Sports Reporter
PRESQUE ISLE – Although he’s not considered a “dirty” player and owns a reputation as a model citizen, Presque Isle’s Nate Ackerson has still been known to drive soccer opponents to the point of tears. One of his teammates has served as a witness to such an occurance.
“Oh yeah, he’s sent kids off the field crying,” said junior back Brandon Bonville, “and it’s because he frustrates them so much.”
Throughout his varsity career, and especially during the past two seasons, Ackerson’s job was to act as the primary one-on-one defender against some of the best offensive players in Eastern Maine. It’s a role the senior relished, and one that helped him earn a plethora of post-season honors, including the “Butch” Shaw Award as the outstanding Class B player in Aroostook County and All-Aroostook, first team all-Penobscot Valley Conference and Maine Soccer Coaches All-State for the East region.
More importantly, it also was a major reason the Presque Isle Wildcats reached the Eastern Maine Class B championship game both his junior and senior seasons and accumulated a 43-5-4 record during his three years as a starter.
“You have to have a special toughness and never give up,” Ackerson said of the qualities that have made him one of the best defensive players in Eastern Maine. “There are definitely times in a game where as a defender, things might not be going great, times where you are getting banged up and hit, but you just have to move on and keep going.
“Sometimes you get in a battle with another player, but you have to keep your cool and not do something stupid, otherwise I’m out for another game,” he added, “and I wouldn’t want to do that to my team.”
Ackerson started his freshman season as strictly a junior varsity player, but was asked to practice with the varsity for a couple days during harvest recess and spent the remainder of the season swinging between the two teams. In the early part of his sophomore season, an injury forced a Wildcat defensive player into the midfield, opening a starting spot on the back line for Ackerson.
“My first game as a starter was against John Bapst and I was asked to guard one of their better players,” Ackerson recalled. “I had a really good game and coach decided from then on that is where he wanted me playing. It just kind of grew from there.”
As a junior, when the team won the Eastern Maine title, he was primarily a marking back, but personnel losses due to graduation forced Ackerson to play different roles this past season, including sweeper and stopper in addition to a marking back against certain opponents with a powerful offensive weapon.
“What has helped me a lot is just hard work,” Ackerson said of the key to his success. “Honestly, I don’t have the greatest soccer skills, like when it comes to keeping the ball on my foot, but I knew as a young player that I needed to prove myself because I was going against players who were more talented than I was.”
He has gained plenty of respect from his coach, his teammates and the opposition along the way.
Cameron Anderson, a fellow senior at Caribou High School and one of players targeted in games by Ackerson, is no exception.
“It’s so tough to go up against him,” said Anderson, whose battles with Ackerson date back to middle school and also ring true on the basketball court. “He is relentless, but he plays clean and respects his opponents. We definitely have a mutual respect for each other.”
Ackerson’s toughness was revealed this summer when he learned he had a fractured wrist, an injury he played through for the better part of two years – since the fall of his sophomore year. He underwent surgery this summer, spent 12 weeks wearing a cast and attending physical therapy, and wore a splint and wrap throughout the soccer season.
“He plays like he’s not afraid to get hurt and even though he gets banged up, he plays through it,” Anderson said.
Caribou coach Mark Shea calls Ackerson “a classic stopper.”
“He is extremely difficult to beat,” Shea said. “He is hard-nosed, has good size, wins balls in the air and distributes the ball well. He is really tough to get by because he takes up a lot of space.”
Shea said as good a player as Anderson was for the Vikings, in the matchups against the Wildcats, he was neutralized.
“In Cameron, we had a guy who scored 15-plus goals both his junior and senior years, but he didn’t even get close enough to smell the net [against Presque Isle],” Shea said. “Nate would just shut him down. Cameron is one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever coached, but he couldn’t figure out a way to go through or go around Nate.
“It was fun to watch them battle, but I wish my guy would have had a little more success,” Shea added with a laugh.
Wildcat coach Scott Young said Ackerson’s competitiveness, desire to succeed and work ethic are qualities that have set him apart from the average player.
“Nate is a fierce competitor who has never backed down from any challenge,” Young said, “and win or lose he could always be proud of his performance because he knows he never took a lazy step.”
Ackerson is now participating in preseason practices for the Wildcat basketball team, and acknowledged his wrist is feeling strong again and looks forward to the season ahead. Basketball is his No. 1 sport, having grown up with it as his mother, Debbie (Ireland), was a standout at both the high school (Southern Aroostook) and collegiate (Nyack College in New York) levels. However, he said his success on the field has put soccer “a close second.”
“Soccer used to be something I did to stay active,” Ackerson said. “I always enjoyed it, but my eighth grade year I was contemplating whether or not to even play. I decided to do it and am glad I did.”
While unable to confirm Bonville’s account of the opponent rendered to tears, he does know he has matched up against players who have been so frustrated that they “physically remove themselves from the game and tell their coach ‘I’m done. I don’t want to play against that guy anymore.’
“I try not to be a jerk, but I’m a competitive guy and I’m going to go at it as hard as I can the whole time,” Ackerson said.
Young will miss not having Ackerson around in future years, but is hopeful his selfless attitude and winning spirit will carry on to his younger teammates.
“Nate is a tremendous athlete who works as hard as anyone we’ve ever had,” Young said, “and when you combine that with natural ability and leadership, you have a special player.
“When we think about the future of the program, we are grateful this generation of athletes in our school have all had the opportunity to witness such a terrific Wildcat on and off the field.”
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
NATE ACKERSON, who just completed his senior season for the Presque Isle Wildcats, was regarded as one of the top defensive players in Eastern Maine.
Nate Ackerson
Age: 17
Grade: Senior at Presque Isle High School
Parents: Jim and Debbie
Town: Presque Isle
Favorite personal moment in sports: Winning the Eastern Maine championship in soccer last year.
Hobbies: Playing sports, being outdoors (camping, canoeing)
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite movies: Blackhawk Down, Saving Private Ryan, and Band of Brothers
Favorite book: “Lone Survivor” by Marcus Luttrell
Person you would most like to meet (alive or dead): Franklin D. Roosevelt
Three people you would like to have dinner with: My two late grandfathers (Ernest Ireland and Earl Ackerson) and Gen. Robert E. Lee
Vehicle you wish you were driving: 2010 Ford F-150
Most influential person(s) in your life: My parents
Future plans: To attend the University of Maine at Orono, and major in secondary education with concentration in history. Join National Guard ROTC program and become a helicopter pilot.
