Aroostook soccer success continues Wildcat boys, Owl girls in title games

Maybe it’s the potatoes after all.

“It’s all the carbs,” joked Beth Gerard, the senior center midfielder on the Madawaska girls soccer team.

Whatever it is, Aroostook County will be well-represented again this year in Saturday’s state soccer championship games in Hampden.

The Madawaska girls will face North Yarmouth Academy in the Class C state title game at 1 p.m., while the Class B Presque Isle boys have a 4 p.m. matchup against Yarmouth.

This year, the Limestone/Maine School of Science and Mathematics girls and Van Buren boys advanced to the Eastern Maine Class D finals. Limestone defeated Fort Fairfield along the way. One EM Class B boys semifinal matchup had fierce rivals Caribou and Presque Isle facing off, while the Madawaska girls beat Fort Kent in their semifinal.

The PI girls were in the B semis, the Madawaska boys made it to the C semis, and a D girls quarterfinal featured Ashland against Van Buren.

Last year, the Van Buren boys won the Class D state title, while the Madawaska boys played in the Class C title game. The Houlton girls won the Class C regional crown in 2003.

Sure, the County’s soccer success could be due to the carbohydrate-rich potatoes grown in northern Maine. Madawaska girls coach Dan Cyr, however, prefers to think County kids are rich in athleticism from participating in a wide variety of activities.

“The athletes are spending more serious time playing the sport when they do play,” said Cyr, who moved to Madawaska this year after coaching the Fort Kent girls. “And the athleticism is there. For us, we have very good athletes who play other sports. And I think our dance program has a lot to do with it.”

It could be the big crowds that attend games. Both the Fort Kent-Madawaska and Caribou-Presque Isle semis drew hundreds of fans – and who doesn’t want to play in front of a big crowd?

“This year we’ve had a lot of support,” Presque Isle striker Nate Carter said. “The whole school was supporting us.”

Both the Owls and the Wildcats spent the week preparing for their state finals. Madawaska scrimmaged the University of Maine-Fort Kent women’s team Wednesday, while Presque Isle had a chilly later afternoon practice Wednesday and spent a few hours working out in Hampden Thursday.

Although both teams have had successful seasons, they’ve taken vastly different offensive routes.

For the Madawaska girls, the key has been well-rounded scoring. The Owls have scored more than 70 goals and have eight players with at least one goal.

Ashley D. Cyr leads the team with 20 goals of Madawaska’s more than 70 goals. She’s followed by Gerard, who has at least 17 goals. Gerard is tied with Sarah Nadeau with 11 assists.

Even the Madawaska players who aren’t as consistent come up with big goals. Starting wing Jamie Nadeau, Sarah’s sister, who has nine goals this year, scored twice in the EM C final against George Stevens Academy. One of those was a double-overtime winner.

“It’s not going to be the same two all the time,” Gerard said. “Jamie’s scoring, Sarah’s scoring. The girls who sat back in the regular season are scoring now. Now they’re showing it.”

While Madawaska spreads out its scoring, Presque Isle’s offense is the opposite. The Wildcats have scored 78 goals, 32 of which have come from senior Carter.

Carter’s 74 career goals are the most ever in Presque Isle history. He’s scored in every game, despite frequent double-teams.

But that’s OK with Carter and the rest of the front line, left wing Greg Whitaker and right wing Travis Brooker.

“We can get more open,” Whitaker said. “If Nate passes and [the ball] goes long we can usually run on it and have a shot or a cross.”

One drawback of soccer in Aroostook County is a lack of experience on an artificial surface. Both Presque Isle and Madawaska will play at Hampden’s Weatherbee School complex, which has FieldTurf.

The Wildcats spent Thursday afternoon practicing on the artificial surface at the Bouchard Sports Center in Hampden, while the Owls planned to spend a few minutes at Husson College’s Winkin Baseball Complex, which has FieldTurf, in Bangor Friday afternoon.

Presque Isle has limited experience on turf, having played Hampden two years ago. They’ll be up against Yarmouth, which installed FieldTurf on its home field in 2001.

Gerard and Andrea K. Cyr played on turf when they were members of the Orono-based Black Bear United club team, but the none of their teammates have.

“We’ll have to adjust when we get on it,” Andrea Cyr said. “I’m confident that we can adjust quickly. We have a team of good ball control players.”