy Saturday. As the home team, Erskine picked up a 5-0 victory.
Foxcroft was the two teams’ only common opponent. Presque Isle defeated the Ponies at home Sept. 30 by a score of 3-0.
“[Erskine] is a tough team and certainly better than its seed might suggest,” Greaves said. “They have a veteran group and played some very good teams throughout the year.”
The teams met in the playoff semifinals in Presque Isle in 2015, with the Eagles pulling off the win in a game decided by penalty kicks.
Greaves said rain and wind are expected to be prevalent, so the weather will play a significant factor.
“We need to limit our mistakes and continue doing the things that have made us successful all year,” he added.
Caribou, seeded 12th, takes on fourth-ranked Winslow in another Class B North quarterfinal. The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday but the rainy weather has forced it to be played Thursday at noon at Husson University in Bangor.
