Wildcats Prevail in Boxing Match on Turf

Cameron Levasseur

The rain didn’t prove to be a buffer for the Wildcats Friday, as they pulled off a close win despite poor conditions

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In a chippy, back and forth game played in the pouring rain, the team that kept their composure came out on top. 

What was set to be yet another installment of a perennial rivalry showdown opened on an awful note, as a Caribou player jumping for a head ball came in contact with an opposing player on the way up and suffered what appeared to be quite a severe injury. The player was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, no word on his condition as of yet. 

As the game began again following the delay, an increasingly noticeable physical presence was seen on both sides, leading to numerous foul calls and several great chances. It would take the majority of the half before the ball would find the back of the net, when, following a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct on Caribou’s Ethan Holdsworth, sophomore Dawson Kinney put in a loose ball with 1:49 left to give Presque Isle the lead. 

Despite the goal’s proximity to the half, it wasn’t the last before the break, as Miles Collier would even the bout just over a minute later on the Vikings’ fifth shot on net of the game. 

The game’s intensity didn’t fade as the teams returned from the locker rooms, the physical play even intensifying at points, culminating with another Caribou yellow, this time given to Collier, again for unsportsmanlike conduct. 

As the clock dipped below 15 minutes, the score stayed at one apiece even with multiple fantastic opportunities on both ends, including an open goal miss by the Wildcats. 

With three minutes remaining in the contest, this would change, as a ricocheting shot found freshman Evan Chapman in front who put home the game winner. 

The Vikings’ attempts to mount a counter attack following the goal were halted by their own actions, as several foul calls kept the ball in their half of the field until the clock struck zero. “We knew if we played our game we’d win, and we did and came out on top,” said the Wildcats’ lone senior Conner Michaud. “Even if we had to wait until the last five minutes to score we knew we were going to win anyways.”

Presque Isle prevails and hands cross town rival Caribou their first loss of the season as they improve to 4-1 with three regular season games left on the slate.