Soccer’s Opening Day…Before Harvest Time

There are 136 high schools in Maine playing soccer this fall but only the Washburn Beavers and the Central Aroostook Panthers in Mars Hill get full attention from Maine's soccer community on this day.

The Maine Principals' Association allows Aroostook County schools that stop for the potato harvest to start practice session early (July 24th) and start their schedules early (August 11th) because in late September and early October schools close for the annual potato harvest.

Some schools up north stop for a week, others stop for two weeks and then other schools like Washburn and CAHS shut down for three weeks.

Washburn, for instance, will play about a dozen games before the harvest and the play the final two games during the last week of the soccer season in October.

After today, one of the two team schools will have a first place Heal Points team.

NOTE:  Washburn principal and athletic administrator Ron Ericson will be a guest on 'The Morning Pitch Show' today at 7:35am on Sports Radio 92.9 The Ticket to talk about scheduling and competing in and around potato harvest time.