Falcons gain confidence as season progresses
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
PRESQUE ISLE — Since the calendar turned to October, the Northern Maine Community College soccer team has shown it is a team nobody wants to play in the Yankee Small College Conference.
The Falcons’ struggles throughout their early-season schedule were demonstrated by blowout losses to SMCC (7-1 on Sept. 11), CMCC (6-0 on Sept. 18) and the University of Maine at Machias (5-0 on Sept. 21).
However, NMCC has since found its game. In the second meetings against those same three strong opponents, which took place earlier this month, the Falcons were much more competitive. In fact, the team collected a 1-0 victory over CMCC on the road Oct. 2 for its only win of the 2011 campaign. The squad dropped a 2-1 decision to SMCC the previous afternoon and last Wednesday held the explosive offense of the UMM Clippers to a mere two goals in a shutout loss.
“They play hard for 90 minutes each game,” said Falcons coach Bill Casavant of his team. “Even the games we were beaten handily, they played hard until the end.”
Casavant credited the recent strong showings to a concentration on shutting down the opponents.
“I think the players felt if they played solid defense, they would be in the game,” he said. “They gained some confidence [in the second SMCC game] and on the way to CMCC the next morning, they were saying they could win if they had as strong an effort, and they were rewarded.”
Through its first nine matches, NMCC held a 1-8 record and the inability to create offensively has been evident as the team has been held to just five goals so far.
“We have really struggled to score this year,” Casavant said. “We have been shut out five times, so one of our biggest needs for next season is to find some players who have the ability to put the ball in the net. It is my No. 1 recruiting priority.”
Meanwhile, the Falcons have relied on goalkeeper Chad McCarthy, a Woodland native and Caribou High School graduate, in keeping many of their matches close.
“He has done a great job for us,” Casavant said. “He has kept us in games and the team has a lot of confidence in him. They now feel they have let him down if we give up a goal.”
NMCC relies on a 12-player roster. (“Everyone is in pretty good shape by now,” Casavant quipped.) The defense in front of McCarthy consists of sweeper Alex Myers of Solon (Carrabec HS) and backs Simon Tutlis of Greene (Leavitt Area HS), Dylan Morgan of Caswell (Limestone-MSSM) and Zach Wolf of Mercer (Mt. Blue).
The midfielders are Kyle Murray of Mars Hill (Central Aroostook), Ryan Blanchette of Frenchville (Wisdom), David Rugg of South Paris (Oxford Hills) and Matthew Till of Caribou (CHS), while Jacob Lassonde of Oakfield (Southern Aroostook) and Sebastian Viola of Perham (Washburn District) start at forward with Sara Kenneson of Florenceville, New Brunswick (Carleton North) see time in reserve.
NMCC were scheduled to take on UMA Oct. 11 and closes out the season at Unity College Thursday. Casavant, who took over the team last fall, said he has enjoyed being back at the college after having also coached the Falcons from 1984-95.
“The players have been receptive to me and what I want to do with the team,” he said.
He said he hopes the recent stretch of competitive games carries on as the season winds down this week.
“We want to finish the season strong, hopefully with another win or two,” Casavant said. “We want to continue to improve in the tactical part of the game and build for next year.
“We want each player to understand that without a strong work ethic, a team cannot be successful. We play in a strong conference and we must be ready to practice every day and play hard every game.”
