Grades 3 and 4 girls soccer
The Galaxy withstood a last second flurry from the Blizzard to hang on for the 3-2 victory. Neither team could get an offensive flow going early as possession was continuously flowing from side to side.
Mia Piro finally broke through to put the Galaxy on top when she picked up a loose ball and sent a blistering shot into the back of the net. Brittany Warner almost got the equalizer for the Blizzard, but Galaxy keeper Victoria Williamson made miraculous save after save. The Galaxy took the 1-0 advantage into the break, along with hopes of building onto their lead.
The lead was pushed to 2-0 when Piro once again intercepted a long pass and finished it off for her second tally of the game. The Blizzard, jumpstarted by the defensive play of Machayla Laplante and Yessenia Vilar, cut the deficit in half when a long kick from Vilar found the foot of a wide open Amy Seeley. Seeley used a burst of speed and some quick moves to elude the Galaxy defense and poke the ball just out of the reach of Galaxy net minder Skyler McAtee. Piro completed her hat trick moments later, converting off a great throw in from teammate Williamson.
Kimberly Cook and Williamson worked to add to the Galaxy lead, but defenders Warner and Hailey St Thomas did a fantastic job of clearing the ball away from danger. One of St Thomas’s clearing balls found Seeley again, springing her for her second tally of the contest. With new life rejuvenating them, the Blizzard picked up the offensive intensity. Luckily the Galaxy had the defensive efforts of goalie McAtee and marking back Kailey McKenney to turn away the advances and preserve the win.
Madison Bearden took the kickoff the length of the field to stake the Tornado to the early 1-0 lead over the Hurricane. The Hurricane defense regrouped and tightened up, thanks to some great goaltending from Sarah Morneault. The flow of the game was fast and furious after that with each team countering the other’s attack. Abigail Shaw and Libbee Currie worked the ball down the field for the Hurricane, but they couldn’t quite sneak the ball past the strong defense of Marisa Sloan and Amanda Wells.
Grace Player put the Tornado up 2-0 with about five minutes left in the half when she finished off a pass from Bearden. The second half was almost a mirror image of the first, as the Tornado scored within the first couple minutes. Natalie Bates and Elise Guerrette led the charge down in front of the Hurricane goal. Hurricane goalkeeper Casey Lovely made many spectacular saves, but the Tornados kept the ball in the penalty area. Bates gathered a clearing kick and slipped a pass to Guerrette, who crushed a shot just out of Lovely’s reach.
The Hurricane once again worked the ball into Tornado territory, as Ariana Peterson and McKenzie Turner displayed some terrific teamwork to elude the Tornado defense. Taylor Billings was finally able to clear the ball from danger with a beautiful pass up to teammate Emily Sjoberg. Sjoberg took a couple touches, then exploded towards the Hurricane goal to put the Tornado up by four. Player added another goal in similar fashion a couple minutes later to round out the attack with the assist going to Elise Guerrette.
The Blizzard stormed back to exact some revenge against the Galaxy on Friday afternoon. Amy Seeley put the Blizzard on top when she finished off an assist from Emily Wheaton. Wheaton added a goal of her own to put the Blizzard up 2-0 at intermission. Brittany Warner made the lead 3-0 when she used her breakaway speed to sneak behind the Galaxy defense. Warner picked up an assist minutes later, finding a wide open Heather Kirk in front of the net. Mia Piro got one back for the Galaxy, stealing a goal kick and peppering it into the back of the net.
Piro made the game 4-2 later in the half, using an explosive burst to get past the last defenders. Warner added an insurance goal for the Blizzard, taking a long pass from Wheaton and blasting it into the goal. Seeley tallied her second of the game off a Warner assist to make the final 6-2 in the Blizzard’s favor.
The Tornado/Hurricane rematch closely followed the script of the week’s earlier meeting. Madison Bearden once again scored in the opening minutes to give the Tornado the early advantage, although this time the assist went to Grace Player.
As earlier in the week, Hurricane keeper Sarah Morneault recovered and kept her team close with several huge saves. Player popped in a shot off a Natalie Bates pass to make it 2-0 just before the half. Emma Beaulieu and Abigail L. Shaw pushed to get the Hurricane on the board, but they were turned away by some fantastic defense by Marisa Sloan and Amanda Wells. Player notched her second goal of the afternoon on a counter attack, taking a pass from Emily Sjoberg and slipping the ball past Hurricane goalie Casey Lovely.
Sjoberg set up Bearden’s second goal minutes later in similar fashion, sending a long pass up and catching the defense off guard. Player completed the hat trick with three minutes left on the clock when she hammered in a Bearden pass.
