Girls playing best soccer
By Joseph Cyr
ASHLAND — With just three games left on the season, the Ashland girls soccer team is looking every bit like a championship-caliber team. The Hornets (7-2) have outscored opponents 38-9 through the first nine games and have already overcome one major hurdle this fall, beating two-time defending Class D state champs Southern Aroostook — twice.
Ashland beat Southern Aroostook 3-1 Sept. 15 and repeated that performance Sept. 22 in Presque Isle. Ashland is the only team to beat Southern Aroostook (9-2) this season.
“I think the last two years, our kids never believed they could beat them [Southern Aroostook],” Belskis said. “It took a really strong effort from every player.”
In the first meeting with SACS, the Hornets overcame a 1-0 deficit to score three unanswered goals for the victory.
One strike against Ashland, however, is its schedule. The Hornets play just a 12-game season this year after Katahdin failed to field a girls soccer team. The coach said this season’s squad differs from previous teams in that the Hornets have a much younger roster than year’s past. The Hornets have six freshmen and five sophomores on the roster and typically start four or five freshmen depending on the opponent, Belskis said.
Members of the Hornet squad include seniors Rylee Graham, Whitney Donovan and Kylee Lothrop; juniors Brooke LaBelle, Anna Paradis, Sam Casey and Chelsea Hammond; sophomores Shea Craig, Kayla Cote, Tayra Saucier, Kelsey Paradis and Danielle Higgins; and freshmen Macie Bellanceau, Vanessa Higgins, Rachel Gillis, Ally Beaulier, Gabriel Cyr and Kali Pelletier.
The managers are Fallyn Tardie, Christina Santiago and Jessica Johnson.
“Brooke LaBelle has really taken the team on her back with her leadership,” the coach added. “She is showing the way, and the freshmen are starting to follow.”
Donovan has excelled as the team’s stopper and defensive stalwart, while Anna Paradis and Graham have added key veteran leadership this year.
“As they go, the team goes,” Belskis said. “The freshmen and sophomores are starting to play better and better. I try to gauge it so that the kids don’t peak too soon. I’m always tweaking the lineup trying to find the right combination of players. Right now, I think we’re pretty close.”
