Kingsbury’s hat trick powers CA
to comeback win over Eagles
LIMESTONE, Maine — Dane Kingsbury only was able to play in half of Monday’s high school soccer match, but the senior made the most of his time on the field.
Kingsbury scored on three different types of free kicks in the final 23 minutes, helping erase a two-goal deficit to lead visiting Central Aroostook to a 3-2 victory over the Limestone Community School/Maine School of Science and Mathematics Eagles.
The Panthers moved to 6-1 to stay atop the Class D North standings, while the Eagles, who moved up to Class C this fall, fell to 2-4.
After having to sit out the first 40 minutes due to missing a practice Saturday, Kingsbury provided a huge spark in the second half.
He scored directly on a corner kick to make it a one-goal game to open the offensive flurry.
“I wasn’t taking the corner kicks at the beginning of the year, but one practice I started bending them in, so coach [Cody Tompkins] told me to start taking them,” Kingsbury said. “As soon as we got that goal, we seemed to gain a lot of energy.”
With just 5:49 to play, a hand ball in the penalty area sent Kingsbury to attempt the ensuing penalty kick, and his blast to the right side of the goal tied the match.
“[Limestone Community School/Maine School of Science and Mathematics’s Matthew Pelkey] was a good ‘keeper, so I was just trying to keep it as low as possible,” Kingsbury said.
Eagles coach Jon Hamilton said that goal was “a huge momentum changer” and his squad never recovered.
“It was a bad break on that hand ball, but after that I think we kind of lost our heads out there,” he said. “We were really tired and had some mental breakdowns. Up until that point I thought we had played very well.”
Kingsbury’s final goal came just over 2:30 later. After another Limestone Community School/Maine School of Science and Mathematics foul, the ball was set 25 yards from the goal. Even though Tompkins told him to chip the ball into the goalie box, Kingsbury had other ideas.
“I saw it, so I took it,” said a grinning Kingsbury. “Coach is going to be mad at me for that one.”
Tompkins was more than forgiving afterwards.
“Good players like Dane know how to make big things happen, and he had a good instinct and he felt it,” Tompkins said. “I always tell my players that even if I tell you one thing, if you are feeling it, go ahead and commit to it. Dane came up huge and put us on the scoreboard big.”
The Eagles broke out to the lead after controlling play throughout much of the first half. They enjoyed a 12-7 shot advantage over the opening 40 minutes, with dangerous forwards Ahmed Beshir and Tobyn Blatt combining for nine of the chances. The only goal was the result of a through-pass by Blatt that Beshir raced onto and drilled past Central Aroostook goalkeeper Lane Grass with 11:53 to go before intermission.
Limestone Community School/Maine School of Science and Mathematics kept the pressure on early in the second half and Blatt, a crafty sophomore, lined in a left-footed direct kick from 22 yards out that went untouched by Grass into the upper left corner. That made it 2-0 with 29:41 left, but then the Panthers finally found their possession game and combined with the exploits of Kingsbury, began their comeback.
The Eagles held a 20-13 edge in shots on goal for the match, with both Grass and Pelkey making seven saves.
Also in recent boys’ soccer action, the Panthers were an 8-0 winner at home against Wisdom last Wednesday as Dustin Pryor and Kingsbury netted two goals each to lead the offense. Hunter Crouse played in goal and had his first shutout of the season. Hunter Wardwell, Caleb Harris, Ben Thomas and Colby Kingsbury added a goal apiece.
The Eagle boys split their other two games last week. After being shut out at Fort Fairfield Thursday, 2-0, the squad bounced back to stop Van Buren in a home match Saturday, 5-2. Tyler Simmons and Blatt notched two goals each and Anthony Fiori had the other. Pelkey had 15 saves in goal for Limestone/MSSM.
Fort Fairfield’s Ryan Player and Chris Gill had the goals against the Eagles as the Tigers remained undefeated at 7-0. Dalton Cassidy had the shutout in goal with 11 saves on 16 shots. Last Tuesday, the Tigers stopped the Ashland Hornets, 4-1, with Player tallying a pair of goals in the win. Gill and Yoni Majia each had a second-half goal. Jonah Daigle, Jared Harvey and Player contributed an assist apiece. Alex Kaiser scored for 5-3 Ashland.
The Bears of Easton entered their four-week layoff between matches by beating Katahdin, 4-2. Easton improved to 5-4-1 after Drew Sotomayor set up a pair of goals and had one himself. Isaac Currier, Noah Hanscomb and Trevor Hathaway were the other Bear goal scorers. Hunter Dudley and Hunter Brown dished out assists to back the goalkeeping of Jake Flewelling, who collected six saves on 11 shots.
The Presque Isle boys won for the second time this season last Wednesday, edging Fort Kent in overtime to hand the Warriors their first loss. Freshman Jaren Winger was the offensive star as he scored both Wildcat goals, including the game-winner with 3:12 to play in overtime. Ryle Mortland had assists on both of Winger’s goals. Patrick Cash made four saves on 11 shots in goal for PI.
The Wildcats then dropped a 2-1 decision at home to Old Town Saturday. Brycen Libby scored PI’s only goal early in the contest, but the Coyotes came back with a goal late in the first half and another early in the second. Presque Isle was 2-3-1 entering Tuesday’s match at Foxcroft Academy, which entered the game with a 5-0 record.
Caribou split their two matches last week and is now 3-4 overall. The Vikes exploded for an 8-0 win at Madawaska last Tuesday. Andre Rossignol, Michael Hunter and Hunter Milliard scored two goals apiece, while Cole Jackson and Carson Doody added one each. Alex Ezzy was credited with a pair of assists and Ethan Plourde’s shutout in goal came easy as he had to make just two saves on the evening.
The Vikes gave visiting Ellsworth, the defending Class B regional champions, all it wanted at home Saturday, but were defeated by a 3-2 final. The game-winning goal came courtesy of Alex Braley with 19:38 to play in the second half. Hunter and Rossignol scored the goals for Caribou, with Jackson and Paul Hanson getting assists. Caribou is at home again Saturday, taking on John Bapst.