Grades 3 and 4 boys soccer
Nick Bartlett’s never-give-up attitude put the Blast on the board first in their match up with the Crunch. Bartlett gathered the loose ball after Crunch net minder Alex Jordan made a spectacular save and smoked it into the back of the net. Jake Kinney put the Blast up 2-0 minutes later as he flashed up the right sideline, then knifed through the Crunch D with some Pele-like moves.
The Crunch front line of Alex Tilley and Jordan Bonville worked the ball into the Blast territory, looking to break into the scoring column. Isaac Madore and Tyler Levesque’s tenacious defensive effort couldn’t be solved though, and the Crunch runs were all for naught. The ensuing run for the Blast found the ball deeply entrenched in the Crunch’s defensive third. Bartlett muscled his way through with the ball and let go a blast that ripped the back of the net just as the first half horn was going off, putting the Blast up 3-0 heading into the second half.
The second half consisted of 20 minutes of good, old fashioned grind-it-out soccer with neither team being able to create much offensively. The teams played even for the second half with both teams getting a great defensive effort in the second half. The Blast defense in the second half was spearheaded by Wyatt Kennedy, Denny Young, and Evan Leach, while the Crunch got fine play from Ian Franz, Jonathan Henderson, and Micah Taubin. The game ended with the Blast taking the 3-0 decision.
Gavin Kelley gathered up a loose ball on the left sideline, then cut the ball into the middle of the field before unleashing a powerful shot to put the Drillers ahead of the Missiles in the final game Friday afternoon. Khasen Lowe and Adam Paterson tried to counter for the Missiles, but the defensive trio of Ryan Cochran, Drew Henderson, and RJ Gross stifled all offensive Missiles’ chances.
Griffin Guerrette made it a two-goal cushion after Alex Brewer slotted a perfect pass to him through the middle. Guerrette loaded up and unleashed a booming shot into the goal, making the score 2-0 at intermission. Play stayed in the midfield early in the second half with Missiles midfielders Josh Baldwin, Marcus Ouellette, and Thomas Patenaude dictating play for their team. The Drillers were up to the task with the threesome of Grant Stewart, Ethan Clark, and Gage Young.
The Drillers’ pressure led to their third goal of the afternoon. Young sprinted down the sideline towards a loose ball, then pestered the defender into a miss kick. He slid the ball to Clark, and Clark tucked the ball just inside the far post for his first goal of the season. The game ended 3-0 in the Drillers’ favor.
Grades 5 and 6 girls soccer
Opposing players were hardly the only deterrents for the Crew and Rapids as they tangled Tuesday afternoon. Players had a common foe: Mother Nature. The wind and rain couldn’t put a damper on this match up as the two teams dug in for the battle. The Crew tested the Rapids defense early in the match, as strikers Cassidy Soucier and Mackenzie Pelkey wreaked havoc in the Crew’s offensive third. Rapids keeper Jessica Cameron made some fantastic saves and got some help from defenders Regan Nelson and Olivia Goulet. Amy Trask and Angela Hallowell tried to mount a counterattack for the Rapids, but they were quickly turned around by the impenetrable backline trio of Tori Harvath, Miranda Flannery, and Rachel Maxwell.
Neither team could break through in the first half and the two sides headed into intermission scoreless. The Crew were finally able to find a chink in the Rapids’ defensive armor a few minutes into the second half. Alyssa Sweeney took the ball up the field and deep into the right corner. She played a beautiful crossing pass across the middle right onto the waiting foot of teammate Renee Browning. Browning neatly tucked the shot just inside the post to put the Crew up 1-0.
The Rapids picked up the offensive intensity after this, using the skill and passing from midfielders Kalie Ward and Michaela Dube to work the ball up the field. They weren’t able to get the equalizer, and the game finished up 1-0 in the Crew’s advantage. Kassidy Voisine and Taylor Williams combined for the shutout in goal for the Crew.
The Clash and Mutiny met up in tsunami like conditions for the final game of the afternoon Tuesday. Wet was the name of the game in the first half, as neither team could create much on the muddy field. The two teams headed into intermission knotted at 0-0, wet, and covered in mud, the way soccer players should be.
The second half was a different story though. The rains stopped and the pace of play increased. Ashley Trask finally broke through and put the Mutiny on the scoreboard. Morgan Wilcox and Amanda Palmer worked for the equalizer for the Clash, but the defensive efforts of Mandy Graham and Katelyn Ford were too much for the Clash offense to handle. Trask used some fancy foot skills to blow past the Clash defense and power a shot into the net, giving the Mutiny the 2-0 victory. Neither team could create any more opportunities and the Mutiny took the game by a score of 2-0.
