Cheverus girls soccer coach Bryn Carlson plans on being better prepared the next time her Stags face Gorham. It wasn’t that Carlson didn’t know the Rams were good – teams near the top of the Heal point standings typically aren’t flying under the radar at this point in the season.

Freshmen starters like Gorham’s Rachel Burns can sometimes slip through the cracks, though. Especially when there are more established veterans – like junior Kelsey Wilson – who need tight marking.

“She just really took it to us. There was not much we could do,” said Carlson. “We were not prepared for her, but we’ll know for next time.”

As the 2005 season progresses and the Rams continue their march toward a possible first-ever Class A state title, the Burns secret is getting out. But that hasn’t mattered much so far.

“You especially see (the marking) toward the second half as word gets out. She and Kelsey are pretty marked, pretty much targeted when you take the field,” said Gorham coach Jeanne Zarrilli. “So, fortunately, both of them, the nice thing about both of them is they’re versatile. If they’re marked I can move them. In the Cheverus game Rachel was playing up top, but I could move her to an outside mid and she just willingly and athletically makes that change.”

According to Zarrilli, Burns has a sports sense that is rarely seen at the high school level, nevermind in a 14-year-old, who was 13 when the season started.

It helps that Burns has good bloodlines – her dad, Steve, played basketball and baseball at UMaine Farmington; her uncle, Tony Aceto, is a one-time Cheverus athlete of the year; and her grandfather, Sam Aceto, played on Deering’s last state championship football team. It also helps, though, that Burns has a strong desire to get better and learn as much as she can about the sports she plays (soccer, basketball and softball).

Serving as the ball girl at all of Gorham’s games last season, she studied the game and the players and waited for her chance.

Zarrilli, meanwhile, was waiting for her arrival. She had coached Burns in the Odyssey program at the U-11 and U-12 levels, so she knew she could play. The question was, could she step right into a varsity lineup without missing a beat?

“It’s always hard to say how freshmen will respond,” said Zarrilli. “They can come in and be good athletes, but then to play the game against seniors at that level in the really competitive games you don’t really know how they are going to respond.”

If Burns hadn’t addressed all of her coach’s concerns by playing well in the Rams’ preseason scrimmages, she did so in the opening game of the year against Scarborough. Burns scored Gorham’s only goal in the the double-overtime 2-1 loss.

“It wasn’t really that big of a challenge (stepping up to varsity) because I’m just playing the way I usually play,” said Burns. “I’m just playing my game and seeing what happens, and good things are happening.”

The good news for Gorham and for girls basketball coach Sherry Conley, is that as soon as soccer season is over, basketball will be Burns’ top priority until soccer starts up again next fall.

“I could end up liking soccer better as it goes on, but as of now I think that I love basketball,” said Burns. “And for basketball I want to go far. I want to go to a Division I school and play there and then hopefully try to play in the WNBA.”

Lofty goals for sure, but realistic ones for someone who spends her free time running through drills in the University of Southern Maine gym. When Burns was 7 years old she was watching NBA and college basketball games on TV with her dad on a regular basis. A few years later, when she was in fifth grade, the two began holding the nightly practice sessions at USM. For two hours a night, three or four nights a week – less during soccer season – they work on dribbling, shooting and defense.

“I knew that she had something special because she just had that desire when she was like 5,” said Steve. “She just wanted to practice.”

Burns, who plays for the Maine Hoops AAU team, already has experience competing against 16 and 17-year-olds, so it’s unlikely she’ll be any more intimidated on the hardwood than she has been on the soccer field.

And she probably won’t fly under the radar for very long either.