Machias, Ellsworth move to finals Bulldogs to battle Ashland in ‘D,’ Eagles to face Winslow in ‘B’

MACHIAS – Senior striker Mike Little scored two unassisted goals and Justin Weaver made 10 saves to lead the No. 2 Machias Bulldogs past the No. 3 Bangor Christian Patriots 2-1 in an Eastern Maine Class D boys soccer semifinal Tuesday.

The win sets up a meeting at No. 1 Ashland for the Eastern Maine Class D championship on Friday.

Both of Little’s goals came off breakaways, the first 24 seconds into the game. Levi Washburn answered for Bangor Christian about 12 minutes later with an unassisted goal.

Little then came back with about 22 minutes left in the half to give the Bulldogs the winning edge.

Sophomore goalie Weaver made the lead stand up as he made 10 saves on 28 shots for the 13-2-1 Bulldogs.

“He had an outstanding game. He came up big and made three or four great saves,” Machias coach Bob Sinford said.

For 12-2-2 Bangor Christian, Sam McLeod made seven saves on 15 shots.

Ashland 2, Fort Fairfield 0

At Ashland, freshman Kenny Tarr scored off an assist from his brother, junior Jeremy Tarr, with 13:46 left in the first half to lift top-seeded Ashland by No. 4 Fort Fairfield.

The Hornets will take on No. 2 Machias Friday for the Eastern Maine Class D title. The No. 2 Bulldogs beat No. 3 Bangor Christian 2-1 Tuesday.

Ashland was also the top seed in 2006 when the Hornets lost in the Class D regional final to then-No. 2 Van Buren 1-0. Machias is back in the Eastern Maine final for the first time since 2003, when the Bulldogs went on to win the state title after defeating Washburn 2-1 for the EM crown.

Carl Nemer provided an insurance goal with 3:58 remaining, converting a Tyler Cote pass. Lucas Belanger made 14 saves on 18 shots for 14-1-1 Ashland.

Austin Dufour made 11 saves on 19 shots for Fort Fairfield, which finished 13-3-1.

Class B

Ellsworth 1, Presque Isle 0 (2OT)

At Presque Isle, Moritz Bohm found the net on a shot from 20 yards out as the sixth-seeded Eagles knocked off the No. 2 Wildcats.

Bohm’s goal, which he scored three minutes into the second overtime, put Ellsworth into Saturday’s Eastern Maine Class B championship game for the second year in a row. The Eagles will travel to face No. 1 Winslow (13-1-2), which beat No. 4 MDI 4-1.

The Eagles fell to John Bapst of Bangor 2-1 in the 2006 EM Class B title game.

Ellsworth and Winslow met in the 2004 regional final with the Eagles winning 2-1 in overtime.

Greg Berry made four saves on four shots for 12-3-2 Ellsworth in the defensive-minded contest.

Dillion Kingsbury made two saves on three shots for Presque Isle, which ended its season at 11-3-2.