Madawaska boys flourish in postseason

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The Madawaska boys soccer team went a long way from worrying about even making the Eastern Maine Class C playoffs to playing for a state championship.

Although the Owls didn’t win the state title – Carrabec of North Anson earned a 2-1 win Saturday – a few days later the team can pinpoint just how they made it from never having home-field advantage in the postseason to taking the Cobras to triple overtime.

Senior midfielder Myles Morneault said the Madawaska seniors assumed the final game of their careers was a 2-0 loss to Van Buren, the last game on the regular-season schedule. But Owls coach Ben Sirois told the team he thought there was a chance they could make the playoffs.

“We hung [our hopes] on that,” he said.

Indeed, a 6-6-2 record was good enough – the right teams won and lost enough to affect on the Heal Points – but barely. Madawaska finished 10th, one-tenth of a point ahead of Calais, which was the final team to get into the playoffs.

The Owls went on to beat No. 7 Houlton, No. 2 Central of Corinth, No. 3 Piscataquis of Guilford, and then No. 4 Dexter in the regional final. They outscored opponents 15-2 in those four games.

Morneault said the keys to postseason success were scoring first, which Madawaska did in all four games, and the team coming together at the right time – the boys would gather for team meals the night before games, for example.

“During the regular season we weren’t really playing as a team, but right when the postseason started we were doing things as a team,” he said of the group’s on- and off-field comradery. “The defense started playing with the offense and the offense started playing with the defense. That really helped us a lot.”

The Owls actually put the first ball in the net against Carrabec Saturday, but the goal was called off because of an offsides foul.

Another important postseason move was sophomore Tyler Levesque’s shift from midfield to the front line. He went on to score eight goals in the playoffs, including three in a 4-2 win over Dexter, after a regular season in which he was Madawaska’s third-leading scorer.

“He really stepped it up,” Morneault said.

County players win awards

Eight soccer players from Aroostook County high schools have been named the winners of the Butch Shaw Award, which is presented to the top County players.

The boys winners are Ben Wakana of Caribou High, Myles Morneault of Madawaska, and Washburn teammates Isaac Carney and Jason Thompson.

The girls winners are Mindy Morneault of Fort Kent, Presque Isle’s Natasha Deschene, Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook’s Mindy Watson, and Megan Lajoie of Van Buren.

Winners are selected by a vote of Aroostook County soccer coaches. The award is named in memory of Clyde “Butch” Shaw, who died in 1985. He was an athlete, coach and official.

Carney and Thompson also won last year.

Rich faced cousin on rival team

Jensen Rich was surely focused on the Class B boys state soccer team as the Ellsworth boys soccer team warmed up to face Yarmouth, but the senior striker had a momentary distraction as he had a chance to meet a distant relative who plays for the Clippers.

Jake Van Kennen, a backup fullback for Yarmouth, is the step-grandson of Rich’s great uncle.

Rich said he didn’t know he was going to be meeting his cousin.

“I knew he played lacrosse but I didn’t know he played soccer, so it was kind of cool,” Rich said after Van Kennen’s Clippers won the state final 1-0. “It was kind of like a family reunion. The relatives came and they didn’t care who won either way, so it was kind of good for them.”

During the warmup period the boys were introduced by their respective coaches – Brian Higgins of Ellsworth and Mike Hagerty of Yarmouth – and had a chance to chat about 30 minutes before the game started.

Defense, bench helped Winslow

Defense was one of the strong suits for the Winslow girls soccer team, and it shouldn’t be a surprise if the Eastern Maine champion Black Raiders make another run in next year’s playoffs because of the back line.

Senior stopper Amanda Byrne is graduating this year, but the rest of the defense is very young – Winslow coach Scott Wood started two freshmen and two sophomores, including freshman sweeper Michelle Gerry. Goalie Hannah Brazier will be a senior next year.

The Raiders gave up one goal in three Eastern Maine Class B playoff games before falling to Gorham 2-0 in Saturday’s state final.

“I was like their mother hen all year,” Byrne said. “They listened really well and they knew what their roles were, and I think everybody did.”

That may have been because of the team’s substitution patterns. Wood wasn’t afraid to rotate his starters with players from his bench during the playoffs. The team got used to playing together – Byrne estimated that 14 players on the team were capable of scoring.

The Raiders brought four, five and six players at a time this year.

“That’s how we beat Presque Isle in overtime,” Byrne said of the 2-1 win in three overtimes in the Eastern Maine final. “I think that’s what hurt them, because we subbed a lot.”

Basketball preseason event on tap

If you’re ready for the high school basketball season to open, there’s an upcoming event for you. The fourth annual Maine Basketball Report Interclass All-Star Weekend will be held this weekend at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland.

The activities, which include a 3-point shootout, a dunk contest for the boys, and games featuring the top high school and prep talent in the state as MBR invites 10 players from each classification and each region, as well as 10 freshman from Eastern and Western Maine.

Each of the eight teams will play two games to showcase the players from each class. The prep team from Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield will also participate.

The girls events will be held Saturday and the boys events are Sunday. Games will start at 9 a.m. both days.

For more information and to see preliminary rosters for each team, go to www.mbr.org and click on the All-Star Weekend logo.

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.