Grades 3 and 4 girls soccer
The Tornado stormed through their match up with the Blizzard to kick off the week. Emily Sjoberg got the scoring going just four minutes into the game for the Tornado when she converted off an Elise Guerrette pass.
Sjoberg later found a wide open Natalie Bates in front of the goal to put the Tornado up 2-0. Grace Player added an unassisted goal just before the half for the Tornado.
The Blizzard came out on the offensive in the second half as Brittany Warner and Emily Wheaton worked the ball up the field. The strong defensive efforts of Tornado defenders Amanda Wells and Marisa Sloan thwarted their attack. Madison Bearden knocked in another goal for the Tornado as she connected from a Bates assist. Bearden added a second goal moments later, helping Sjoberg pick up her second assist of the afternoon. Bates rounded out the attack just before the end of the game, with Taylor Billings picking up the assist.
Amy Seeley, Heather Kirk, and Yessenia Vilar played well on defense for the Blizzard.
The Galaxy got two goals in each half en route to the 4-0 victory over the Hurricane. Victoria Williamson got the scoring going as she knifed through the defense and blasted the shot home. Mia Piro notched the second Galaxy goal, using some fancy moves to get past the Hurricane defenders.
McKenzie Turner and Libbee Currie worked to get the Hurricane on the board before the half, but the Galaxy defense of Nicole Plourde and Hailey St Thomas was too strong. Williamson and Piro also tallied goals in the second half, with each goal coming unassisted.
The Hurricane and Blizzard battled to a 1-1 tie in the final game of the week. The Hurricane got on the board first as Breanna Byrd took a long clearing pass from Casey Lovely and poked the ball into the side of the net. The Blizzard defense tightened the reigns after that as Machayla Laplante stifled all other first half opportunities.
The Blizzard came out strong in the second half, keeping constant pressure on the Hurricane defenders. Ariana Peterson and McKenzie Turner did a great job clearing the ball from harm’s way. The Blizzard did finally notch a goal as Brittany Warner blasted in a pass from Yessenia Vilar. Emma Beaulieu had chances to put the Hurricane back on top, but Heather Kirk did a fantastic job on defense, as did Abigail Shaw controlling the midfield.
Grades 3 and 4 boys soccer
Griffin Guerrette found the back of the net twice to help the Drillers to the 2-0 decision against the Blast. RJ Gross set up the first goal as he found Guerrette’s foot with a perfectly placed pass. The duo of Nick Bartlett and Isaac Madore tried for the equalizer for the Blast, but Gage Young and Ryan Cochran did a fantastic job on defense for the Drillers.
The Blast kept it up to begin the second half. Jake Kinney and Denny Young made some great offensive runs, but they once again ran into the formidable defense of the Drillers. Play battled back and forth until Gavin Kelley played a long clearing ball to Guerrette, leading to Guerrette’s second goal. Drillers’ keeper Ethan Clark helped the goals stand up, turning away all shots he faced.
The Crunch and Drillers hooked up in one of the most exciting games of the year Friday afternoon. Play was back and forth at a furious pace with neither side willing to give an inch. The Drillers would work the ball into their offensive third just to be turned away by Crunch sweeper Ian Franz and keeper Micah Taubin. Each time the Crunch would get the ball down the field the defense of Gavin Kelley, Corrie Kilcollins, and Ryan Cochran would turn it back around. The teams headed into the half deadlocked at zero.
The second half followed the script of the first, with each offensive set being shut down by strong defensive play. Josiah Morse and Jordan Bonville created some wonderful scoring opportunities for the Crunch, but Drillers midfielders Gage Young and Drew Henderson would quickly turn the ball around into a counter attack.
Max Bartley and Taubin wouldn’t allow the ball to penetrate their defensive third, keeping the play at the midfield. The Drillers finally broke through the stingy Crunch defense with less than a minute to play. Alex Brewer snuck behind the defense, drawing multiple defenders to him. He then crossed the ball to a wide open Griffin Guerrette on the left side, and Guerrette put the ball just out of the Crunch keeper’s reach, giving the Drillers the 1-0 decision.
