PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — For the second time in three seasons, the Erskine Academy Eagles have made the trip north and upset the Presque Isle Wildcats.
Erskine, seeded eighth in the division and based in South China, improved to 11-4-1 and heads into the Class B North semifinals after shutting out the host Wildcats, 1-0, in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round match played at the Johnson Athletic Complex.
Presque Isle’s Drew Cameron tries to turn the corner against Erskine’s Garrett Keezer during Wednesday’s Class B North quarterfinal played in Presque Isle. (Courtesy/Debbie Ackerson)
In 2015, Erskine also won 1-0 on a game decided by penalty kicks. This time, the Eagles were able to settle it in regulation against the No. 1-ranked Wildcats.
With just over 18 minutes to play, Presque Isle failed to clear the ball out of the defensive zone and Erskine’s Chance Reed took advantage. He got open in the middle and ripped a shot from eight yards out into the back of the net for the only goal of the match.
Erskine goalkeeper David McGraw wraps up the ball for a save while Presque Isle’s Drew Cameron avoids the collision during Wednesday’s Class B North quarterfinal at the Johnson Athletic Complex. (Courtesy/Debbie Ackerson)
“Our coach always talks about running through the ball and that’s what I did,” Reed said. “The ball came up, I ran through it and just did what I had to to score that goal.”
It was one of only two shots attempted by the Eagles after intermission while playing into the wind, so the defense was busy and responded with a clutch performance. The Eagles even had to play the final 12 minutes with only 10 players on the field after Reed was issued a red card and disqualified.
Presque Isle took nine corner kicks in the second half and tacked on eight throw-in opportunities by long thrower Jonah Hudson. Despite the constant pressure on the opponent’s goal, the Wildcats could not solve the Erskine defense and junior goalkeeper David McGraw, who showed great hands and made several tough saves, especially over the final 40 minutes.
“We sagged back on defense to compensate, especially when we were a man down,” said Erskine coach Carrie Larrabee. “We did a great job making sure everyone was covered so everybody had to help out. With our team, everybody plays offense and everybody plays defense, we just all had to play a little more defense.”
The Wildcats ended up with a 17-11 advantage in shots on goal, many coming in the second half. McGraw made a diving stop on a Zechariah Morse’s direct kick from 20 yards at the 30-minute mark; Kyler Caron had two quality shots, with McGraw coming through with a leaping stop on one of them; Griffin Guerrette nailed one just over the crossbar; and Hudson headed a corner kick that also was too strong by inches.
Presque Isle’s best chance to score actually came while playing into the wind with 17:30 left in the first half, but Cameron Lahey’s initial shot from 15 yards caromed off the crossbar and Caron’s rebound banged off the left post before the ball was cleared.
“That’s soccer,” said PI coach Joe Greaves. “We put on all kinds of pressure, hit posts and crossbars and had the ball on their end 90 percent of the time, but scoring has been an Achilles heel all year.
“You’ve got to take advantage of your opportunities, but their keeper played great and their defense blocked a lot of shots.”
Adam Paterson of the Presque Isle Wildcats heads the ball against Erskine’s Brock Glidden during Wednesday’s Class B North quarterfinal match played in Presque Isle. (Contributed photo/Debbie Ackerson)
Jason Dumais, the Wildcat goalkeeper, preserved the first-half tie with a lunging save off a volley from 20 yards out by Erskine’s Michael Sprague.
McGraw and Dumais each finished with four saves on the afternoon. Presque Isle, which entered the playoffs with the top ranking in the standings for the first time in 22 years, finished with an 11-3-1 record.
“They were clearly the better team than us, but we just showed up on the defensive end,” Reed said. “We really just stuck together and finished the game as a team.”
