Ashland’s Gritty Effort Comes Up Short To PVHS In Championship

Championship play with championship weather 

A near perfect November evening in Presque Isle was the back drop to the girls Class D Northern Maine final on Tuesday. The #1 Penobscot Valley (PVHS) Howlers and #3 Ashland Hornets met on the turf to play for the northern Maine title and to advance to the State Championship on Saturday.  

How we got here 

PVHS rolled through their regular season schedule finished with a record of 13-0-1. They outscored their opponents 79-5 through the regular season, with their only tie coming with Penquis Valley. The Howlers defeated Fort Fairfield 9-1 in the quarterfinals, and escaped their toughest test of the year, from Central Aroostook in the semifinals, winning 2-1. 

Ashland fought their way to a regular season record of 11-3. Two of their losses came to #2 Wisdom/Van Buren, the team they beat in the semifinal round in overtime. The Hornets defeated county foe the Madawaska Owls in the quarterfinal round.

Defense, defense, defense 

The first half saw both teams exchange deep runs into their opponent's territory and get a few quality scoring chances. PVHS boasted a size advantage and Ashland was utilizing a quickness advantage to create scoring opportunities. The game was tied 0-0 going into halftime.

The big shot came 15 minutes into the half 

Both teams came out in the second half with the same approach and each team had good looks at scoring in the first 10 minutes of the half. With 25 minutes remaining in regulation, PVHS found the back of the net on a solid strike from outside of the penalty box. This would be the only goal of the game and PVHS would win their second consecutive Class D Northern Maine Championship.

Up next: State Championship

PVHS will play North Yarmouth Academy for the Class D State Championship on Saturday at Deering High School in Portland.