By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
CARIBOU – Monday night’s matchup at Caribou High School featured a Viking team that hadn’t yet lost at home this season and a Presque Isle Wildcat team which came into the game undefeated on the road.
Contributed photo/jMavor Photography
Olivia Sleeper of the Vikings boots the ball before Presque Isle’s Karlee Bernier can get there during Monday’s contest at CHS. Caribou downed the Wildcats, 3-1.
Something had to give, and it was the home team prevailing in front of a large enthusiastic crowd on a very chilly evening. Caribou managed to sweep the season series against Presque Isle with the 3-1 victory, ensuring the Vikes the No. 1 seed in Eastern Maine Class B and home field advantage throughout the upcoming playoffs.
The Wildcats, on the other hand, are currently in second place and could drop to third pending the outcoming of yesterday afternoon’s Camden Hills-Medomak Valley match. The Windjammers went into the game in third place, 11.5 points behind PI.
The rivalry game began with some excitement just following kickoff as PI sophomore Chandler Guerrette made her way down the left sideline and delivered a perfect cross that led to an initial shot that was blocked and then a 20-yard blast by classmate Karlee Bernier that went just over the crossbar.
Less than 10 minutes later, Wildcat senior Shae Adler ripped a shot that was deflected by Caribou goalkeeper Morgan Swan and off the crossbar before the Vikings eventually cleared the ball away.
The two teams battled with some more offensive flurries, but neither scored until Jenna Selander’s left-footed rocket off an Olivia Sleeper assist got past Presque Isle goalie Meredith Stewart and gave Caribou a 1-0 lead.
“I thought our intensity was great and our luck not so great,” said Presque Isle coach Ralph Michaud. “If [Adler’s shot] goes in, that would have been a great momentum swing. Instead, Caribou gets that first goal.”
The Vikes added to the lead 55 seconds into the second half as Sleeper connected on a hard shot off a pass from Hannah Hebert that Stewart was able to get her hand on before she helplessly watched it trickle past the goal line.
Presque Isle got right back into the game when Kayla Richards, drilled a shot past Swan off a Chelsea Nickerson assist with 26:07 remaining.
The Wildcats kept the pressure on, and ended up with a decisive 18-9 advantage in shots on goal, but were unable to get another past Swan, who was effective throughout with her aggressive play and long, well-placed punts. PI had four corner kicks in a two-minute stretch late in the match, but Swan and the defense kept the ball out of the net.
“She’s athletic and has bailed us out when we’ve made mistakes,” said Caribou coach Todd Albert. “She’s not afraid to mix it up and dive for balls. She’s done great and we just have to keep doing a good job in front of her.”
“There are no words to describe the intensity [of this rivalry], but the rest of the team stayed calm and collected and it makes it much easier for me when that is the case,” Swan said.
Caribou clinched the victory when Selander was able to get loose with 5:21 to play and find the back of the net, again with her left foot. Ginger Kieffer earned the assist on the play.
Richards’ header off the post less than a minute later was Presque Isle’s best chance to score the rest of the way.
The win proved to be a huge bounceback game for Caribou, which lost for just the second time this season four nights earlier in Fort Kent. The Vikes did not want to go into the playoffs on a losing streak, according to Hebert, the team’s starting sweeper back.
“We knew that if we worked hard and played like we were in the beginning of the season, that we’d come out with the win,” she said. “Tonight, we possessed the ball really well and our coach always tells us that in order to score, we have to possess it – that’s what happened.”
Presque Isle allowed eight goals to the Vikings in their two meetings, while surrendering just seven total in their other 12 matches.
“They have great team speed and depth,” Michaud said of the Vikes, which closed the season at 11-2-1. “You can’t just concentrate on Selander because if you do, [wings Jamie] Martin and Sleeper will make you pay.”
