Fall Previews: Lake Region

Cross Country
Coaches: Kurt and Kim Peterson
Key athletes lost: Devyn Hatch, Tim Moore
Key athletes returning: Nate Casali, Jeff McCubrey, Ian St. John, Justin Lees, Libby Blais, Aleesa Jordan
Key newcomers: Grady Kemp, Jacob Stone, Derek Langadas, Tristan Cormier, Ezra Gronlund, Carly Dyer, Emma Cole, Mikala Reed
Outlook: Peterson and Peterson report simple goals for their boys and girls squads this year. The former they hope will return to States, and the latter they hope will score as a team in all their races.

Field Hockey
Coach: Pauline Webb
Last year’s results: 10-6, fell 2-0 to York in B South semifinals
Key players lost: Paige Davis (F/M), Shayla Dunn (M)
Key players returning: Kaitlyn Plummer (sr., F); Julia Murch (sr., M); Delaney Meserve (sr., F/M); Victoria Ross (sr., M); Emerson Dinsmore (sr., D); Alli Vogel (jr., D)
Key newcomers: Abby Elsaessar (so.), Sadie Tirell (so.)
Key matchups: Fryeburg, Freeport, York, Yarmouth, Poland
Outlook: Webb’s key players impress her noticeably. “Kaitlyn is playing with more confidence this year and looking very strong; she’ll be a scoring threat for us,” Webb says. “Julia, who was an All-State player last year, will bring strength and skill in the midfield. Delaney has great speed, hits the ball well, has great passes and is a scoring threat. Victoria is quick, and brings strength and skill to the middle of the field, too. Emerson is the backbone of our defense, and teams up well with Alli, who is a strong and fast defender. Abby and Sadie both have great speed and a nose for the goal.” The Western Maine Conference is tough, and nobody can afford to take anyone else lightly. So the Lady Lakers have work ahead – but also advantages to draw upon. “We take one game at a time and work to improve and learn from each game,” Webb says. “We should be competitive again this year and would love to get past that semifinal game.”

Football
Last year’s results: 2-6
Key players lost: Chase Weese, Mark Mayo
Key players returning: Brandon Sargent, Ethan MacMurray, Isaac Holland, Isaac Rawson, Mikey Ross, Colby Chaplin
Key newcomers: Tavian Teague, Ayden Foster
Key matchups: Poland, Fryeburg
Outlook: “We’ll have a quick, powerful offense that will expose the edges,” Shea says. “And on defense, we’ll be very stout within the run game!”

Boys Soccer
Coach: Ryan Harlow
Last year’s results: 0-13-1
Key players lost: Nate Bragdon-Clement (F), Matt Mayo (D), CJ Ferguson (G)
Key players returning: Thomas Kolofsky (sr., D, captain); Logan Davis (jr., G, captain); Logan Parsons (jr., D, captain); Giovani Lopez (jr., M, captain); Jason Harlow (jr., F)
Key newcomers: Matt Aker (so., M/F); Jake Smith (so., M); Jake Chadbourne (fr., F); Zach Vogel (fr., D)
Key matchups: Fryeburg, Sacopee Valley
Outlook: Harlow & Co. hope to tally more wins this autumn than last. “We had a successful and productive summer, playing in a league and a few tournaments and winning the Western Mountain Seven-on-Seven Soccer Classic,” Harlow says. “Last season we were competitive in every game. We hope with the hard work put in over the summer we will capture some of the wins we came up short on last year. Leadership on the team this season will be key to our success.”

Girls Soccer
Coach: David Jaeger
Last year’s results: 5-7-2
Key players lost: Maddie Rock (G), Neva Leavitt (M), Mindy Murphy (B)
Key players returning: Isabella Wears (sr., M/F); Eleina Sturk (sr., M); Mackenzie Siebert (jr., M); Isabella Russo (jr., M/F); Rebecca Roy (jr., B)
Key newcomers: Melissa Mayo (fr., M); Caitlin Ross (fr., M)
Key matchups: Gray-New Gloucester, Freeport, Greely
Outlook: Jaeger looks to hone his girls’ approach this fall, the aim being to “hit higher on the table and steal some much-needed points” from his key matchups. The Lady Lakers hope to “compete with the top of the table, working to deny easy points to the better teams.” Jaeger & Co. will try a possession-based style, and depend on their passing to do the hard work of moving the ball. “We will be focused more on possession with a purpose,” Jaeger says, “and making sure that when passing, we’re doing it with a goal in mind. Keeping the ball on the ground…will be important as well.” Jaeger hasn’t fleshed out a particular set of strategies yet: “We have some promising new players and are still figuring out how to best implement them in with the players we already have.”

Volleyball
Coach: Ryan Shible
Last year’s record: 0-14
Key players lost: Savannah Silke (S/MH), Kayah McClean (S/OH), Cheyenne Bell (L), Haley Fernald (P)
Key players returning: Michelle Burnell (S), Sam Pinet (P), Savannah Mullins (OH)
Key newcomers: Ciara Huggins (jr., S); Freedom Potter (jr., OH/MH)
Key matchups: York, North Yarmouth
Outlook: “If our team can maintain our consistency with our serving and passing, and make sure we’re feeding our hitters with good sets, I believe we’ll be competitive against any team we play,” Shible says. “I am fortunate to have some hard-working girls this season. They’re motivated to improve, and I believe this effort will be seen on the court.” Silke, McClean, Bell and Fernald were important to the Lakers – “These players displayed great effort on our team and contributed greatly on offense and defense,” Shible says – but girls are ready to fill their predecessors’ shoes. Huggins will step in as one of Lake Region’s two main setters. “Ciara has already demonstrated a great work ethic,” Shible says. Potter earned some stripes last year, rising from JV to varsity mid-season. “Freedom has shown tremendous promise in the position of middle hitter,” Shible says. Shible & Co. like York and NYA as competitors, since both have traditionally been quite strong. LRHS faces both squads early on.