PCHS bests Katahdin 6-1 to win 8-player North championship
BREWER — After falling in last year’s 8-player state championship, 3-0 to fellow Piscataquis County institution Greenville High School, the Piscataquis Community High School boys soccer team has had a near year-long goal to not only get back to the final but claim the gold ball in 2025.
With seven starters returning this season, the Pirates are just one step away from claiming the top prize after defeating Katahdin High School of Stacyville 6-1 in the North final between the region’s top two teams on the evening of Nov. 6 on the artificial turf at Brewer High School’s Heddericg Field.
No. 1 PCHS (the team improved to 17-0 with the victory while handing the 16-1 Cougars the team’s first and only loss) broke open a 1-0 halftime lead with five goals in the second 30-minute session.
NORTH CHAMPS! — The PCHS boys are the 8-player North soccer champions after defeating Katahdin 6-1 on the evening of Nov. 6 at Brewer High School. The top-seeded, 17-0 Pirates advanced to the state final for the second year in a row and are in a championship contest for the ninth time overall in program history.
In three playoff contests PCHS has outscored its opponents 24-4 and in 17 total games the team has a 116-7 goal differential.
“We came out with more intensity,” senior Brady Gaw, who put PCHS on the scoreboard in the first half and had two more goals in the second half and assisted on another, said about his team’s performance after the break. “Our goal every game is to come out with intensity in the first five minutes. Put one in the first five and just pass around and control the ball.”
“You just can’t key on one guy,” he said, as three Pirates found the Cougar net in the second half. “Everybody can score on our team, even our defense, our goalie.”
BRAND NEW HARDWARE — Running to show the fans their newly-won 8-player North championship plaque are PCHS seniors, from left, Dawson Draper, Brady Gaw, Noah Kain and Brady Ball. The Pirates defeated Katahdin 6-1.
“He’s definitely a team player, he’s more about winning than stats and that really showed tonight,” head coach Trey Gilbert said about Gaw.
While PCHS only led 1-0 after 30 minutes, the team kept pressure on Katahdin. In the first half the Pirates sent 13 shots at goal and had another 14 in the second half, while the PCHS defense allowed just nine throughout the entire contest.
Cougar senior senior keeper Jacob Hurlbert stopped a game-high eight shots, including five in the first half to keep his team in the game.
HAT TRICK — Senior Brady Gaw, running to the ball with Katahdin junior Hunter Chickering with senior Calvin Richardson looking on, scored three goals in a 6-1 PCHS victory including two of his team’s five in the second half.
At the other end of the pitch PCHS senior Noah Kain made three saves, with freshman Abel Currier making one after relieving Kain for the final minutes as Pirate reserves got the chance to see the field in the regional championship.
“He’s an amazing leader,” Gilbert said of Kain. Gilbert said the keeper has several assists this season on long punts down the field and said Kain is also very accurate with his throws to teammates.
“I try to find my guy (junior Chase Lander) up front, just punt it over the defense,” Kain said. “That’s how I’ve gotten a few assists this year and it’s worked out really good.”
WATCH YOUR STEP — Pirate sophomore Oliver Luckovskis scored early in the second half to give PCHS a 2-0 lead against Katahdin in the 8-player North championship in Brewer.
Lander would score twice in the second half, the third and fifth goals for his team. Sophomore Oliver Luckovskis also had a goal, which turned out to be the winner as 94 seconds into the second half his rolling shot took a hop to the left and went just inside the right post instead of going out of bounds.
“We had one senior last year and we knew we had seven returning starters coming in this year,” Gilbert said. “They got the experience, they got the hunger especially losing in states last year so they definitely wanted to get back to that.”
“Seven returning starters from that game, you don’t forget, you remember it,” Gaw said in echoing his coach’s comments. “So we just come back more hungry to get the job done.”
CORNER KICK — PCHS senior Dawson Draper puts the ball in play on a second half corner kick.
“We have had one goal this year, and that’s this next game,” Kain said.
PCHS is set to face South champion and top seed Telstar Regional High School of Bethel (16-0-1) in the state championship at 1 p.m. at Brewer on Saturday, Nov. 8. The Rebels defeated No. 2 Pine Tree Academy of South Freeport 1-0 in double overtime at Gardiner Area High School in the South final shortly after PCHS and Katahdin finished up.
Telstar’s only non-victory of 2025 came in a tie at Pine Tree Academy.
OFF THE TURF — Junior Chase Lander and Katahdin junior Addison Young get ready to try to gain possession of a ball bouncing off the artificial turf at Brewer High School.
PCHS will be making its ninth appearance in a state championship with the seven before the 2024 8-player championship all coming in Class C. The Pirates won the 1985 Class C title, and fell in six other Class C finales (1982, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2006).
The state championship berth is the first in program history for the Telstar boys.
BOYS SOCCER
8-PLAYER NORTH
CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 PCHS 6, No. 2 Katahdin 1
KATH 0 1 — 1
PCHS 1 5 — 6
First: P – Gaw (Ball)
Second: P – Luckovskis (Draper); P – Lander (Gaw); P – Gaw; K – Richardson; P – Lander; P – Gaw
Saves: K – Hurlbert 8, P – Kain 3, Currier 1
Corner kicks: K – 4, P – 2
Records: P – 17-0, K – 16-1