Presque Isle rec soccer teams continue busy schedule

Grades 3&4 Girls Soccer
    The Galaxy and Tornado met on a slick field Friday. Yessenia Vilar gave the Galaxy the early advantage as she scored an unassisted goal. Hailey St. Thomas evened the game for the Tornado. Galaxy keeper Amanda Wells saved her initial shot, but the rebound was blasted into the back of the net by St. Thomas. Mia Piro picked up a loose ball and worked the middle of the field to put the Galaxy back on top just before halftime.     In the second half, the field slowed action a bit. Piro was finally able to get the ball moved into the Tornado box and snuck the ball into the goal to put the Galaxy up 3-1. St. Thomas responded with her second goal, but the Tornado couldn’t do any further damage as the game ended 3-2 in favor of the Galaxy.
    The Blizzard and Hurricane also slopped around on a muddy pitch Friday morning. Natalie Bates put the Blizzard on the scoreboard when she was able to skid the ball past Hurricane keeper Kylee Mejia. Christina Plummer was a solid in goal for the Blizzard. The Hurricanes kept their offensive momentum into the second half, but couldn’t break through the stingy Blizzard defense. Blizzard defender Abby Quirino blocked a shot from Thibault and sent a long pass up to Bates. Bates used a burst of speed to blow past the Hurricane midfielders en route to the goal. Hurricane keeper Ande Kornachuk saved Bates’ first attempt, but couldn’t recover in time for shot two, which found its way to the back of the net. The Blizzard withstood a late Hurricane flurry of shots to pick up the 2-0 win.
    Savannah Rodriguez put the Tornado up early as they took on the Galaxy. She intercepted a clearing pass at midfield and beat Galaxy keeper Katrina Dakin for the score. The rest of the half played out scoreless as the Tornado took the 1-0 lead into halftime.
    The second half started with the Galaxy on the offensive, looking to get back in the game. Breanna Byrd and Hailey St. Thomas did a great job on defense for the Tornado to keep the Galaxy off the board. Jessica Shaw was able to put the Galaxy on the board thanks to an assist from Yessenia Vilar. Shaw took the pass from the left wing and poked it into the back of the goal with 10 seconds left, allowing the Galaxy to salvage the 1-1 tie.
    Emily Wheaton scored a hat trick to help lead the Hurricane past the Blizzard by a final of 4-3. Madison Bearden put the Blizzard up early, using great speed to sneak behind the defense and finish off the shot.
    Wheaton knotted the score before the half as she shot up the right side of the field before rifling a shot into the net.
    Bearden and Wheaton started the second half by once again swapping goals as the Blizzard took a short-lived lead before the game was tied at 2-2. Wheaton picked off a clearing pass deep in the Hurricane offensive third, which led to her third goal and the first Hurricane lead of the afternoon. Libby Boone made the game 4-2 in favor of the Hurricane when she intercepted a goal kick and snuck the ball inside the post. Amelia Theriault gave the Blizzard hope as she cut the deficit to 4-3, but the Blizzard couldn’t get another goal as the Hurricane held on for the win.
Grades 3-4 Boys Soccer
    The Crunch and Sounders kicked off a long soggy day of soccer Sept. 18. Griffin Guerrette didn’t let the weather get him down as he finished with a hat trick to lead the Crunch to the 3-0 victory. The Crunch defense came up big on multiple occasions with especially strong play from Patrick Lessard and Trace Cyr. Colby Wollard and Josh Baldwin also had strong games in the back for the Sounders to keep the game close.
    Jake Stevens’s goal five minutes into the game proved to be the difference as the Blast held off the Sounders 1-0 in a defensive battle. A foul just outside the penalty box set up a free kick for the Blast. Will Bridges tapped the indirect ball before Stevens lifted the ball to the back of the goal. The goal held up thanks to the defense of Torey Levesque, Max Bartley, and Lucas Garcia in front of Blast keeper Erik Smith. They were tested multiple times by the Sounders’ trio of Cole Paterson, Alex Churchill, and RJ Gross. The Sounders also got some great defense from Adam Paterson and Mark Graves.
Grades 5-6 Soccer
    The Crew and Strikers kicked off the afternoon session Friday just as the clouds opened up and unloaded on the field. Field conditions slowed down play significantly with neither team gaining an edge in the opening minutes.         The defenses did a great job keeping both teams’ high-octane offenses under control. Shaye McHatten anchored the defensive unit in front of Crew keeper Grant Stewart while Strikers defenders Marcus Ouellette and Michaela Dube diverted would be goal scorers far from goalie Byron Winslow.
