SACO — Brett Levasseur time and again made saves for the Thornton Academy boys lacrosse team. It wasn’t just goals he saved, but entire games as well. Levasseur was the most important player on a Golden Trojans’ squad that went 9-3 and made it to the Western Class A semifinals, and he is well-deserving of being named the Journal Tribune Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year.
Some teams just have one player that stirs the drink, runs the show, or whatever other phrase you want to use to describe a team’s key cog. Levasseur is that player.
“His ability to keep us in games is huge,” said Thornton coach Ryan Hersey. “We didn’t have the high-scoring offense like we did last year, so we needed a goalie like him to step up and make some big saves.”
Levasseur book-ended his season with possibly his two biggest games. In the season opener against Portland, Levasseur made 13 saves in a 3-2 Trojans’ victory. It was a game in which neither team scored until the second half. Hersey said simply, “If we didn’t have Brett in goal, we don’t beat Portland.”
Levasseur’s best performance came in a loss, but not for a lack of effort on his part. For the third year in a row the Trojans had their season ended by Scarborough. This time it was 7-1, which was a better showing than the 15-4 beatdown suffered by Thornton in the regular season finale. Levasseur gave his team a chance to win the game though, as it was just a 2-1 deficit entering the fourth quarter.
“I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch the video yet, but I’m guessing that he had about 20 saves in the first three quarters,” Hersey said of the playoff loss to Scarborough.
While its easy to see Levasseur’s improvement from last year to this year in numbers, he also improved by a desire to get better and a dedication to his craft, Hersey said. His jump from a 67 to 77 percent save percentage, and allowing almost half as many goals is nice, but Hersey had a much improved Levasseur in net this season, regardless of the numbers.
“I really attribute his growth this year to his offseason work. He got in with a summer team, and worked with Falmouth goalie coach Chris Richards,” said Hersey. “(Chris) was able to work with Brett in the offseason on his technique, and I have to credit Chris on working with him on his mental toughness, too.
“I would have to say that’s just as big a part as his skill in goal. Being able to let things go, and to readjust and make the save the next time.”
What sets Levasseur apart from other goalies is his athleticism, Hersey said.
“Brett’s a heck of an athlete. He is the fastest kid on our team. If we did the 40-yard sprint, he would be the first one (across the finish line),” Hersey said.
Hersey lamented about how he described to other coaches just what Levasseur meant to the team this season.
“What I brought up at the All-Conference meeting was, if we don’t have (Brett), we’re a sub-.500 team and struggling to make the playoffs.”
Besides the Portland game, Thornton Academy also had one-goal victories twice over Massabesic, including in the quarterfinals, and against Kennebunk.
If the Trojans lost those four games, they would have been 5-7 and maybe out of the playoffs.
— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323
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