PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — On a windy day, teams that win the pregame coin flip generally like the wind at their backs in the first half to put instant pressure on the opposition.
Presque Isle coach Ralph Michaud is usually a believer in that approach, but Tuesday afternoon he went against the grain and the decision paid off.
The Wildcats held Brewer off the scoreboard over the first 40 minutes and then tallied three second-half goals to beat the Witches, 3-1, and advance to the Class B North semifinals.
-
- Clara Kohlbacher of the Wildcats takes a dive into the turf as Brewer defenders MacKenzie Dore (20) and Cassandra Brown (14) during the Tuesday, Oct. 24 quarterfinal played at the Johnson Athletic Complex in Presque Isle. (Contributed photo/Dave Allen Graphics)
“We won the toss and I decided to defend against the wind in the first half while [Brewer] got used to playing on the turf field,” Michaud said. “I thought our defense in the first half was as good as when we beat Caribou (1-0) late in the season.”
Presque Isle (12-3), the No. 2 seed, will play No. 6 Waterville in the next round Saturday back at the Johnson Athletic Complex.
-
- Paige McHatten (20) of the Wildcats heads the ball against Brewer’s MacKenzie Dore (20) and Elizabeth Horr (2), as Presque Isle’s Rhylee Kinney watches during the Class B North quarterfinal played Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Johnson Athletic Complex in Presque Isle. Presque Isle hosts Waterville in the semifinal round Saturday at 2 p.m. (Contributed photo/Dave Allen Graphics)
The Wildcats were outshot 6-1 in that first half, but the Witches did not have any dangerous attempts and PI goalkeeper Savannah Rodriguez made three easy saves.
Eight minutes into the second half, junior midfielder Eleanor St. Peter scored directly on a corner kick to give Presque Isle the lead, but Brewer didn’t back down.
-
- Presque Isle’s Elizabeth Collins, left, gets fouled by Brewer’s Josephine Ardbo during the first half of the Class B North quarterfinal played Tuesday at the Johnson Athletic Complex in Presque Isle. (Contributed photo/Dave Allen Graphics)
The Witches didn’t get off their first shot after intermission until 18 minutes remained in the match, but approximately six minutes later, the visitors broke through.
With 12:21 left, Brewer’s Emily Lord scored off a pass from Josephine Ardbo to knot the game at 1-1.
On the kickoff to restart play, PI’s Madison Michaud delivered a back pass to right back Elizabeth Collins, who hit a long ball to the top of the 18-yard box. Michaud gathered it in and volleyed a shot past Brewer goalkeeper Libby Hewes to put the Wildcats back on top. The goal came just 12 seconds after the Witches had tied it.
“We have shown good composure late in the season, so when Brewer scored it didn’t really faze me to be honest,” Madison Michaud said. “I think after playing Caribou and Brewer late in the season, we’re not worried anymore about getting down.”
After that, Brewer put all 10 of its field players on the offensive side of the field and carried play for the rest of regulation, but could not manage to forge another tie as all four of the late shot attempts were either off the mark or saved by Rodriguez.
Michaud clinched the victory with 1:02 left when she stole a goal kick by Hewes at the top of the box and tallied her 30th goal of the season, which is a new school record.
Brewer (9-5-2) had a 13-8 advantage in shots attempted. Rodriguez made six saves and Hewes finished with two.
Madison Michaud is excited the season is being extended and getting the chance to play at home again this weekend.
“We’ve never had a home semifinal game on our home field, which is good for us because the turf gives us an advantage,” she said.