    Khasen Lowe was finally able to break through to give the Crew the 1-0 lead in the second half. He slid the ball into the goal off a Michaela Dumais assist. The goal held up, giving the Crew the 1-0 win.
    The Sting/Clash contest quickly turned into the Denny Young Show. Young tallied three goals in the first half and two more in the second as the Sting knocked off the Clash, 5-0.
    Issac Devine and Madison Postell picked up assists on two of Young’s goals while the other three came unassisted. Bradley Kinney and Rachel Maxwell played well in the middle for the Clash while Hannah Chalou and Grant Bridges were fantastic on defense and in goal for the Sting.
    The Crew and Mutiny faced off in a defensive battle with both sides employing the famous ‘bend, don’t break’ mentality. Each team made offensive advances, but they were all for naught in the early going as Caleb Page and Abigail L. Shaw provided fantastic play in front of Mutiny’s Pat Cash while John Henderson and Lydia Patterson patrolled the box to aid Grant Stewart of the Crew.
    Gavin Kelley finally broke the invisible seal on the goalmouth with less than six minutes left in the game to put the Crew up 1-0. The Mutiny couldn’t clear the ball out of the penalty box after Crew striker Khasen Lowe sent in a corner kick. The ball rolled to Kelley who blistered the ball into the back of the net. This would prove to be the game-winning goal as the Crew held on for the 1-0 win.
    For a while it appeared as though the showdown between the Strikers and Sting would follow the script of the Crew/Mutiny match up. With Craig Schiff and Jake Kinney on offense for the Strikers and Denny Young and Madison Postell up front for the Sting both goalies were tested early and often. Grant Bridges of the Sting and Byron Winslow of the Strikers were up to the task as both turned in excellent performances. Kinney was able to pop in a goal with two and a half minutes left in the first half to give the Strikers the edge at intermission. Elise Guerrette settled a punt from Winslow and centered the ball to a streaking Kinney. Kinney pushed the ball left to get around the last defender before unleashing a blazing shot into the goal.
    Denny Young stayed on his torrid scoring streak minutes into the second half. A handball in the box resulted in a penalty kick, which Young buried into the upper corner of the goal. Midway through the half Winslow put the Strikers back on top. Teammate Amy Seeley worked the ball deep into Sting territory, and then found Winslow open on the right side of the box. Winslow lofted a shot just above a leaping Bridges for the 2-1 lead.
    The Sting made one last gasp. A Nick Bartlett crossing pass resulted in another handball in the box, setting up another penalty kick with 10 ticks left on the clock. Young once again stepped to the spot and coolly finished off the opportunity as the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
Grade 3-4 Basketball Registration
      Registration for the Presque Isle Recreation & Parks Department’s grades 3rd & 4th basketball program has begun. Schedules will be available on Oct. 20.    
    The program offers leagues for both boys and girls. Practices and games are held weekdays after school at the community center and begin the last week in October. The registration fee is $18.  
Birthday Parties at the Pool and Recreation Center
    The Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department is now hosting birthday parties for ages 4 and up at the Recreation Center in addition to hosting parties at the Indoor Pool.  
    The recreation center is available Friday and Saturday nights from 6-8 p.m., with one hour of organized gym games included in the rental. Activities vary with age groups, but include wiffleball, soccer, basketball, and kickball.
    For more information on rentals for the recreation center please call 764-2545 or email adampirec@maine.rr.com.  Please call the Indoor Pool at 764-2564 for information regarding rentals there.
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.
LeBlanc’s Family Karate
    The Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department now hosts LeBlanc’s Family Karate Saturday mornings.  Classes are for ages 7 and up, and classes will be run from 9-11 a.m. every Saturday. The classes are designed for beginners and intermediate students. Registration can be taken at any time at the Recreation Center. Please contact Andy at aleblanc5@roadrunner.com with any questions or concerns.
Parent/Toddler Sign Language
    The Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department will be hosting a parent/toddler signing playgroup Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The group will meet the first Saturday of each month. This group is designed to teach children basic signs as a means of communication at an earlier age.  The cost is $2 per child per session. The group is designed for children up to age 6, but all ages may come and join in the fun.
Laser Tag
    The Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department will be hosting Laser Tag on Friday, Oct. 2.
    Ages 8-12 can play from 5-7 p.m., while ages 13 and up can play from 7-9 p.m. The cost for the two hours is $10. Please email adampirec@maine.rr.com with any questions or concerns.