The Clash and Crew met up in a defensive showdown Thursday afternoon. Clash defenders Alisa Brewer, Jessica Baldwin, and Shantel Seeley thwarted all early advancements from the Crew front line of Mackenzie Pelkey and Cassidy Soucier. Crew keeper Cameo Madore was helped by the defensive line of Tori Harvath, Miranda Flannery, and Rachel Maxwell to contain crafty strikers Hilary Boucher and Amanda Palmer.
The Crew were finally able to break through midway through the first half when Flannery poked the ball through a crowded goal mouth into the net. The second half was another war between the trenches with the ball being in the middle third of the field a majority of the time. The Crew once again broke through a few minutes into the half. Soucier shot the ball through traffic onto the waiting boot of a wide open Madore, and Madore blistered the ball into the side of the goal to give the Crew the two goal advantage.
Kassidy Voisine and Taylor Williams combined to keep the Clash scoreless in the second have as the Crew hang on for the 2-0 win.
Grades 5 and 6 boys soccer
Goals came in a flurry in the second half of action between the Sting and Kicks on a sunny Thursday afternoon. However, this doesn’t mean the first half didn’t provide some must see soccer. The Sting nearly broke through multiple times as the dynamic duo of Zach Rice and Noah Kinney kept constant pressure on the Kicks defense. Luckily keeper Austin Thibeau and marking backs Cole Staples and Cody Kennedy were up to the task. Thibeau’s booming punt sprung forward Cooper Madore in a one on one situation with Sting keeper Byron Winslow. Winslow did a great job cutting off Madore’s angle, and Madore’s shot sailed just wide of the net.
Madore struck his revenge on the ensuing goal kick though, blasting a one touch shot through Winslow’s grips. Madore added a second goal on a penalty kick, giving the Kicks the 2-0 lead at intermission.
Half two started the way half one ended, with Madore once again putting his team on the scoreboard. This one came off a beautiful assist from Devin Cray. The Sting were down but not out. They showed great resiliency, and this “stick-to-itiveness” paid off. Nick Shields picked up a loose ball about 20 yards out, dribbled down towards the corner, and sent a hard driven ball across the middle. The ball found the waiting foot of Eddie Kilcollins, and Kilcollins hammered the ball into the goal.
Minutes later the Sting were back at it. Kyle Rider picked up a loose ball in front of the net and beat the keep top shelf to cut the deficit to 3-2. A foul 16 yards out resulted in a direct free kick for the Kicks. Madore tacked on another goal, lofting a beautiful shot into the top corner of the goal. Cray’s throw in down by the goal found an open Madore, and he finished off his day with his fifth goal of the afternoon. The Sting tried to mount a late rally, but the Kicks withstood the onslaught, hanging on for the 5-2 win.
The second game Thursday was quite the rollercoaster ride for fans and players alike, as the Express and Strikers met up in a game which should be aired on ESPN Classic. Both goalies were tested early and often, and both kept coming up with incredible saves. John Freeman of the Express and the Strikers’ David Cyr kept the game close throughout the contest with their cat-like speed and reflexes.
The Express finally broke through when Brian Fournier nailed in a pass from Parker Lambert moments before the half. The Strikers increased their offensive pressure coming out in the second half, and it paid off almost immediately. Michael Mahon gathered a loose ball in front of the net and sent a scorching shot into the back of the net to make the score 1-1.
The game kept with a fast and furious back and forth pace the rest of the way, setting the scene for the Hollywood ending. The Strikers were awarded a corner kick with less than 20 seconds to play. Noah Rossignol set up for the corner kick, knowing it would be his team’s last effort for the win. The ball came lofted across the goal mouth and into the back of the net a fraction of a second before the horn sounded, giving the Strikers the thrilling 2-1 win.
Team Pictures
If your child has had their team picture taken and you would like an electronic copy, please email adampirec@maine.rr.com with your child’s name, sport, and team name.
Contributed photo/Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department
SARAH PORTER, right, a member of the Presque Isle girls varsity soccer team, gives instruction to Sam Beaulieu, left, and Andrew Hewitt during a recent soccer session for the grades 1-2 recreation program. The entire Wildcat team assisted the afternoon program.
Contributed photo/Dave Allen Graphics
BRADLEY CYR of Presque Isle receives encouragement from Special Olympics volunteer Katie Moody, a member of the UMPI women’s soccer team, during a soccer program held Friday.
