Local squads drop quarterfinal games

The Easton, Fort Fairfield and Central Aroostook boys and the Washburn girls were all defeated in the quarterfinal round of the Eastern Maine Class D playoffs.
Last Wednesday, Easton was edged by Southern Aroostook, 2-1, on Tyler Robinson’s goal with 33 seconds to play in a match played on the Bears’ home field.  Dakota Sleeper had put SA on the scoreboard first 10 minutes into the second half before Easton’s Brad Trask netted a penalty kick with 4:01 to go to tie it.
Cody Tompkins saved eight of 12 shots in goal for Easton, which finished 11-3-1 as the No. 4 seed in the playoffs.
The Fort Fairfield boys also fell, as the Tigers dropped a 3-0 decision to Katahdin in Stacyville last Wednesday. Billy Duffy, Kolby Gallagher and Mickey Savage all scored goals to lead the top-ranked Cougars over No. 8 Fort Fairfield.
Katahdin held a healthy 24-3 shot advantage, as FF’s Austin Dufour collected 13 saves. The Tigers finished the year at 9-6-1. The Cougars went on to beat Southern Aroostook in the semifinals Saturday, 6-2, and will host Machias in the EM Class D championship today.
The Central Aroostook Panthers came close to pulling off their second consecutive road upset of the post-season, but the Machias Bulldogs managed a 2-1 victory last Wednesday on Jacob Dahl’s goal with just 24 seconds remaining in regulation.
CA grabbed a 1-0 lead on a goal by Emmanuel Martinez 7:49 into the contest before the No. 2 seed from Downeast Maine knotted it with 1:34 to play before intermission.
The Panthers even outshot the host Bulldogs 15-10, as Machias’s Michael Jenkins had 10 saves and CA’s Tyler Rusby turned aside five.
Central Aroostook’s season ended with a 9-5-2 mark.
The Washburn girls, ranked fifth, were also eliminated in the quarterfinals, dropping a 3-0 decision to the No. 4 Katahdin Cougars in Stacyville last Tuesday in the Class D playoffs.
Jalissa Moore scored twice and Melissa Duffy had the other goal for the winners, who held a slim 16-14 advantage in shots on goal during the contest.
Rachel Palmer had 13 saves in goal for the Beavers, who ended up 8-7-1 after advancing into the quarters with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Deer Isle-Stonington Oct. 24.
Katahdin lost in double-overtime to Southern Aroostook in the semifinals Saturday, 1-0.