Presque Isle girls kick off
2011 season tonight in Caribou
By Jon Gulliver
Special to the Star-Herald
PRESQUE ISLE — While most high school soccer teams in the area have a few regular season games in the books already the Presque Isle Lady Wildcats are still waiting to play that first countable game.
Coach Ralph Michaud is optimistic about the upcoming season, bringing back much of the firepower of last year’s squad which lost in the Eastern Maine Class B Championship game to Caribou, 3-0.
What the team is missing is something some people may not recognize, but Coach Michaud understands the value. Chelsea Lynds, who graduated, excelled at long throw-ins and so far there isn’t anybody to take her place.
Fifteen players, four seniors, 10 juniors and one sophomore, are back from last year’s team, which went 10-3-1. The seniors on the squad are Chelsea Nickerson, Kayla Richards, Katie Patenaude and Elise Jones. Players from the junior class are Abbie Carrier, Karlee Bernier, Kailey Shaw, Chandler Guerrette, Emma Bartley, Megan Ireland, Katelyn McPherson, Kali Warner, Meredith Stewart and Liza Buck. The lone sophomore is Danielle Allen. The rest of the team is comprised of freshmen Jordi Legassie, Hannah Graham, Emma Kinney and Krystal Kingsbury. The managers are Stacia Caron and Haley Bouchard.
Guerrette, Richards and Ireland will be asked to contribute the bulk of the scoring. Richards was an All-State selection last year. Also back to solidify the defense is Nickerson, who was also All-State last year. Stewart returns as the keeper from last year.
Although Presque Isle has yet to play a regular season game, they did win the Presque Isle Pre-Season Invitational Tournament, only giving up one goal along the way.
“We like to say that all 10 of our players when we are on offense are on offense, and all 10 of our players play defense,” Michaud said. “We can do it both ways.”
Presque Isle plays in a tough conference and with only road games against Ellsworth and John Bapst it makes those games even more important. “We would rather have them at home. We feel having them at home on the turf is an advantage for us,” said the coach. Defending Eastern Maine Champion Caribou will also provide a test, and that first test comes tonight at Caribou High School at 7 p.m.
