Ponies seek to build on recent soccer success

By Ernie Clark
BDN Staff

DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — With 38 players out for the sport this year and back-to-back postseason appearances to its credit, the Foxcroft Academy boys soccer program is at one of the more competitive points of its history.

“The commitment the players have made to each other over the past few years has been great,” said Ponies’ head coach Luis Ayala. “They’ve dedicated themselves to going to soccer camps during the summer and in the winter leagues they’ve played in, and I really think we’ve turned the corner with the athletes that are coming in, the trust they have in each other and the dedication they have to push each other.”

Foxcroft, which went 9-6-1 during a 2014 campaign that ended with a loss in the Eastern Maine Class B quarterfinals to eventual regional champion Ellsworth, features a deep and experienced senior class led by a pair of All-Penobscot Valley Conference first-team honorees in captains Antonio Ayala and Nate Church.

Ayala, the son of the coach, led the team in assists last year while tying for the team lead in total points en route to being named to the Eastern Maine Class B all-star team, while Church has emerged as one of the region’s top defenders.

Other key veterans are junior forward Chandler Rockwell, back after suffering a broken leg during last year’s preseason, and junior goalie Logan Butera, a second-team All-PVC choice in 2014.

The Ponies also are expected to receive a boost from Tobias Hogfeldt, a boarding student from Denmark with considerable playmaking skills, according to coach Ayala.

Foxcroft went 9-1 during its preseason schedule and outscored that opposition 45-10 before scoring a 2-1 victory at John Bapst of Bangor in its regular-season opener.

“The expectations are there this year,” said Ayala. “We’ve been building the last couple years, taking little steps further during the regular season and taking a step further in the playoffs. Now it’s the moment of truth, what we’ve been working for.

“We’re not going to take anything for granted, we’re going to play to the fullest.”