BANGOR — Even though the Presque Isle boys soccer team ran into a strong John Bapst goalkeeper in Adam Strang Saturday, the Wildcats managed to generate plenty of offense.
Four different players tallied a goal each for coach Scott Young’s club while Josh Allen had a goal plus an assist as the ‘Cats posted a 4-1 win over the Crusaders at the Dorothea Dix field.
The ‘Cats improved to 10-1-1 and leapfrogged Camden Hills of Rockport and Ellsworth into first place in the Class B Heal point rankings, while John Bapst, currently seventh, fell to 6-5-1.
Like the Presque Isle girls did in their game, the boys controlled possession throughout the match and took advantage of having the wind at their backs in the second half, during which the Wildcats scored three of their four goals.
“I think the second half we really put it to them, but the first half I thought they played pretty well. Give credit to John Bapst, they played well,” said Young. “Our shots didn’t have very much on them (in the first half).”
That wasn’t the case in the second, with Player, LaJoie and Allen each scoring in the final 40 minutes. Allen’s goal came on a direct kick, while Andrew Legassie assisted on LaJoie’s goal and Allen on Player’s.
“When we can get different guys scoring, we really like that, its harder to mark up,” Young said. “We have Josh Allen with a lot of goals, (but) we’d like to get as many guys scoring as possible so we’re a harder team to match up with.”
Strang played a strong game in goal for the Crusaders, saving 10 of Presque Isle’s 23 shots, and he also aggressively batted away several corner kicks while Joe Pate scored an unassisted goal late in the second half for John Bapst.
The Wildcats’ possession game is also improving in Young’s eyes, and on this windy day, Presque Isle used it to its advantage while also wearing John Bapst down with its athleticism and skill.
“Since we’ve had turf especially, we’ve done a much better job with keeping the ball on the ground and not being so direct,” said Young. “Our guys have really come a long way. I really have to compliment Dutch Soccer Academy, too. Robbie Krull, he does a good job with all our kids in the summertime.”
Andrew Kofstad made two saves on three shots for Presque Isle, as he wasn’t seriously tested.