DYER BROOK, Maine — Southern Aroostook’s boys and girls soccer teams have experienced polar opposite starts through the first half of their respective seasons.
The Warrior girls enjoyed a hot start, racing to a 5-1 record, while the SA boys team struggled to field a full team, and lost 5 of 6 games.
Girls varsity coach Holly Vining, who is in her fourth consecutive season with the team and seventh overall, has good reason to be optimistic for the Warriors this season. After all, SA returns its entire starting lineup from a year ago, when the squad finished 12-2 during the regular season and earned the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. SA fell 4-3 in the quarterfinals to Bangor Christian in a game decided on penalty kicks.
Southern Aroostook’s Gavin Vining, right, makes an off-balanced kick as MSSM’s Ryan Berry defends during Wednesday’s boys soccer game in Dyer Brook. SA won 1-0. (Joseph Cyr)
“We are taking it one game at a time this year with the hopes of making postseason play again,” coach Vining said. “We’ve had a good start to this season. The team has really stepped up.”
Southern Aroostook has a full roster with 19 players on the team. The roster features seniors Kassidy Mathers (forward/midfield), Kate Slauenwhite (backfield) and Kylie Vining (forward/midfield); juniors, Sydney Brewer (goalie), Makaelyn Porter (forward/midfield), Hannah Landry (back/midfield), Aliyah Morales (back/midfield) and Bre Jacobs (midfield); sophomores, Kacy Daggett (back/midfield), Skyla Nelson (midfield), Delaney Greenlaw (back/midfield), Hannah Brown (midfield), Emma Nadeau (forward/midfield) and Paige Vose (back/midfield); and freshmen Gracie Brewer (midfield/keeper), Bre Daggett (back/midfield), Willow Brooks (back/midfield), Emily Skinner (midfield) and Jordyn Legassey (forward).
After falling to undefeated Central Aroostook 4-2 in the opener, the girls team has rattled off five straight victories — outscoring opponents 27-2 in those five games — and currently is ranked fourth in the Class D North standings.
“This is probably the deepest bench we have had for several years and that is a huge advantage for us,” the coach said. “Because it has been so hot this fall, we have had to do a lot more substitutions, which has given more players time on the field.”
Coach Vining added she wants to work on the team’s “off-ball support, combination play, quicker transitions from offense to defense, communication and finishing games” as the season progresses.
“We also have a number of underclassmen learning defensive roles and positioning,” she said.
Assisting coach Vining with the team is Jess Walker. The two have worked with students from the time they were in peewees in a variety of sports. Both also have daughters on the team, with Vining’s daughter Kylie being a senior and Walker’s two daughters, Kacy and Bre Daggett, being a sophomore and freshman, respectively.
“We have been with these girls for a very long time, so it is kind of an emotional year for us,” she said. “It certainly has its challenges.”
Boys struggle with numbers
On the boys side, coach Paul Sherman has had to be creative in the team’s first four games, playing shorthanded in each of those contests due to injuries, illnesses and eligibility issues. The team started its season with just eight players on the field and slowly worked its way up to 10 through the first five games. Not surprising, the Warriors lost each of those contests.
The Warriors finally fielded a full team Wednesday, Sept. 19, and subsequently captured their first win of the season, a 1-0 decision over MSSM.
Entering his third season as the varsity coach, and eighth overall as he also guided SA from 1985-90, Sherman said the team has potential to become a cohesive unit as the year progresses.
“Our outlook is uncertain but potentially promising,” he said. “Our turnout was low enough to start with that we had to bring up three eighth graders to bring the roster to 15.”
During those first five games playing short-handed, coach Sherman said the Warriors simply did not have enough skilled players to quite cover the field, which also led to fatigue.
“We’ve been running out of gas in games since we’ve been playing short,” he said. “I’m optimistic that we will be very competitive by midseason and will finish strong like we did last year. We’ll have enough athleticism to cover the field. We’re making good progress in our individual skills and in our ability as a team to see the field. We’re generating noticeably more offense this year. And, our defenders have been working together and with our goalie much more effectively.”
The Warriors only won one game last season, but grew as a team. Many of last year’s players returned and their progress has carried over.
The boys roster features senior Steven Rackliff (goalie/midfield); juniors Gavin Vining (midfield) and Brett Williams (forward); sophomores Parker Skinner (defender/goalie), Lucas Duff (defender/midfield), Jacob Brooks (defender/goalie), Nick Anderson (midfield/defender), Xavier Morales (midfield/defender), Izayah Wenzloff (defender) and Gage Rigby (midfield/forward); freshmen Gunner Siltz (midfield) and Matt Rackliff (defender/midfield); and eighth-graders Buddy Porter (midfield/forward), Graham Siltz (midfield/forward) and Peyton Lawlor (defender/midfield).
Vining is the team’s most skilled player overall, according to the coach.
“He plays very hard, covers the whole field, and scores or assists on almost every goal we score,” the coach said. “Several teammates have developed good offensive skills and are getting Gavin the ball in space. Overall, our attacking is much improved as a result.”
Goalies Rackliff and Brooks will share net duties this season. The two are active and eliminate a lot of scoring threats with their aggressive play, while defenders, led by Duff, Skinner, and Brooks, work well together and have learned how to relieve pressure by working with their goalie, according to the coach.
