Kris Tracy saw his future last weekend as his Black Bear United Football Club soccer team squared off against players from the University of Maine.

“We got crushed,” said Tracy, an Ellsworth High senior who will join the Maine program this fall. “The score was 13-0. What surprised me was how quickly they play the ball. You think you have time to get there to defend, but by the time you do the ball’s gone.”

Tracy is one of eight recruits – including five from Maine -who have committed to ascend to the Division I level at the Orono campus, but his decision was more about the other side of college life than it was about athletics.

“I was looking around mostly for academics,” said the 17-year-old Tracy, a resident of Franklin. “Maine has one of the best programs in the area for computer engineering, and I just decided to stay close to home.”

The 5-foot-8, 150-pound forward will bring some impressive credentials to the Black Bears. A three-year starter at Ellsworth, Tracy amassed 39 goals and 10 assists during his career, helping the Eagles reach the Eastern Maine Class B final as both a sophomore and junior.

Last fall, he had 28 goals and eight assists as Ellsworth advanced to the Eastern B semifinals. For that effort, he was named All-Eastern Maine and All-State as a senior.

“Kris is probably the most aggressive player I’ve had since the Katsiaficas boys played in the mid to late 70s,” said veteran Ellsworth coach Brian Higgins. “With his intensity, he made a lot of things happen in our offensive end. He certainly has the intensity to play at that level.”

Tracy’s intensity currently is focused on track season, as he is one of Eastern Maine’s top runners at 800 and 1,600 meters.

Beyond that, the transition from Black Bear United to the real Black Bears awaits.

“At first I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to play at that level in sports,” said Tracy. “But in talking to [Maine] coach [Travers] Evans, I feel more confident.”

Joining Tracy in the Maine men’s soccer Class of 2008 are forwards Jimmy Velas of Falmouth, Joe Corey of Winslow and Seth Byers of Cincinnati, Ohio; midfielder Marshall Holmes of Lawrence of Fairfield; back Daniel Eggert of Allegheny, N.Y., and goalkeepers Piner Markovchick of Maranacook of Readfield and Ben Piotrowski of Colchester, Vt.,

Maine finished 7-8-4 in 2003, posting the program’s most victories since a 10-win season in 1995.

Panthers poised to defend title

The Central Aroostook baseball team won its first-ever Eastern Maine Class D championship last spring, despite a roster that included five freshmen among its 11 players.

Nine of those players are back this spring as the Panthers will bid to retain that title, and the roster is up to 15.

“We’ve got everybody back but two from last year, and the guys are pretty confident,” said CAHS coach Jon Codrey.

This more veteran club is still young, with just three senior starters in Husson College-bound Bryan Grew, Jeff Clockedile and Adam Crew. Grew will be one of the anchors of the pitching staff, as well as seeing time at shortstop, first base and the outfield. He also figures to bat either third or fourth.

Clockedile, the starting shortstop and leadoff hitter, batted .575 last spring, while Crew is back after playing in just two games last spring and will play in the outfield and bat in the middle of the lineup.

Other key contributors for the Mars Hill-based Panthers this spring should include junior catcher Eric Grivois, junior outfielder Paul Donahue, sophomore pitcher-first baseman Andrew York, sophomore second baseman Eric Martinez (who led the team in RBIs last spring), and sophomore outfielder Ryan Hallett.

“Last year we won a lot of one-run games because we dug down in the late innings and played good defense and got key hits,” Codrey said. “We need to be able to do that again this year.”

CAHS certainly will not take the Aroostook County Class D baseball world by surprise this year, given the Panthers’ 11-6 record in 2003 and late-season rise to the regional championship.

“It will be more difficult to get wins,” said Codrey, who considers Washburn, Southern Aroostook and Class D newcomer Hodgdon among his team’s chief competition in The County. “I imagine we’ll see everybody’s best pitching every time out this year.”

Ernie Clark may be reached at eclark@bangordailynews.net.