FA Athletics: A Week in Review (Oct. 13-18)
Ponies knock off Dexter
and Old Town to finish
regular season 13-1
The Foxcroft field hockey team avenged its only loss of the season on Monday, downing the Dexter Tigers 1-0 behind a dramatic overtime winner from junior Avery Carroll. The left defensive back’s goal, her first of the season, was assisted by Julia Annis and came with 4:43 remaining in overtime. Madison Chadbourne had three saves in net to earn the shutout for the Ponies, who had two goals wiped off the board in regulation. The victory ended a 12-game Dexter winning streak that included a 4-0 win at FA back on Sept. 13.
“The Dexter game was electric,” said Coach Stephanie Smith. “The girls were dialed in and played an intense game for the entire 65 minutes of regulation and overtime. We stuck to our game plan, marking their top player and limiting her touches on our defensive end. I was very proud of their team play and extraordinary efforts by all, which made it a well-deserved win with icing on the cake when Avery scored the winning goal in OT.”
Smith’s team was right back at it in the season finale on Tuesday and looked every bit as strong, defeating Old Town, the No. 4 team in Class B East, 4-1 behind three goals from the Bourget twins (two for Alli, one for Abbi) and one from Annis. Fern Morrison had an assist for the Ponies while Chadbourne and Abby Simpson split the game in net. Alli Bourget’s strong finish increased her goal total to 10, giving the team four players in double digits for the season. Morrison paced the squad with 12 while Madison Fadley had 11 and Annis had 10 to go with a team-leading 15 assists.
The Ponies wrap up the 2014 regular season at 13-1 and are now 44-4-1 under Smith, who stepped in for Hall of Fame Coach Gene Philpot in 2012. They have outscored opponents 49-6 and will enter the postseason as the third seed in Class C East behind 13-0-1 Winslow and 13-1 Dexter.
“This postseason will be very tough,” said Smith. “The top three seeds have only two losses. It will be an extremely tough battle! We must improve our high level of play, our intensity, and our focus upon stepping on the field. We are up for the challenge. Pony Pride!”
The Ponies were scheduled to host No. 6 Winthrop in a quarterfinal matchup on Oct. 21. The Ramblers, who were beaten just once at home all season while only winning twice on the road, went 4-1-1 over the final six contests to finish 7-4-3. Winthrop did not share any common opponents with Foxcroft. The winner will advance to play either No. 2 Dexter or seventh-seeded Central in the semifinals.
Ponies outlast physical Nokomis team, move to 5-2
Pete Boyer, Chris Storer, and Hunter Smith combined to rush for over 300 yards and five scores to lead the Foxcroft football team to a 33-14 win over Nokomis at Oakes Field Friday night. The Ponies improved to 5-2 with one game to play while the Warriors fell to 3-4.
The Pony defense was on the field for 67 plays and 32 minutes and did an excellent job containing Nokomis’s physical rushing attack. Clay Carroll (18 tackles) and Boyer (14) were very active from their middle linebacker spots while defensive tackle Connor Holmes had his finest game as a Pony, delivering 11 big tackles. Nine other Ponies had at least five tackles: Billy Brock (9), Abe Simpson (8), Gaige Pleninger (8), Kaleb Faloon (8), Brandon Brock (7), Hunter Smith (5), James Smith (5), Sean Cody (5) and Isaiah Kennell (5).
“We remained patient on the defensive side of the football,” said Coach Danny White. “We stayed true to our game plan coming out of the break and were able to open the third quarter with two straight three-and-outs, which gave our offense great field position and put them in a much better position to operate.”
The Ponies close out the regular season at 3-4 MDI Friday at 7 p.m. and will be looking to lock down the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Conference. Fans unable to make the trip will be pleased to hear that the action will be broadcast live on WABI TV5.
“MDI is a highly-competitive team that has been in all of its games this year,” said White. “Their offensive efficiency will force us to be very sound on defense, and we’ll need to play a very aggressive style of football to come out of their with a win.”
Cross country team excels
at PVC meet, eyes
first state berth in six years
The Foxcroft Academy cross country team finished third out of nine teams competing in the large school division at the PVC Championship Meet in Bucksport on Saturday, marking the Ponies best finish at the PVCs since Coach Brett Almasi took over the program in 2009.
The Ponies will compete at the Eastern Regional Championship Meet in Belfast on Saturday, with a team berth in the state meet on the line. Almasi likes his team’s chances of qualifying for the first time since 2008. “Our strong finish at PVCs reflects how far we’ve come as a program this season,” he said. “We may never have the top runner at a meet, but we have seven guys with the ability to contribute to our team score each week. If a handful of those guys run their best next week, we’ll be competing with the state’s best on Nov. 1.”
Turner, Bozzelli represent FA at state golf championship
Emily Turner and Racquel Bozzelli traveled with Coach Pete Caruso to Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro to compete against 71 other players in the MPA Girls’ Individual State Golf Tournament on Saturday. Turner, a senior, and Bozzelli, a junior, each qualified on the strength of their scores at the PVC Tournament two weeks prior.
In her final high school performance, Turner came roaring out of the gate with a 42 on the front nine and finished with a 96, good for 26th place and nine strokes better than her score at last year’s tournament. Bozzelli was off to a solid start but had the very unfortunate break of being stung by multiple bees on the seventh hole. She was taken off the course for a precautionary examination and told that it was not in her best interest to continue. She is doing fine now and is eager to represent FA again at next year’s tournament.
“It was a pleasure to be able to bring these young lady golfers to this prestigious tournament,” said Caruso, who did a terrific job in his return to the coaching ranks this season. “They both played well and demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship while on the course. FA is proud of their performance while representing the school.”
Boys soccer is first
to slow Ellsworth
The boys soccer team may not have added any wins last week, but Coach Luis Ayala’s team played some of its best soccer in years, tying unbeaten Ellsworth 1-1 on Tuesday and falling 1-0 at No. 4 Old Town on Friday.
On Senior Day in Old Town, the Ponies played the 8-4-2 Coyotes to a scoreless tie until senior Tyler Gifford delivered a game winner with 13:46 left in the game. Butera repelled 14 of 15 shots to keep his team in the game.
The Ponies are now 8-4-2 and hold the No. 7 spot in the Class B East Heal Point standings. The teas was scheduled to close out the regular season with a game at 6-7 Hermon Tuesday afternoon.
Girls soccer team fighting
to the finish
The girls soccer team had a very busy week, traveling to Dexter on Tuesday, hosting Ellsworth Wednesday, and heading to Old Town on Friday.
The Ponies trailed 9-4 Dexter just 1-0 at halftime but were unable to overcome four penalty kicks and fell 5-0. Kendra Ewer stepped in at goalie and turned away eight shots, including a penalty kick. Shayla Bickmore, Grace Bickford, Cassidy Panciera and Joanna Panciera all fired shots on goal, and Coach Chris Wesley singled out Emily Sprecher for “playing a fantastic game and being a force on the field.”
On Wednesday, the Ponies battled back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game before Ellsworth’s Kira Kennedy delivered the game-winner with five minutes left. Bickford and Joanna Panciera scored the Pony goals while Cassidy Panciera and Ewer picked up assists. Alisha Thomas had 15 saves in net to keep the game tight. “This was a great all-around effort by all the ladies in a very competitive game,” said Wesley.
The Old Town Coyotes were too much for Foxcroft on Friday, celebrating Senior Day with a 9-0 win.