Local squads vying for regional titles
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
The Caribou girls had their seven-game winning streak snapped Monday at home against Madawaska with a 2-1 defeat. However, the team still will have a high enough seed in the upcoming Eastern Maine Class B playoffs to host a preliminary game this weekend and, with a victory, play at home again in the quarterfinal round next Tuesday, Oct. 29. As of presstime Tuesday, Caribou was in fourth place in the division with its 10-4 record.
The Viking boys’ team has struggled down the stretch, losing four of its last five following Monday’s 3-1 loss to the Owls.
Coach Scott Hunter’s team had to wait for the results of regular season contests played Tuesday to find out whether or not his squad will be at home or on the road for a prelim game Saturday.
In Tuesday’s rankings, the Vikes were in eighth place with their 6-7-1 mark, but two of the teams behind them — Waterville and Hermon — still had a game to play and could move ahead.
In Class D, the Washburn girls has earned a No. 1 seed for the upcoming high school girls’ soccer playoffs.
The standings won’t become official until sometime today, but the defending Eastern Maine champion Beavers will be the top-ranked team in the region.
Washburn’s win over the Fort Fairfield girls Monday secured the Beavers home field advantage throughout the post-season.
Fort Fairfield is ranked No. 3 and Limestone-MSSM No. 9. Both teams join Washburn in the playoffs as the top 13 out of the 19 make it. The Tigers join the Beavers in drawing a bye, while the Eagles will have to earn their way to the quarterfinals by winning their Friday prelim against a yet to be determined opponent.
In the ‘D’ boys standings, Washburn was ninth, Fort Fairfield 12th and Limestone-MSSM 15th. The top 15 out of the 22 in the division qualify for the post-season and all three squads will compete in prelims.
Washburn’s preliminary-round opponent has already been determined. The team will play at No. 9 Penobscot Valley in Howland Friday at noon.
Highlighting last week’s play on the girls’ side was Caribou’s 3-1 victory at Presque Isle on Wednesday. The victory helped the Vikes complete a sweep of their season series against PI.
Delaney Williams booted in a penalty kick, while Eileen Patton and Maddie Doucette had Caribou’s other goals.
In other girls’ action, a showdown took place in Washburn between the Fort Fairfield Tigers and the Beavers.
The Beavers had their way and junior striker Mackenzie Worcester made history in the process as she scored five times to increase her career total to 103.
Laina Mette scored twice and Kennedy Churchill once in Washburn’s 8-1 win. Joan Overman had four assists and Carmen Bragg two for the winners, whose final record is 13-1.
Logan Bubar scored the lone goal for Fort Fairfield, which had also beaten Van Buren last week, 6-1, behind Bubar’s hat trick.
Washburn also blanked Wisdom, 6-0, and downed Van Buren, 11-4, in games played last week. Worcester had four goals in each match, with Overman also tallying four against the Crusaders.
Limestone-MSSM bested Easton, 4-2, with Chelsey Pelkey registering a hat trick for the Eagles. In their other game last week, the Eagles were beaten by Wisdom, 3-1.
On the boys’ side, Caribou took a 1-0 lead with 11 minutes to play at Presque Isle Thursday, only to see the Wildcats’ Ben Nickerson tie the game in regulation and win it in overtime. Kameron Manter scored the Viking goal.
Emilio Garcia scored Caribou’s only goal in Monday’s 3-1 loss at home to Madawaska. Michael Hunter had the assist.
The Limestone-MSSM boys helped their playoff chances tremendously with a 2-1 triumph over Wisdom last Tuesday. Tristan Kirk and Travis Hatfield were the goal scorers for the Eagles.
