The Caribou girls’ varsity soccer team had an up-and-down season, but the playoffs have certainly started on a positive note.
The Vikings crushed the Winslow Black Raiders Saturday, 7-1, in a prelim matchup played in Caribou between the eighth and ninth seeds in Eastern Maine Class B.
After Winslow got on the scoreboard 59 seconds into the match on a Kamryn Michaud goal following a corner kick, Caribou settled down and finally broke through with 26:21 to play in the first half when freshman Searra Herbert scored off an assist from Bria Judd, her first of three helpers on the afternoon.
One minute later, the Vikings went out in front on a Maddie Doucette goal, assisted by Judd. That closed out the first-half scoring.
Caribou took a two-goal lead 44 seconds into the second half as senior Sarah Doak converted off a cross by Doucette. Approximately five minutes later, Doucette scored an unassisted goal off a corner kick.
Doak notched a penalty kick, the Judd-to-Herbert combination struck again for another goal and Molly Adams netted an unassisted goal to cap the scoring.
“We didn’t start off like we talked about, but we picked it up,” said Viking coach Todd Albert. “We did a good job passing the ball and creating scoring chances. I thought our girls played hard and kept the effort level up the whole game.”
Albert complimented sweeper back Eileen Patton on a strong overall game and added that the entire defense performed well in the Vikes’ final home game of the year.
Caribou improved to 9-5-1 overall and Winslow finished with a 6-9 mark.
Next up for the Vikings is a quarterfinal contest against the No. 1-ranked Waterville Panthers, who did not allow a single goal in their 14 regular season matches. The game will be played this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in Waterville.
The Limestone-MSSM boys saw their season come to an end Saturday with a 1-0 loss to Fort Fairfield in an EM Class D preliminary playoff match.
The only goal of the game came in the final minutes of the first half when senior Johnny Theriault scored unassisted.
“He attacked the left flank and was able to beat the outside back to the endline,” said Tiger coach John Ala in describing the winning play. “Then he attacked the goal and slid the ball inside the front post and past their keeper.”
Eagle coach Jon Hamilton said Theriault is a difficult matchup for his team, which lost twice during the regular season to Fort Fairfield.
“He is a big key to their success against us and we had a hard time shutting him down,” Hamilton said.
Limestone-MSSM lost some offensive firepower during the first half when starting wing Ahmed Beshir went down with an injury. Still, the Eagles registered some good chances, but Tiger goalkeeper Dalton Cassidy made numerous excellent saves, including two on a breakaway with less than two minutes left in regulation.
“We contended for every 50-50 ball and kept a high level of intensity at all times,” Ala said. “Our crowd was great, as was theirs, which made for a very exciting atmosphere to play in.”
Hamilton was proud of his team, which had overcome an 0-6 start to finish the regular season with a 7-7 record and gain the No. 10 seed in the playoffs.
“They have bonded with each other like no other team I have ever coached,” he said. “Everyone got comfortable with their positions and realized what their job was.”
Ala praised the Eagles for their great season.
“We knew they were on a hot streak and would be a difficult matchup,” Ala said, “and they played an excellent game.”
The Tigers took on No. 2 Penobscot Valley High School of Howland in the quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon.
The Fort Fairfield girls were also winners, stopping Bangor Christian at home Saturday, 3-1. The goals were scored by Chelsey Pelkey, Taylor Churchill and Autumn Parady, with Jasmine Brown netting the Patriots’ lone goal.
The Tigers outshot BC, 16-3, with Megan Jellison saving two shots for Fort Fairfield and Ashleigh Collins turning away 10 for the Patriots.
Fort Fairfield will next take on the Washburn girls, who were 11-1 winners over Hodgdon in Friday’s prelim game played in the rain at Washburn. Mackenzie Worcester scored six goals and assisted on a pair of others, while Joan Overman had three goals and Mikayla Churchill and Macey Barker one each. Churchill also had three assists, while Overman and Brooklyn Plummer added one each.
Grace Braley saved four of seven shots in goal for the Beavers, with Rachel Harmon spoiling the shutout with the Hawks’ only goal. Jessica Drew, Hodgdon’s goalkeeper, faced 21 shots and saved nine.
The No. 5 Tigers and No. 4 Beavers will meet this afternoon in Washburn in the quarterfinals, with the winner taking on either No. 1 Ashland or No. 8 Central Aroostook in Friday’s semifinal round. FF coach Tom Towle and Washburn coach Marcie Barbarula both realize today’s match will be a tough battle. Washburn prevailed in the two regular season games, winning at home 3-1 and on the road, 2-1.
“They are very well coached and have several exceptional athletes back from last year’s state championship team,” Towle said. “I expect a very well played game that may ultimately come down to which team scores the final goal.”
“It will be a great matchup,” predicts Barbarula. “The girls know they have to come out and match up with their scoring threats [Churchill and Pelkey] and we are going to have to beat them to every 50-50 ball and be aggressive.”
The Washburn boys also made it into the quarters following an 8-0 blanking of Jonesport-Beals Friday.
Noah Caron had three goals and an assist to lead the winning attack. The No. 6 Beavers also received two goals and two assists from Cameron Bragg and a pair of goals from Andrew Gumprecht. Alex Pelletier had the team’s other goal and also had three assists, while Noah Farley and McCall Turner each contributed an assist.
Due to unplayable field conditions, the game was suspended by the officials with approximately 18 minutes remaining in the second half.
The Beavers played at third-ranked Ashland in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. The Hornets won 2-1 in their Sept. 18 meeting at Washburn, while the two teams played to a 1-1 tie in Ashland Sept. 8. Ashland owns a 6-1-1 record this season on its home field.
