Ashland boys’ inexperience
showing this season
By Kevin Sjoberg
ASHLAND – Facing the highest turnover to his roster in the eight seasons as coach, Kevin Paradis’ Hornet boys soccer team is in the midst of a transition year.
Results from their 11 games played so far are an indication that the changes have yet to translate into success, but Paradis is still hopeful the team can finish strong.
Ashland is now 0-10-1 after Monday’s 11-1 home loss to Central Aroostook. The Hornets have been outscored by a 74-14 margin.
“I thought we’d have a win or two by now,” Paradis said. “We’re all a bit disappointed, but I have the highest respect for these players for sticking it out.
“We are simply inexperienced.”
The Hornets lost six players to graduation, including last year’s Butch Shaw Award winner Casey Cobb, along with Andrew Libby, Taylor Condon, Kyle Spooner, Lucas Hafford and Brandon Labbe. A couple other veterans opted not to return. The result is “a lot of lost experience,” according to Paradis.
Ashland’s roster includes three seniors who were members of the 2007 Eastern Maine championship team. One is Kenny Tarr, who started the season as striker but has since been moved to a center midfield position to “give him much more breathing room to create for himself and others,” Paradis said.
“He has some of the best one-on-one moves out of all the players I’ve ever coached,” said the coach. “He’s the leader of our offense.”
Another senior who has served as a mainstay on defense is Keith Holmes. “He is by far our most experienced player in the backfield,” Paradis said. “He is very strong and always plays with a lot of intensity, which I like. The younger players surrounding him seem to play off his energy.
“He does a good job directing the whole defense to adjust while plays unfold.”
Holmes’ versatility has been on display as he, along with freshman Tyler Chasse, recently saw time as the starting goalkeeper while regular starter J.J. D’Ozier was recuperating from an ankle injury.
Myles Bolstridge just began playing a few weeks ago and is another senior who should help bolster the team’s back line, according to Paradis.
Royce MacDonald and Brandon Carney are the lone juniors on the squad. MacDonald is the fastest player on the Hornet roster and also possesses a hard shot. Carney is new to the team, but has good bloodlines as his older brother Ryan was a senior captain on the 2007 team that won an Eastern Maine title. “I’m still learning how to match his abilities to our needs, but he seems very versatile,” Paradis said.
Every other player on the team is either a sophomore or a freshman, which bodes well for the future of the Hornets. D’Ozier, Alex Chasse, Brett Stratton, Tyler Levesque, Alex O’Clair and Zack Porter make up the sophomore group, while the freshmen are Tyler Chasse, Nick Belanger, Isaac Cyr and Adam Sessoms.
Levesque scored Ashland’s goal in its tie with Van Buren Sept. 7. He started the season as a defender, but recently joined Tarr in moving to a midfield slot and “he is quickly learning his new responsibilities and will be a force in the future.”
Paradis has plans to do some more tinkering of the lineup in order to make the team as competitive as possible, and hopes his team will be able to pull off a few upsets the rest of the way.
Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg
KEITH HOLMES of the Ashland Hornets shields off Washburn’s Mitchell Worcester during a game played recently.