Tardif and Kinney claim Elks soccer titles

6 years ago

WATERVILLE, Maine — Blayne Tardif of Mapleton and Dawson Kinney of Presque Isle have made it through another round of the Elks Soccer Shoot competition.

Both Tardif and Kinney earned state titles at an event held Sunday, Oct. 14, in Waterville and have advanced to the next round — the Elks Area I Regional being held Nov. 2-4 in Colonie, New York. The region consists of all six New England states and New York.

Tardif was the winner in the under 10-year-old division. She scored the most points in the contest which has contestants take 15 shots with a youth-sized soccer ball from 18 feet away at a standard soccer goal divided into nine segments. Greater points are awarded for kicking the ball into the segments of the goal most difficult to defend.

She is the daughter of Robby and Jaime Tardif and is a first time holder of both the Elks Hoop Shoot and Elks Soccer Shoot state titles in the same year.

Kinney won in the under 14 age category. He outscored his opponents in the competition which had contestants kick a regulation-sized soccer ball from 27 feet away into a segmented goal. He is the son of Kim Kinney.

To reach the state competition, both Tardif and Kinney won at the local event, hosted by Presque Isle Elks Lodge 1954 on Sept. 23, and then captured the districts in Bangor Sept. 30.