Heal Points soon to be finalized
By Joseph Cyr
The fall soccer season has been filled with many wonderful matchups, which should bode well for the upcoming playoffs. The final standings will not be revealed until after Tuesday’s games have been completed, but based on the current rankings it appears that Aroostook County will be well represented in the postseason.
In Eastern Class B, Presque Isle (11-1-1, 113.3929 points) is ranked third, while Caribou (3-7-3, 38.4566) is 11th. Ellsworth (14-0, 140.8163) is the top seed. If the standings hold, Presque Isle would host No. 6 Mount View of Thorndike (7-5-2, 70.9821) in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday, Oct. 27. The two did not meet during the regular season, but met in last year’s semifinal round, a game the Wildcats won 3-2 in overtime.
In Eastern Class D, Central Aroostook (9-4-1, 54.9532 points) is fifth, while Washburn (9-4-1, 42.1981 is eighth. Both squads appear to be playoff bound as the top 10 teams qualify for the postseason. If the standings hold, Central Aroostook would travel to No. 4 Machias (10-3, 79.4643) for a quarterfinal game, Wednesday, Oct. 27. The two do not play each other during the regular season, but have met in the playoffs in each of the last two years. No. 8 Washburn would host No. 9 Schenck (1-11-2, 17.7296) in a preliminary playoff Saturday, Oct. 23.
On the playoff bubble is Fort Fairfield (5-8-1, 16.0502), currently 11th; while Easton (4-8-1, 10.8886) is 13th; and Ashland (1-12-1, 4.7832) is 17th.
In Eastern Class B, Caribou (11-2-1, 142.9209) is the top-ranked team, while Presque Isle (10-3-1, 121.1097) is second. Caribou beat Presque Isle 3-1 Monday to secure the top seed. Presque Isle could fall to the No. 3 seed if Camden Hills (11-2, 109.6429 and currently third) beat No. 10 Medomak Valley (8-4-1, 67.2321) Tuesday afternoon.
If Presque Isle stays as the No. 2 seed, it would host the No. 7 seed (currently John Bapst, 7-4-2, 76.9133) on Tuesday, Oct. 26 in the quarterfinals. If the Wildcats fall to No. 3, they would host the No. 6 seed (currently Gardiner, 9-3-1, 89.5536) in the quarterfinals. Presque Isle beat John Bapst 1-0 and 4-0 in the regular season and did not play Gardiner.
In Eastern Class D, Ashland (9-2-1, 98.0952) is the top-ranked team, while Washburn (8-4-2, 71.5901) is fourth; Fort Fairfield (7-5-2, 45.6356) is sixth; and Easton (8-5, 28.8404) is eighth. All four are playoff bound. If the standings hold, the quarterfinal round (slated for Tuesday, Oct. 26) would see No. 1 Ashland hosting No. 8 Easton; No. 4 Washburn hosting No. 5 Deer Isle-Stonington (9-1-4, 53.1888) and No. 6 Fort Fairfield at No. 3 Van Buren (9-4-1, 82.1769). Ashland beat Easton 3-1 in its only meeting.
However, Easton may still drop out of the playoff mix as the No. 9 seed Schenck of Millinocket had one more game to play Tuesday afternoon. If Schenck beats Sumner in its final contest, the Wolverines may leapfrog ahead of Easton for the eighth and final playoff spot.
CA is 10th and out of contention.