The Blast and Missiles provided another exciting finish down at Riverside Park. The Blast jumped out to the early lead thanks to the explosive speed of Jake Kinney. Kinney took the ball up the right sideline, juking and jiving defenders on his way, until was within distance to hammer the ball into the back of the goal. The Missiles almost got the equalizer minutes later with Adam Paterson and Khasen Lowe working the ball deep into the Blast defense.
Unfortunately for Missiles Nation, this is where Kinney was on the prowl. In similar fashion of his first goal, Kinney put his team up two goals heading into half time as he corralled the loose ball and went coast to coast again. The Missiles reworked their defensive strategy at the half and it worked like a charm. Thomas Patenaude and Jack Beaulieu shut down all the Blast second half opportunities created by strikers Caleb Page and Evan Leach.
The Missiles finally broke through with about seven minutes left as David Kofstad blistered a ball into the net. Wyatt Kennedy and Grant Bridges made sure the Missiles wouldn’t tie it up, and their defense helped carry the Blast to the 2-1 thriller.
Grades 5 and 6 girls soccer
The Mutiny and Crew locked up Tuesday, with the Mutiny prevailing by a final of 3-1. The two teams played a scoreless first half as play volleyed back and forth. The Crew had the best scoring opportunity in the first half, but Mutiny goalie Michelle Cawley came up huge time after time. Cawley stopped a rocket of a penalty shot off the foot of Taylor Williams, then turned away another difficult free kick from Williams from just outside the penalty area.
Ashley Trask put the Mutiny up early in the second half when she intercepted a clearing pass and creamed the ball for the goal. Kerrigan LeBlanc scored the eventual game winner minutes later, converting on a pass from Erin Ackerson. Trask later added a second goal to put the Mutiny up 3-0. Rachel Maxwell tried to get the Crew rolling with a goal of her own, but time was another opponent of the Crew.
Alison Bell scored with a minute left to lift the Rapids to the 2-1 victory over the Clash. Angela Hallowell assisted on the goal as she slid the ball across to the waiting Bell. Hallowell put the Rapids on the scoreboard midway through the first half with an unassisted goal.
Amanda Palmer put the Clash on the board as a long pass from Hilary Boucher found Palmer’s foot. Palmer used a couple quick moves to get past the defenders and beat the goalie with a well placed shot.
Grades 5 and 6 boys soccer
Goals came early and often in the Sting/Express match up. Kyle Rider got things going when he finished off a Zach Rice pass, putting the Sting up two minutes into the game. The Express got the equalizer two minutes later when Liam Daniels made a long pass ahead to a wide open Parker Lambert. Rice put the Sting back on top three minutes later when he hammered home a long free kick.
Lambert tied things back up with his second goal just minutes before the half, this time with the assist going to Keegan Ennis. Rider gave the Sting the 3-2 advantage with a goal just before the halftime horn, stealing the ball and going end to end for the goal. Rider completed the hat trick with less than two minutes left in the game when Noah Kinney’s throw in sprung him to the goal. Daniels played a strong goal in the second half for the Express, and Byron Winslow was a wall for the Sting.
The Kicks scored five unanswered goals en route to the 5-1 win over the Strikers. Nick Powers put the Strikers on top three minutes into the game when he stole a clearing pass and blasted the ball into the net.
Cooper Madore tied the game 1-1 midway through the half when he took a booming punt from keeper Cody Kennedy and beat the Strikers keeper. Madore stole a goal kick and sent the Kicks into the half with the 2-1 advantage, scoring inside the last minute of the half. Sam Gray helped Madore complete the hat trick with 11 minutes left in the game, sending a long pass ahead. Madore added his fourth when he crashed the net and popped in the pass from Devin Cray. Cray picked up another assist a minute later when his throw in found a wide open Cody Kennedy in the middle of the field.
Contributed photo/Craig Sjoberg
WASHBURN’S Morgan Berube dribbles the ball up the field against Fort Fairfield in a game played on the Beavers’ home field Thursday. Berube assisted on the winning goal in the 2-1 triumph.
