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When the potato harvest break occurs in Aroostook County, this is a typical day of a Presque Isle soccer player: Work in the potato fields from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., go to practice for an hour and a half, head home, sleep.
It’s very different from the typical routine of an 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. school day.
“You get in the routine of going to school, going to practice and going to bed [but] once the harvest comes you have kids working,” said Presque Isle girls soccer coach Ralph Michaud. “I have a lot of respect for [my players].”
The grind of the harvest break, which concluded last week, certainly didn’t slow down Michaud’s Wildcats.
After a road victory over Bucksport Saturday, the Wildcats have a 10-1 record with three games to play and are well on their way to securing home-field advantage throughout the Eastern Maine Class B playoffs, which is huge considering they play on FieldTurf and their geographic location.
“A [long] bus ride is different than sleeping in your own bed,” said Michaud.
The Wildcats have been one of the better offensive teams in Class B this fall, and that showed in a game against Old Town recently, as they erupted for seven consecutive goals after the Coyotes had taken a 1-0 lead.
Spearheading the attack have been midfielders Sarah Porter and Kayla Richards and forwards Kayla Legassie and Chelsea Nickerson.
Richards and Nickerson, both freshmen, have complemented seniors Porter and Legassie very well up front.
“They don’t play like freshmen, they’re very composed on the soccer field, very good athletes,” said Michaud. “It’s a luxury for a coach to have freshmen come in and contribute from day one.”
Presque Isle’s offensive output has been balanced, as every position player on the roster has at least one goal.
Katrina Whittier and Brittany Bearden, both senior forwards, have made solid contributions up front while classmates Amber Griffin and Hannah Cheney lead Michaud’s four-player back line rotation.
Other defensive contributors have been Brooke Long-Postell, Jodie Buckley, Amy Grivois and Abbie LaPointe, who have been strong in front of junior goalkeeper Kellsey Park.
That depth proved crucial when some players were working long days in the potato fields.
“When we substitute we still have speed, we still have toughness,” Michaud said. “It’s nice as a coach to be able to put in subs, have another fresh person who can go 100 miles per hour.”
The Wildcats have two tough games approaching, on the road against a solid Caribou team and at home against a talented Fort Kent squad, which is currently atop the Class C Heal point ranks.
Presque Isle has defeated both teams so far this fall, including a 5-2 decision over Fort Kent in their first game of the year.
Those games should prepare Presque Isle nicely for the challenging road that will be the Class B playoffs, with reigning regional champ Winslow, Ellsworth, John Bapst of Bangor and Old Town all posing challenges.
“You look at the schedules and teams play against each other [and] the games have been so close,” said Michaud.
Warriors on a roll
With one regular-season match remaining, the Nokomis of Newport field hockey team finds itself sitting pretty atop the Eastern Maine Class B Heal point ranks.
Today’s game should get coach Katie Thompson’s team well-prepared for the tough rigors of the postseason, as the Warriors will take on perennial power Belfast at home.
“I think Belfast is still a pretty dominant team in our class, we’re not underestimating them,” said Thompson.
Nokomis has roared out to a 9-1-2 record, with its biggest victory of the season to date coming in a 1-0 triumph over second-place Mount View of Thorndike last Tuesday.
The final Heal point standings for field hockey will be released Thursday by the Maine Principals’ Association.
The Warriors’ lone loss came to Western B foe Maranacook of Readfield while one of the ties was against playoff perennial Camden Hills of Rockport.
Left wing Sabrina Vaillancourt, who scored the only goal in the match against the Mustangs, leads the Warriors with 19 goals, while center-midfielder Erin Knight, right winger Jordan McInnis and forward Alison Berg, who leads the team in assists, have been offensive catalysts as well.
“We really have a lot of people contributing to the goal scoring, which is part of the reason we’ve been successful,” Thompson said.
Despite all their success, the Warriors are keeping their goals fairly simple as the postseason approaches.
“Our first goal is to win the quarterfinal game. I think we’re really focused on that,” said Thompson.
Nokomis fell to Belfast in the Eastern B quarterfinals last fall.
“We’ll take it from there after that step,” Thompson said.
Sophomore goaltender Maria Adams has excelled in her first year in the varsity ranks, with Katelyn Melanson and Lauren Suprenant keying the back line in front of Adams.
“We’re really well rounded, I think everybody plays a role, we trust each other, we rely on each other,” Thompson said.
Thompson hopes her Warriors can keep the momentum rolling this afternoon against Belfast.
“Overall the team’s at a pretty good place right now [but] beating Belfast would increase the momentum,” she said.
rmclaughlin@bangordailynews.net
990-8193
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