The Southern Aroostook and Houlton varsity girls soccer teams participated in a preseason tournament held in Salem at Mt. Abram High School July 30-31.
“We had a great weekend of soccer,” said Houlton coach Tim Tweedie. “We had 18 girls go, so we submitted two teams. Mt. Blue was the only other school to enter two teams.”
The tournament format was 7-on-7, with games starting on Friday night and finishing on Saturday.
Even though Houlton divided their talent, they still played well, said Tweedie. The two teams combined to finish with an overall record of 4-5-1 against mostly Class A and Class B schools. The Lady Shires played Skowhegan, Mt. Blue, Westbrook, Jay, Medomak Valley, Leavitt, Mt. Abram, Central, Madison and Massabesic.
“Overall, it was a great experience and I think that we will benefit from the tough competition,” Tweedie said.
The Southern Aroostook girls were defeated 4-0 in their opening game against Skowhegan, but rebounded in their second matchup with a 2-1 victory over Mt. Blue.
The Lady Warriors had a short break after their second game, giving them time to set up camp since they would be tenting on the field overnight.
“The entire tournament was a great team building experience from the four-hour drive down to tenting out at the base of the mountain to playing some very stiff competition,” said SACS coach Holly Vining.
The Lady Warriors placed eighth out of 16 teams based on three games.
In their third game against Madison, the teams played under the lights, and Vining said it was “a really exciting game.”
The action went back and forth, but the Lady Warriors eventually fell, 3-2 in the 30-minute time span.
“The girls gave it everything,” Vining said. “I was just happy we were able to play with them. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the girls, especially how hard they worked and the way they played together.”
After the games on Friday night, Houlton’s coach Tweedie invited the Lady Warriors over to join his team around the campfire.
“We visited for a little while and some of the girls roasted marshmallows. It was great having a neighboring school down there,” added Vining.
After a good outing on Friday, the Lady Warriors and their coach lagged in the morning after what Vining called a “looonnnggg” night of sleeping on the ground.
“It was cold and there were coyotes howling for a good part of the night,” she said. “We didn’t fare too well the next day.”
Their first opponent was Medomak, which Vining considered “the best” team they played. The Lady Warriors were shutout 5-0.
In their final contest, the Lady Warriors came up short against Dirigo, 2-1, despite having scoring opportunities near the end of the game.
“It was great game,” Vining said. “We just weren’t able to finish.”
One of the two Houlton teams made it to the final eight, but lost to Leavitt 4-3.
“Qualifying for the semifinals is pretty good considering that we only brought two seniors and two juniors,” Tweedie said. “I’d say that we were easily one of the youngest teams in the tournament. But their play bodes well for our future.”
Southern Aroostook was the only Class D school participating in the tournament, and Vining was pleased that her girls played as well as they did.
“Some of those teams were incredible to watch,” Vining said. “We definitely learned a great deal from the entire experience. I would love to get a team back there next year. It really helped us see areas where we need improvement, and it was also just a lot of fun and a great team building experience.”