WATERBORO — When asked about the contributions senior forward Jackie Guillemette made to her team this past fall, Massabesic field hockey coach Michele Martin-Moore had to pause for a moment.

“It’s hard to put into words how much she really contributed,” Martin-Moore said. “She was just phenomenal.”

But what exactly set Guillemette apart, besides her SMAA-high 19 goals as well as the six assists that helped spearhead the Mustangs’ mighty attack?

Martin-Moore had an easier time answering that one: “She had a flair for the dramatic, did she not?”

Guillemette certainly did, scoring six game-winning goals to help Massabesic to a school-record 14 victories and the program’s second-ever appearance in the Western Maine Class A regional final.

For those accomplishments, both as an individual and as the essential member of a Mustangs squad whose whole was greater than the sum of its parts, Guillemette is the Journal Tribune’s field hockey player of the year.

“She did a great job for us this year,” Martin-Moore said. “She ate, drank and slept it, and she’s so competitive. It doesn’t matter who she’s playing against, she wants to win and be better than you are. She brought that every single day.”

Guillemette set the course for the season in the first two minutes of Massabesic’s opening game, a 5-2 victory over Sanford, when her two breakaways resulted in a pair of carbon-copy, tap-in goals for fellow wing Maggie Redman.

Minutes later, Guillemette started yet another fast break down the left, and this time, the lone Spartans defender back sagged off her and kept close to Redman. No matter, as Guillemette simply did what she did best this season ”“ shoot and score.

“She set the tone right there in the first game of the season that we can score, and we’re going to score,” Martin-Moore said. “Her passing this year was better than it had been in the past. She made a concerted effort this year to make that right decision; that was added to her arsenal this season.”

Guillemette’s leadership was on display three days later in the Mustangs’ second game, a 5-1 defeat to powerhouse Scarborough, when fellow senior leader Alex Staples left with a head injury just minutes into the game.

Without a ready replacement at the all-important spot of center midfield, Martin-Moore turned to Guillemette, who filled in ably at a foreign position.

“She could do a whole lot more than score, for sure,” Martin-Moore said. “Anything I asked her to do she could do, and do it well. That was an important factor in how far we went.”

Guillemette went on to score the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory over Thornton Academy, and also tallied the only goal of the game as Massabesic passed a critical midseason test against Cheverus.

When the playoffs came, Guillemette was at it again, scoring on a diving poke-in as Massabesic beat Westbrook 1-0 to get past the quarterfinal round after falling at that stage each of the past three seasons.

Guillemette also scored in the Mustangs’ 2-0 victory over Falmouth in the semifinals, and recorded the 50th ”“ which Martin-Moore said is a school record ”“ goal of her four-year varsity career in a 6-3 loss to Scarborough in the regional final.

For her efforts, Guillemette was named to the SMAA all-conference first team for the second year in a row, and, along with Staples, was named to the Maine Field Hockey Association’s All-State team.

But Martin-Moore said Guillemette’s contributions, and those of the eight seniors on this year’s roster in general, go far beyond awards and accolades.

“When they came in, field hockey wasn’t the en vogue sport in the fall,” said Martin-Moore, who had 45 girls in her program this season, up from 24 only three years ago. “Soccer always had huge numbers, while field hockey was hard to understand, and there was less of a feeder program at that time.

“They made it the ”˜it’ sport, and the young kids are bent and determined on it not being a flash in the pan. That’s a great tribute to what these girls have done for the program.”

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or cdunbar@journaltribune.com.