Veterans, newcomers give Houlton a winning blend

Girls Class B Soccer

One by one, Houlton High School girls soccer coach Bruce Nason helplessly watched them fall:

Starter Darcie Hutchinson, gone for the year, her leg broken in two places during a preseason scrimmage; junior sweeperback Erika McCarthy, injured in an automobile accident; and junior wing back Kathy Deveau, her foot injured during the season.

The rash of injuries before Aroostook County’s fall harvest left Nason in search of a number of different answers to many questions at one point.

In hindsight, however, as Houlton now prepares for Saturday’s state Class B championship contest against York High, to be played Saturday at 11 a.m., at Hall-Dale High School in Farmingdale, Nason realizes the injuries may have helped his team get to this point of the season.

“I think it did,” Nason said. “It allowed kids to get more playing time. You have to throw them right into the fire, but they learned quickly.”

The result is a senior-laded Houlton team with a great many good, young players adding to the team’s depth.

McCarthy and Deveau both recovered from their injuries and will be in the starting defensive backfield for the Shires, along with senior stopperback Andrea Turner and senior wing Jessica Sullivan. The defense will play in front of senior goalkeeper Kate Anderson, who took to the field during the injury-ravaged portion of the season.

In the midfield, a trio of seniors – Jill Donato, Sarah Cowperthwaite, and Courtney Collins – will lead the way while up front, sophomores Jenny O’Leary and Melissa Pottle team up with senior Kristen Askgren.

Coming off the bench, supplying the Shiretowners will their new-found depth, are junior Jenny Upton, who can play anywhere; sophomore halfback Tori Dow, and sophomore fullback Kim Beals.

The backup ‘keeper is Tina McAfee.

“It was a pleasant surprise to have that depth,” Nason said. “I’m so pleased for the kids, they’ve worked hard all season and I think the seniors really deserve this.”

The Shiretowners, top-seeded in Eastern Maine, drew a bye in this year’s quarterfinals then edged No. 5 Mount Desert Island 1-0 in the semifinal.

The Shires posted a thrilling, 1-0, four-overtime, one-set-of-penalty-kicks victory over Camden-Rockport for the EM Class B title.

Adding to his team’s intangibles, Nason adds that playoff pressure is nothing to new to Houlton girls sports. Two years ago, Houlton’s seniors, then sophomores, lost to York 2-1 in the state championship game.

Revenge is far from the mind of the Shires, however.

“They want to go down there and finish it off,” Nason said of his team’s successful 1992 season. “They know what they’re capable of. We’re a good defensive team. They mark well and rotate well. They work together very well. We’ve got a lot of senior leadership.”

That senior leadership, coupled with the youthful depth off the bench, has made Houlton High School even more dangerous in the postseason.