Boys’ team

Dan Hanley, South Portland lacrosse

Contributed photos

If you saw Dan Hanley dominate as a lacrosse player, projecting he’d be a success as a coach wasn’t much of a stretch.

Just how quickly he turned the fortunes of the South Portland Red Riots was a surprise, however, as almost overnight, Hanley led the Red Riots from two victories to 11 and consideration as one of the top squads in the entire state.

For leading a dizzying turnaround and setting the stage for sustained success, Dan Hanley gets The Forecaster’s nod as our Southern edition Spring Coach of the Year of a boys’ team.

Hanley thus becomes a rarity, a Coach of the Year and Forecaster Athlete of the Year selection (Falmouth, spring 2010).

This spring, South Portland matched that win total in its second game, a stirring home victory over Thornton Academy, which announced that the Red Riots were back. South Portland would later enjoy a six-game win streak, including victories over eventual Class C champion Waynflete and Hanley’s alma mater, Falmouth. South Portland went 10-2 in the regular season, its best mark since 2015, and had no trouble with Bonny Eagle, prevailing, 25-4, in the Class A South quarterfinals. The Red Riots were eliminated by Thornton Academy, 13-9, in the semifinals but nearly pulled off a valiant late rally.

“We knew that we had a strong core group and that we returned a lot of guys,” Hanley said. “We talked about raising the standard for the program. We’ve come a long way, but there’s a long way to go as well.”

With Dan Hanley, our Southern edition boys’ team Spring Coach of the Year, it won’t be long until South Portland is playing for hardware and bringing it home.

Previous winners:

• 2021 Mike Owens (South Portland baseball)
• 2020 No season
• 2019 Mike D’Andrea (Scarborough baseball)
• 2018 Mike Owens (South Portland baseball)
• 2017 Ben Raymond (Cape Elizabeth lacrosse)
• 2016 Mike D’Andrea (Scarborough baseball)
• 2015 Mike Owens (South Portland baseball)
• 2014 Tom Fiorini (South Portland lacrosse)
• 2013 Andy Strout (Cape Elizabeth tennis)
• 2012 Chris Hayward (Cape Elizabeth baseball)
• 2011 Craig MacDonald (Scarborough tennis)
• 2010 Ben Raymond (Cape Elizabeth lacrosse)
• 2009 Jim Cronin (Scarborough baseball)
• 2008 Joe Hezlep (Scarborough lacrosse)
• 2007 Craig McDonald (Scarborough tennis)
• 2006 Tobey Farrington (Scarborough lacrosse)
• 2005 Dave Weatherbie (Cape Elizabeth track)
• 2004 Todd Day (Cape Elizabeth baseball)
• 2003 Ben Raymond (Cape Elizabeth lacrosse)
• 2002 Andy Strout (Cape Elizabeth tennis)

Girls’ team

Lincoln MacIsaac, Scarborough tennis

While Scarborough’s girls’ tennis team wasn’t able to capture the program’s first state title this spring, for a time, the Red Storm were simply perfect.

In fact, Scarborough didn’t lose a match during the regular season, continuing the program’s recent surge into the upper echelon.

The Red Storm are now annually one of the elite teams in Class A South, and a big reason for that is the leadership of their longtime coach, and in light of another tremendous season, Lincoln MacIsaac gets The Forecaster’s nod as our Southern edition Spring Coach of the Year of a girls’ team.

MacIsaac was also selected in 2019.

MacIsaac first began coaching Scarborough in 2008 and won 45 matches in four seasons, leading the Red Storm to the 2011 Class A state final, which they lost to Lewiston. After serving as an assistant to Steve Eddy for five years, MacIsaac returned to the head role in 2016 (with Eddy staying on as a volunteer coach) and produced an undefeated team, at least in the regular season (Scarborough lost to Falmouth in the regional final). After semifinal round losses in 2017 (to Thornton Academy) and 2018 (to Falmouth), the Red Storm stunned Falmouth in the 2019 regional final, ending its 187-match win streak. While Scarborough lost to Lewiston in the state match, it was firmly on the map.

The Red Storm was poised to make a championship run in 2020, but the season was lost to COVID. After a 12-3 campaign in 2021, which ended with a loss to Falmouth in the semifinals, Scarborough beat all 12 regular season opponents this spring, with only Gorham and Falmouth earning two points. The Red Storm beat Gorham, 4-1, in the Class A South quarterfinals, but in the semifinals, they fell a point shy against Falmouth (3-2) and the season came to a disappointing conclusion.

But the disappointment didn’t last long, as Scarborough’s future is very bright.

With Lincoln MacIsaac, our Southern edition girls’ team Spring Coach of the Year, calling the shots, it’s only a matter of time until the Red Storm breaks through and reaches the pinnacle.

Previous winners:

• 2021 Emily Field (Scarborough lacrosse)
• 2020 No season
• 2019 Lincoln MacIsaac (Scarborough tennis)
• 2018 Alex Spark (Cape Elizabeth lacrosse)
• 2017 Tom Griffin (Scarborough softball)
• 2016 Sarah Boeckel (Cape Elizabeth tennis)
• 2015 Leslie Dyer (South Portland lacrosse)
• 2014 Jeff Perkins (Cape Elizabeth lacrosse)
• 2013 Tom Griffin (Scarborough softball)
• 2012 Jeff Perkins (Cape Elizabeth lacrosse)
• 2011 Marcia Wood (Scarborough lacrosse)
• 2010 Ralph Aceto (South Portland softball)
• 2009 Ralph Aceto (South Portland softball)
• 2008 Tom Griffin (Scarborough softball)
• 2007 Tom Griffin (Scarborough softball)
• 2006 Joe Henrikson (Cape Elizabeth softball)
• 2005 Jim Hartman (South Portland softball)
• 2004 Susan Ray (Cape Elizabeth tennis)
• 2003 Tom Griffin (Scarborough softball)
• 2002 Jack DiBiase (South Portland softball)

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.