PI boys get offense going, win 3 in a row
After struggling to score in their first two games, the Presque Isle Wildcat boys found their offense last week and it resulted in three consecutive victories.
Presque Isle won three times in a four-day stretch, topping Caribou, Fort Kent and Mount Desert Island by a margin of 9-1. The Wildcats improved to 3-2 entering last night’s home match against Fort Kent.
The Wildcats bested the Vikings at home last Wednesday, 5-0, as Ryle Mortland scored twice and Kyler Caron, Randon Mortland and Griffin Guerrette posted a goal apiece. Caron, Josiah Morse, Randon Mortland and Adam Paterson each picked up assists for PI. Pat Cash made four saves on six shots for the shutout.
The next evening in a makeup game played at Fort Kent, PI battled back from a 1-0 deficit at intermission to down the Warriors, 3-1. Josiah Morse and Kyler Caron scored goals within a 1:19 span early in the second half to give Presque Isle the advantage. Jonah Hudson assisted on Morse’s goal. Ryle Mortland tallied with 18:56 left, off a Marcus Ouellette assist, to round out the scoring.
On Saturday, Nick Bartlett converted a Morse corner kick with 14:42 to play in the first half for the only goal in a 1-0 home victory over MDI.
Presque Isle, now up to sixth place in Class B North, hosts Hermon Saturday at 3 p.m.
In other local soccer action, the Easton girls have entered harvest break on a winning streak. The Bears, following an 0-4 start, have gone 4-2-1 over the last seven matches. They are now up to fifth place in the Class D standings and second-year coach Audra Fitzherbert said it’s been about the girls adjusting to their roles on the field.
“We had a few girls in entirely new positions and that was problematic for us at first,” Fitzherbert said. “Once those girls got a feel for those positions, we started seeing some success. Plus we had Ashland and Madawaska (the top teams in Class D) for two games each and once those games were out of the way we really got a chance to hone in and focus on our team goals and game goals.”
Now the Bears have started a stretch where they don’t play a regular season game for 22 days and Fitzherbert said the challenge will be staying sharp.
“We will be holding practices during harvest and getting some competitive play in as well,” she said. “Worry has crossed my mind, but if we can keep up physically and keep our eyes on the prize, I think we will be fine.”
Ashland is now 7-0 following last Tuesday’s 12-0 blanking of Fort Fairfield. The Hornets are followed closely by Central Aroostook, which stands at 7-2 following its home win over LCS/MSSM Thursday. Madawaska is currently in first place, followed by the Hornets and the Panthers. At 3-7-1, Washburn is in eighth place in the division.
In the Class D boys ranks, Fort Fairfield remains atop the standings at 8-0 after the Tigers bested Ashland at home last Tuesday. The Hornets (3-2-2) are in second, while Easton (7-3-1 and beginning its three-week harvest break) is fourth and Washburn (2-7-2) sixth. The Beavers are at Ashland Thursday and then don’t play a countable game until three weeks later on Oct. 13.