York midfielder Emma Clark takes charge in last week's home win over Cape Elizabeth.
Photo by Robert Charlton
YORK - The past two weeks saw some sweet play from both Wildcats soccer teams.
Wally Caldwell's girls' side continued as one of the top teams in the state, bringing their record to 9-1-1, while Jeff Smith's steadily improving boys' squad moved to 4-7, with a playoff spot still within reach.
The girls squeaked out a 1-1 draw at home against Yarmouth on Sept. 18, with Ashley Taylor knocking in the equalizer with only 2:45 left in regulation. York then hosted Wells on Sept. 22, taking a 4-0 win over the predictable, pack-everybody-in-the-box defense by the Warriors. Meredith Reid knocked in a nice goal, unassisted, with forwards Chelsey Tewell (two goals) and Ashley Taylor combining for the other scores.
In a surprisingly close game, the Wildcats downed Freeport away on Sept. 24 on goals by Emily Boone and Michaela Schilling. York then hosted a struggling Cape Elizabeth on Sept. 27, rolling to a 4-1 win on goals by Tewell, Reid, Marina Swietek and Emma Clark.
The Wildcats next stomped on Lakes Region 4-0 away on Sept. 29 and Traip Academy 8-0 at home on Oct. 2. Clark, Noelle Moulton, Kim Rigano and Emily Mitchell all found the back of the net against the Lakers. Clark and Tewell cranked in two goals apiece against Traip, with the other four goals off the feet of Rigano, Savannah Tapley, Lindsey Weigel and Ashley Taylor.
York then entered the home stretch with a close win over Greely, 1-0, playing well in the first half but just hanging on in the second. A Clark header off a Tewell corner gave the Wildcats the win.
Next up for the Wildcats, a trip to Yarmouth on Saturday night, Oct. 11, with the regular season finale at home on Oct. 20 against Falmouth at 6 p.m. El Classico! Be there Futbolistas!
Two own goals put the Wildcats in a first-half hole as the boys' side went down at Yarmouth 4-0 on Sept. 19. York bounced back with a 5-1 win at Wells on Sept. 22. Calvin Ramus put in two nice goals, with Kevin Bond, Liam Langaas and Kyle Robinson all hitting as well.
York lost a critical game at Freeport, going down 2-1 in overtime on Sept. 24 after Max Loeffler had put the Wildcats up 1-0. York then returned home for a spirited game against Cape Elizabeth on Sept. 27, eventually falling short 3-1 on two second-half goals by Cape. Pat Seaward's goal had tied the score at 1-1.
The Wildcats followed with two crucial wins, against Lake Region at home on Sept. 29 and away at Traip Academy on Oct. 2. Seaward had two goals and Ramus also scored in the win over the Lakers. Against Traip, the Wildcats ran up a 3-0 lead, completely dominating the first half, before the game deteriorated into a slugfest in the second half, with York scoring in the final minute to salvage the 4-3 win. Seaward, Ramus and Jacob Horowitz had all knocked in first half goals.
The Wildcats then played Greely toe to toe away on Oct. 7, coming away with a 1-0 loss that was a universe away from the 9-1 drubbing the Wildcats had suffered from the Rangers earlier in the year.
At press time, the Wildcats were set to host Yarmouth for their final home game of the year on Oct. 10, looking for a result in order to secure a playoff spot. Coming into the game, Coach Smith's squad looked a far cry from the overwhelmed crew of earlier in the season. A major turning point has been the play of freshman goalkeeper Noah Rickerich, who has taken control of the box and given the Wildcats a new level confidence between the posts.
