When Annie Barker nominated six lacrosse players from her Kennebunk High team to try out for the prestigious Upper New England team, she hoped a few would make the cut.

Turns out all six will represent Maine on the team of 20 that will play in the women’s division national tournament in Baltimore over Memorial Day weekend.

“I think it shows Kennebunk does have some strong players,” said Molly Centore, a junior midfielder. “It was pretty cool that we all made it out of so many girls.”

Centore will be joined by her fellow juniors, Camille Auger, Taylor Crowley, Mary Dempsey, and Emily Kessell, and by sophomore Allie Bush. All six play midfield or attack.

Maine has taken part in the tournament for more than 10 years, but used to play as part of a regional team tied in with New Hampshire and Vermont. After lobbying to have its own squad, Maine was awarded one this year.

“We petitioned to be our own team a long time ago and they finally accepted us,” said Barker. “We have nine schools from Maine represented, which is pretty good.”

The event is intended for players who are seeking a lacrosse career in college, and is a hotbed for college scouts.

The tryout for this year’s team took place at Yarmouth earlier this month and included drill stations where players were rated on each skill from 1 to 5.

At the end of the day, the scores were compiled into a database and the computer churned out the team.

The six from Kennebunk piled into one car and gave it their best shot.

“We knew in each one of the drills we had to perform at our best,” said Auger. “It was really exciting. We kind of just went to the tryout having fun with it. But we were so pumped when we all made it.”

None of the six girls has played on the team before, and all of them are hoping the experience will pay dividends.

“It’s really so exciting,” said Crowley. “None of us had even tried out before so I’m just so excited all six of us could make it.”

The roster includes players from eight other schools: Rebecca Bell of Yarmouth, Alex Bernier of Falmouth, Chelsea Black of Gorham, Heather Bolduc of Mt. Ararat, Katelyn Boyer of Bonny Eagle, Maggie Caputi of Brunswick, goalie Molly Herman of Brunswick, Kelsey Howard of Scarborough, Meghan Quirk of Scarborough, Natalie Salmon of Yarmouth, Devin Simsarian of Yarmouth, Maggie Smith of Scarborough, goalie Alyssa Thomas of Hyde and Danielle Torres of Yarmouth.

 

ON FRIDAY NIGHT, the Falmouth boys’ lacrosse team will try to play giant killer again.

Two weeks ago, the Yachtsmen opened the season with an 11-4 victory against Cape Elizabeth.

It was their first win against the Capers in 10 seasons of varsity competition.

Friday night, Falmouth will host Yarmouth, the two-time defending Class B champion and another team it’s never beaten in varsity play, in a pivotal Western Maine Conference matchup.

 

VOLCANIC ASH over Europe halted a trip to England and Scotland for five girls’ lacrosse players at Brunswick. The girls — Anna Holmblad, Eliza Halmo, Olivia Robbins, Sarah Croston and Kelsie Jenquine — were supposed to depart April 17 with their history teacher, but never got out of Maine.

Said Coach Beth Caputi: “They held out hope for a day or two that it would be delayed. But the flights just weren’t going. I had one player e-mail me who said the good news was she doesn’t have to miss any practices or games.”

Silver lining: Brunswick is 2-0 this season.

 

PAT WOLFE, a senior attackman from Morse, had seven goals and four assists as the Shipbuilders opened the season with a 17-4 victory against Camden Hills last week.

 

CROSSOVER GAMES have been scheduled by Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference teams into the Western Maine Conference for the first time. The Brunswick boys’ and girls’ teams, for example, will be playing both North Yarmouth Academy and Falmouth this season.

 

A HOT START has the South Portland boys’ lacrosse team boasting a 3-0 record out of the gate. South Portland has downed Scarborough, Cheverus and Deering — three strong rivals. The first victory came in overtime: 8-7 against Scarborough.

 

THE WEEKLY boys’ lacrosse coaches poll: 1. Falmouth, 2. Yarmouth, 3. Cape Elizabeth, 4. Portland, 5. South Portland, 6. Brunswick, 7. Scarborough, 8. North Yarmouth Academy, 9. Kennebunk, 10. Cheverus.

 

Staff Writer Jenn Menendez can be contacted at 791-6426 or at: jmenendez@pressherald.com