‘Cats tip Eagles in overtime Presque Isle gains berth in EM final

ELLSWORTH – Trevor Graves usually is more of a catalyst than a finisher for the Presque Isle High School boys soccer team.

Benji Lynch, meanwhile, is the Wildcats’ leading scorer.

But when the two reversed roles during overtime at Del Luce Stadium here Thursday, the result was a goal by Graves that gave Presque Isle a 2-1 victory over previously unbeaten and top-ranked Ellsworth in an Eastern Maine Class B semifinal.

Graves’ second goal of the match came 1:28 into the first extra period. Lynch sent a long throw-in from the right sideline to the goal crease, where it bounced off the head of an Ellsworth defender and right to Graves, who quickly tucked the ball inside the far post.

“I really wasn’t expecting the ball to come to my foot,” Graves said. “It happened to go over all their defenders and I was the last guy on the outside. I just tried to get a good foot on it and I was lucky to get it through.”

The victory sends No. 5 Presque Isle (12-2-3) to Saturday’s regional final in the team’s first year in Class B. The Wildcats will face defending EM champion and No. 2 seed Winslow, which topped Hermon 6-1 in its semifinal.

Lynch’s throw-ins created several scoring opportunities for Presque Isle during the match. Usually he aimed for Kyle Rideout, the team’s tallest player. That was his aim on the game-clinching goal, too, but the ball sailed just over Rideout’s head before reaching Graves.

“I just try to get it in the middle so we have an opportunity to score,” said Lynch.

These teams met in a pair of high-scoring games during the regular season, a 2-2 tie at Presque Isle on Sept. 6, and a 3-2 Ellsworth victory here Sept. 7.

This match started in similar fashion, with the Eagles needing just 48 seconds to grab a 1-0 lead on a goal by A.J. Martin. Jensen Rich left-footed a corner kick beyond the gaggle of players in the goal crease right to a wide-open Martin at the far post for an uncontested shot.

Ellsworth (14-1-1) got other threatening bids from Casey Lock and Alex Lyons in the next few minutes, but Presque Isle goalie Brad Baker (11 saves) withstood that early onslaught and Presque Isle gradually worked its way into what became a defensive battle.

“All three games we played against them we played well the first 10 minutes,” said Ellsworth coach Brian Higgins. Even tonight we had two near-misses before the 35-minute mark. If those go in, it’s a different result, for sure, but Presque Isle played hard and they got better as the game went along.”

Key to Presque Isle’s defense was the marking work of Rideout and teammate Jeff Cole against Ellsworth standouts Kris Tracy and Rich.

“Kyle Rideout did an excellent job stepping in front of Tracy and knocking the ball out immediately whenever he got the chance,” said Presque Isle coach Scott Young. “And Jeff stayed in front or right behind Jensen and tried to step in front when the ball came to get it out of there.”

By the end of the half, that defensive effort was complemented by significant offensive pressure, but Presque Isle still trailed 1-0 at the break.

“In the first half we definitely had some opportunities to score,” Lynch said. “We had trouble finishing in the first half, but we just hoped eventually we’d put one in.”

The Wildcats finally cashed in when Graves scored with just under 25 minutes left in regulation play. Chase Higgins sent a long ball into the goal crease, where Lynch gained control but couldn’t get off a good shot against Ellsworth keeper Noah Brown (10 saves). The ball caromed to Graves, who tucked a close-range shot just inside the right post.

“Trevor’s actually a set-up man for us mostly, he leads our team in assists,” said Young. “He’s probably our most talented player with the ball on his foot, it’s hard to take the ball away from him. Usually he’s our set-up man, but today he’s our finisher, and we’ll take it all the way.”