Warriors, Hornets evenly matched

By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer
    The Southern Aroostook Warriors are playing against a familiar rival in the Class D quarterfinals. The No. 6 Warriors will play No. 3 Ashland at the Johnson Athletic Complex in Presque Isle today at 6 p.m.
    The Warriors and Hornets each won on the other team’s home field — Warriors 3-1 on the road and Hornets 2-1 in Dyer Brook — in their two meetings on the season.
    Southern Aroostook coach Cliff Urquhart knows Ashland will be hard to overcome.
    “They have a long history of playing competitive soccer in the postseason,” he explained. “I would rate them as having one of the better Class D programs in the state.”
KICKS – Sophomore Vance Gustin gets ready to kick the ball for Southern Aroostook in an earlier season game. The Warriors will play Ashland tonight at 6 p.m. in Presque Isle for a right to advance in the postseason.
    The Warriors completed the season with an 11-3 record, with their losses coming against Class C Madawaska (2-0), Central Aroostook (4-3) and Ashland (2-1).
    “I think we had a pretty successful regular season,” said Urquhart. “We were pretty consistent on offense all year long and we were only shutout of one game.”
    The Hornets, on the other hand, came on strong, winning their last six games, including overtaking the Warriors, Central Aroostook and Wisdom.
    “We match up with them very well,” said coach Kevin Paradis. “(Coach) Cliff (Urquhart) has done a very good job with his boys. They have a dangerous offense and we will have to contain (Dakota) Sleeper, (Patrick) Goodall and (Anthony) Diaferio.”
    Today’s quarterfinal game will pit two very aggressive teams against one another in 80 minutes of hard-nosed soccer.
    “We need to execute on the offensive end,” said Urquhart about his Warriors. “In our loss to Ashland on the regular season, we outshot them 24-12, but they put two [balls] in the back of the net, while we managed one. That’s the thing about soccer, you can outshoot a team, but still lose.”
    Over the last several years, Urquhart has stressed the seedings don’t matter in the playoffs.
    “This year is no different,” he said. “Unless some major upsets occur, we are going to be the lower seed throughout the playoffs if we can advance. I think we will play more relaxed knowing that we are the team that’s not supposed to win on paper.”