Cougars defeat Royals; advance in playoffs

    The No. 7 Katahdin Cougars hosted No. 10 Jonesport-Beals on Saturday in their Class D playoff game. On a blustery, cold day the Cougars heated up in the second half to score three times to shut out the Royals, advancing to a quarterfinal game at 2 p.m. today against second-seed Machias.
    The last time the Cougars and Bulldogs met on the soccer field was in 2008 in the Eastern Maine finals where Katahdin won 6-3.
    Katahdin coach Matt Lindsay said the key to Wednesday’s game is to score first.
POSSESSION – Katahdin’s Micah Rodgerson fights a Jonesport-Beals defender for the ball during last Saturday’s playoff in Stacyville. The Cougars blanked the Royals, 3-0, to advance to today’s quarterfinal game in Machias.
    “Machias is known to place a lot of their players in the 18 and defend their way to a 1-0 win,” said Lindsay. “We are hoping to utilize our passing and control skills to maneuver around their defense and score a few goals.”
    Lindsay knows since they are a top team in Class D that the Cougars have their work cut out for them.
    “They are a No. 2 team and you don’t become No. 2 without earning it,” he said. “So, we are going to have to go in play our best and hope to edge out a win.”
    In last Saturday’s game, Kolby Gallagher broke the ice for the Cougars, scoring the first of his two goals from the 18-yard line. Gallagher was in traffic, turned and booted the ball to the lower corner of the net, just out of the reach of the Royals goalie Marcus Smith.
    In just a short span of time, Gallagher struck for his second tally when he headed in a cross from Brendon Landry.
    The Cougars’ final goal was scored by Mickey Savage off a Micah Rodgerson pass from the six-yard line. Savage touched the ball to the side on a close-range shot, said Lindsay.
    Katahdin goalie Jesse McNally preserved the shutout by blocking three of five shots, while Smith finished with 15 saves on 25 shots faced for Jonesport-Beals.
CONTROL — A Jonesport-Beals player kicks his shoe off as he knocks the ball away from Katahdin’s Brendon Landry during last Saturday’s playoff in Stacyville. The Cougars blanked the Royals, 3-0, to advance to today’s quarterfinal game in Machias.