{"id":7356,"date":"2022-12-02T09:48:13","date_gmt":"2022-12-02T14:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=7356"},"modified":"2025-08-22T19:07:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T23:07:51","slug":"one-of-those-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2022\/12\/02\/one-of-those-people\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018One of Those People\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Impact of Aaron Marston<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Ricky Goupille<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     It\u2019s difficult to put into words the effect Aaron Marston had on everyone he encountered. But if words don\u2019t suffice, perhaps an enormous crowd of blue and gold can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The UMPI crowd at the October 29th playoff game at Husson University. Photo by Edie Shea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

     On Oct. 29, 2022, the University of Maine at Presque Isle Women\u2019s Soccer team competed in a playoff game against in-state rival Husson University. But the events of that day and that week preceding the game extend far beyond the game of soccer. The UMPI women\u2019s team took the field that day for the first time without their beloved coach, Aaron Marston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Aaron tragically and very suddenly passed away 10 days prior to this game. \u201cIt was about as difficult a situation as anybody can imagine,\u201d UMPI President Raymond Rice said. In the hours following the tragedy, the UMPI community showed an enormous amount of support for everyone affected by it. \u201cOur student athletes were there for one another, and it shows the great culture we\u2019ve built. You can\u2019t help but be proud of the group we have here,\u201d Athletic Director Dan Kane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Coach Marston took over the program in 2019. He had built the team from the ground up. His first recruiting class, now seniors, took the field that day with their hearts broken. \u201cWe knew it was going to be the hardest thing any of us have ever done,\u201d senior Captain Monica McLaughlin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     But behind the women who were playing in their coach\u2019s honor was an overwhelming crowd who made the two-and-a-half-hour\u2019s drive to Bangor to support the team. \u201cI would guess there was probably 500 people there, and we had probably two thirds of them,\u201d Dan Kane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     On Husson\u2019s home field, UMPI had the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Throughout the game, the UMPI players battled through all the emotions. \u201cThe whole team\u2019s hearts were aching for Aaron. We felt like we were missing something throughout the entire game,\u201d Monica McLaughlin said. The Owls fought with the best team in the conference, trailing by one goal at the halfway point. \u201cWhen we ran across the field during halftime to warm up for the second half and we heard everyone cheering for us, it brought tears to every single one of our eyes,\u201d McLaughlin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    UMPI continued to compete but trailed 2-0 late in the game. With their season nearing its end, senior defender Kassandra Nelson hit a great free kick. Freshman Camryn Ala was able to get a touch on it and score for UMPI to bring them within one goal. In that moment, the crowd went into a frenzy. \u201cWhen they scored with a couple minutes to go, the place just erupted,\u201d Dan Kane said. \u201cWe were all just overwhelmed by the cheers coming from our fans. After we scored, I think every single one of us was crying,\u201d McLaughlin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Owls celebrate after Camryn Ala scores in the 87th minute to pull UMPI within 1.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

     From sorrow in the days and weeks after Aaron Marston\u2019s passing, to complete joy following Ala\u2019s goal. Although UMPI didn\u2019t end up winning the game, the joy in the moments after they scored shows the outpouring of support during a time of tragedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The community\u2019s support, however, is a direct product of the man Aaron Marston was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

     Aaron Marston had a positive impact on whomever he crossed paths with. Whether it was his players, his students or his colleagues. \u201cAaron always made the situation a better one,\u201d President Rice said. \u201cHe always made every individual feel valued and feel they could achieve a potential they themselves didn\u2019t know they were capable of,\u201d Rice said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     After the season was over, Monica McLaughlin was named a member of the All-Conference Second Team for the North Atlantic Conference (10 colleges in Maine and the greater northeast). \u201cDuring a meeting we had back in 2019 he told me, \u2018Monica, if you stick with this, then you\u2019ll become an All-Conference defender.\u2019 That\u2019s why that award is so special to me. Because even when I didn\u2019t believe I could, he did,\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cAaron had a way of making you feel like you were important. Like you were seen. Like you were valuable. He was such a great role model,\u201d McLaughlin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Aaron Marston poses with his senior class before his final game. L-R Aaron Marston, Zhoreen Malik, Hope Shea, Ashlyn Wing, Taylor Shute, Kassandra Nelson, Assistant Coach John Ala, Monica McLaughlin, Savannah Rodriguez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

     Aaron Marston also received an award after the season: Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Aaron, certainly before anything else, was a great father to his two daughters, Taylor and Kacie, and a great husband to his beloved wife, Keli. \u201cHe was a great father and husband and friend. There\u2019s just a great personal impact he has made on people outside the workplace as well,\u201d Dan Kane said. \u201cHe was just one of those people that is good at everything they do. And makes an impact in so many different ways,\u201d Kane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Throughout life, there are certain people that just stick with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Aaron Marston is certainly one of those people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Impact of Aaron Marston By Ricky Goupille      It\u2019s difficult to put into words the effect Aaron Marston had on everyone he encountered. But if words don\u2019t suffice, perhaps an enormous crowd of blue and gold can help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8109,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7356\/revisions\/8109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}