Katahdin advances to semifinal

    The Katahdin girl’s soccer team is moving on to play Ashland after a 4-1 home playoff win against Hodgdon last Saturday.
Photograph courtesy of Tammey Scott
LOOSE BALL – Hodgdon’s Sarah Willette and a Katahdin player watch as the ball pops loose from their battle, as Hodgdon’s Samantha Carpenter flinches on the close play.  The Lady Cougars defeated Hodgdon, 4-1.
    Katahdin started the scoring quickly with a goal by Mary-Jo Robinson just six minutes into the game.  Melissa Duffy of Katahdin ended the half with a last-minute tally to put her team up by two goals at the half. She then gave her team a very secure 3-0 lead 10 minutes into the second half with another goal, assisted by Robinson.
    A late goal by Shannon Martin, assisted by Dayna Tidd, gave Hodgdon hope. But, Duffy quickly responded with her third goal of the game, assisted by Kali Rush, to clinch the win for Katahdin. 
    “We played great defense and had great teamwork,” explained Lady Cougars coach Phil Faulkner, “no one player played excellent, the whole team played excellent.” 
    Hodgdon’s coach, Brian Fitzpatrick, believes his team moved the ball up the field very well, but that they simply had trouble finishing against Katahdin’s tough defense.
    “We had some opportunities to make runs but [Kali] Rush and [Jasmine] Brayall just stepped up and snuffed out possible scoring chances,” Fitzpatrick said.
    Katahdin is not yet satisfied though, and is looking to pay back Ashland for a 4-0 loss during the second half of the regular season. They will focus on stopping Ashland’s athletic forwards and overall potent offense. Faulkner is hoping that the enthusiasm his players showed on defense against Hodgdon will carry over against Ashland.
    “That was just one step, now we need to take another step,” Faulkner told his team after Saturday’s game.
    Katahdin is scheduled to play the semifinal match today at 2:30 p.m. at top-seeded Ashland.
Ben Austin photograph
PROTECTS – Hodgdon’s Samantha Carpenter protects the ball on the dribble from the  Melissa Duffy of Katahdin, who looks to gain possession. The Lady Cougars won, 4-1, and are scheduled to play at 2:30 p.m. today in Ashland.
Photo courtesy of Tammey Scott
CONTROL – Hodgdon freshman Kari-Ann Estabrook looks to keep control of the ball while going through Katahdin defenders, Kali Rush and Jasmine Brayall, as Hope Heath watches the play in the background. The Lady Cougars won the quarterfinal game, 4-1, and are scheduled to play today at 2:30 p.m. against top-seeded Ashland in the Class D semifinals.