Sports Editor
It was a relatively quiet week for girls soccer squads as only a couple of games were played, due to the annual fall harvest recess. Teams are scurrying to improve their playoff positions as the regular season is rapidly coming to a close.
The regular season comes to an end Tuesday, Oct. 20, with preliminary playoffs commencing Oct. 23-24. For girls soccer, seven of the eight local squads appear to be playoff bound, according to the most recent Maine Principals’ Association Heal Points standings. Presque Isle, Ashland, Central Aroostook and Fort Fairfield are in the postseason mix, while Washburn is not.
The Beavers have two game remaining on their schedule and will need to pick up wins in both of those contests, and get a little bit of help as well, if it hopes to get back into the playoff hunt.
In Eastern Class D, Ashland (9-2, 40.3827 points) is second; Easton (9-4-1, 33.6607) is third; Central Aroostook (4-7-1, 31.1352) is fifth; Fort Fairfield (6-2-1, 30.7015) is sixth; and Washburn (2-7-3, 19.1454) is 10th. Southern Aroostook (13-0, 83.2908) is the top seed. Only the top eight teams make the playoffs in this region.
In Eastern Class B, Presque Isle (10-0, 78.4439 points) is second. Winslow (11-0, 94.4643) is ranked first. The top nine teams qualify for the playoffs.
Presque Isle 2, John Bapst 0 — At Presque Isle Saturday, Kailee Ireland and Chelsea Nickerson each scored a first-half goal and Alyssa Huston had an assist to preserve the Wildcats unbeaten streak. Presque Isle is now a perfect 10-0 on the season. Kelsey Park had seven saves on eight shots in goal for the Wildcats, while Mandy Sawyer had nine saves on 14 shots for John Bapst (6-4).
Ashland 3, Central Aroostook 1 — At Mars Hill, on a chilly Friday evening, Ashland (9-2) continued to show why it is one of the premiere squads in Eastern Class D with its win over the Panthers (4-7-1). Kayla Cote, Brooke LaBelle and Jessica Jimmo each had an unassisted goal for the Hornets. Ashley Estabrook, who played the first half in goal for the Panthers, scored the lone CAHS goal five minutes into the second half.
Cote broke the scoring ice with a rocket shot from inside the six-yard line with 14;47 to play in the first half that beat Estabrook. LaBelle quickly followed suit as she scored two minutes later for a 2-0 lead that held until halftime. Jimmo added an insurance goal with 2:51 to play.
Ashland held a 21-6 advantage in shots and a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. Estabrook and Paige Garrison shared goalie duties for the Panthers, with Estabrook tallying five saves while Garrison had six. Baker had four saves for the Hornets.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
TRYING TO BLOCK the shot of CAHS’ Sarah Michaud, right, is Ashland goalie Taylor Baker. Michaud scored on this shot, but it was the Panthers’ only goal in the 3-1 loss to the Hornets in a match played Friday in Mars Hill.
