PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — With the wind in their favor in the first half of last Tuesday’s Northern Maine Class B quarterfinal game against Foxcroft Academy, the Wildcats were able to put in two goals, but it left coach Joe Greaves wondering if that would be enough.
It turns out it was, but just barely.
Presque Isle was able to hang on and move into the semifinals with a 2-1 victory over the Ponies.
“We had plenty of opportunities to open that game up in the first half and it could have easily been 4-0,” Greaves said, “but we were certainly glad to get a couple goals.
“That’s what we want from our offense — get us a lead and lean on our veteran defense.”
Denny Young scored the first one 13 minutes in after Jonah Hudson took a shot that was bobbled by Foxcroft goalkeeper Logan Butera. Young was able to pounce on the loose ball and direct it into the net.
At the 20-minute mark, it was sophomore Zechariah Morse’s turn. After a rebound bounced back to him, he ripped in a shot from the 18-yard line to double the lead.
The Ponies had some chances with the wind at their back in the second half and finally capitalized on a Phillip Pleninger goal with 17:39 to play to get back to within one. Foxcroft threatened a few other times the rest of the way, but was unable to put in the equalizer.
“We knew they’d get some opportunities, but weren’t happy to give up a goal and let them back into the game, but we did enough to move on. Our marking up and defensive intensity will have to be better moving forward,” said Greaves,
The teams had split their regular season matchups. The Ponies won in Presque Isle way back on Sept. 3, 1-0. When they met Oct. 15 in Dover-Foxcroft, the Wildcats came away with a 2-0 triumph.
