2026 Aroostook County Girls Soccer Playoff Preview

The regular season is coming to a close, and Aroostook County girls' soccer fans have plenty to look forward to as the postseason gets underway.

Presque Isle has earned the third seed in Class B North, Fort Kent sits atop Class C North, and six County teams are lined up for three head-to-head quarterfinal games in Class D North.

Add in Wisdom's impressive season in eight-player soccer and Katahdin's preliminary matchup, and there should be no shortage of local teams to follow during the next couple of weeks.

The eight-player preliminary round is scheduled for Friday, October 23, with the remaining preliminaries Saturday, October 24. Regional quarterfinals follow October 26, 27 and 28.

Here's a look at what awaits our County teams.

Class B North: Presque Isle Earns Third Seed and Preliminary Bye

The Presque Isle Wildcats have put together a strong regular season, finishing 9-3-2 and earning the number three seed in Class B North.

That gives Presque Isle a bye through the preliminary round and a home quarterfinal against the winner of sixth-seeded Skowhegan and eleventh-seeded Lawrence.

It's a different path from the one the Wildcats appeared to be heading toward earlier in the standings, but they'll still have an opportunity to begin their playoff run on their home field.

Presque Isle picked up some impressive victories throughout the season, including two wins over Orono, a victory over Fort Kent, and a win against Ellsworth.

The Wildcats also played Hermon to a tie after losing their first meeting with the Hawks.

Two of Presque Isle's three losses came against top-seeded John Bapst, which finished 13-0-1.

With the number three seed, the Wildcats have put themselves in a position to make a run through the Northern Maine tournament. They'll just have to wait for the preliminary round to find out who they'll face first.

Class C North: Fort Kent Leads the Way, Houlton Earns Home Quarterfinal

Fort Kent has been one of the strongest girls' soccer teams in Northern Maine throughout the fall.

The Warriors finished 11-1-2 and earned the top seed in Class C North, giving them home-field advantage as they begin the playoffs.

Fort Kent's first opponent is eighth-seeded Maine Central Institute, which finished 4-10.

The Warriors' only loss came against Presque Isle, and they also played the Wildcats to a tie in their other meeting.

Fort Kent swept its regular-season meetings with second-seeded Orono and fourth-seeded Houlton, and also defeated Madawaska twice.

Those results helped the Warriors earn the top spot in the region and an opportunity to begin their tournament at home.

Houlton and Central Meet for a Third Time

The Houlton Lady Shires finished 7-7, earning the fourth seed and a home quarterfinal against fifth-seeded Central, which finished 6-6-2.

This one has the makings of a pretty entertaining matchup.

Houlton and Central met twice during the regular season, with each team picking up a victory.

Now they'll meet for a third time, with the winner advancing to the regional semifinals.

The Lady Shires also recorded victories over Penobscot Valley and Van Buren during the regular season, showing they're capable of competing against some quality opponents.

With the season series split, this third meeting should be an interesting one.

Class D North: Three All-County Quarterfinals Highlight the Bracket

If you're looking for some great local soccer, Class D North might be the place to find it.

Six Aroostook County teams occupy seeds two through seven, creating three quarterfinal matchups between County schools.

And with top-seeded Penobscot Valley also in the field, there's plenty of competition throughout the bracket.

No. 2 Fort Fairfield vs. No. 7 Washburn

Fort Fairfield finished 12-2, earning the second seed after one of the strongest regular seasons in the classification.

The Tigers will host seventh-seeded Washburn, which finished its season at 7-7.

Fort Fairfield defeated the Beavers twice during the regular season, but the playoffs give Washburn another opportunity to turn things around.

The Tigers also defeated Central Aroostook and Madawaska during the fall, proving they can compete with teams near the top of the standings.

Both schools know each other well, and with a regional semifinal appearance at stake, they'll meet for a third time this season.

No. 3 Central Aroostook vs. No. 6 Van Buren

Central Aroostook put together an 11-3 season, earning the third seed and a home quarterfinal against sixth-seeded Van Buren.

The Crusaders finished 9-5.

Unlike several of the other County matchups, these teams did not meet during the regular season.

Central Aroostook recorded victories over Fort Fairfield, Ashland and Madawaska, while Van Buren earned a win over Ashland and swept its meetings against Washburn.

That should make for an interesting opening matchup between two teams that haven't had a chance to size each other up on the field this fall.

No. 4 Ashland vs. No. 5 Madawaska

This could be one of the most entertaining quarterfinal games in the entire Class D North bracket.

Ashland finished 9-4-1, earning the fourth seed, while Madawaska completed a 10-4 season and enters as the fifth seed.

Both teams have had success against strong competition.

Ashland defeated Central Aroostook during the regular season and also earned a tie against top-seeded Penobscot Valley.

Madawaska recorded victories over Fort Fairfield and Central Aroostook, and the Lady Owls are heading into the tournament following one of the more dramatic finishes we've seen this fall.

In their final regular-season game, eighth-grader Dani Pelletier scored just 57 seconds into the second overtime to give Madawaska a 1-0 win over Washburn.

It was a memorable finish to the regular season, and now the Lady Owls will be looking to carry that momentum into the playoffs.

Ashland and Madawaska did not face each other during the regular season, giving us another first-time matchup in the quarterfinals.

Eight-Player North: Wisdom Earns Second Seed, Katahdin Heads to Penquis Valley

The Wisdom Pioneers have enjoyed another outstanding season, finishing 12-2 and earning the second seed in eight-player North.

Wisdom's only two losses came against undefeated Bangor Christian, which competes in the South region.

The Pioneers also picked up two victories apiece over Lee Academy, Penobscot Christian, Penquis Valley and Katahdin.

Wisdom receives a preliminary-round bye and will host the winner between seventh-seeded Penobscot Christian and tenth-seeded George Stevens Academy in the quarterfinals.

Should Penobscot Christian advance, Wisdom would meet a team it has already defeated twice this season.

Katahdin Opens on the Road

The Katahdin Cougars finished 8-6 and earned the ninth seed, setting up a preliminary-round trip to eighth-seeded Penquis Valley, which finished 4-9-1.

These two teams split their regular-season meetings, which should make their third meeting particularly interesting.

Katahdin also picked up a victory over sixth-seeded Lee Academy during the regular season and has shown it can compete against tournament opponents.

If the Cougars can get past Penquis Valley, they'll advance to face top-seeded Dexter, which finished 11-2-1.

Championship Soccer Is Coming to Aroostook County

The tournament begins October 23 with the eight-player preliminaries, followed by the remaining preliminary games October 24.

The regional quarterfinals are scheduled for October 27 and 28, with semifinals October 30 and 31.

Regional championships follow November 3 and 4, with the state championships scheduled for November 7.

Two of those championship games are coming to Presque Isle Middle School.

The Class D North regional championship is scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, while the eight-player state championship will take place Saturday, November 7.

With so many County teams in the tournament, there's plenty of opportunity for some of our local schools to make a run.

I'll have the finalized brackets, game results, updates and more photos as the tournament moves along.

Good luck to all our County teams as they begin their playoff runs!

The 2026 MPA Soccer Championships on 101.9 The Rock are proudly presented by Pineland Farms in Mars Hill.

Filed Under: High School Scores