STANDISH — When watching the Windham High girls’ soccer team, it’s hard to decide whose skills are the most effective.
Is it Cassie Symonds’ deft footwork and slick passing in tight spaces? Or Ciera Berthiaume’s explosive change of speeds on the wing that results in a thunderous shot with either foot? Maybe it’s the poise and tracking ability of center back Jordan Sargent. Or the way goalie Elizabeth Mycock can coolly play a ball, with foot or a throw-in, directly to a teammate instead of just booming it down field.
Don’t forget about the myriad scoring options provided up front with Jenna Soucy and speedy wing Melissa Morton, or the all-over-the field contributions of defender Shannon Valente.
It’s tough to choose among them. Little wonder the defending Class A state champions are 9-0 and the odds-on favorite to repeat in 2014.
Perhaps more important than any of the individual skills is the cumulative joy these experienced and successful players exhibit on the soccer field.
“We work very hard but it’s always very worth it,” Symonds said.
“This team is so close. Progressively over our years we’ve gotten closer and for this team to win another state championship, it would be, oh, so good,” Sargent said.
Through nine games the Eagles have outscored their opponents, 67-2. The only team to score against Windham is Thornton Academy. Golden Trojans’ standout Tori Daigle scored twice to tie the game before Windham responded with two for a 4-2 win in a rematch of last year’s Western Maine final on Sept. 19.
“We do what we need to do when it’s needed,” Sargent said.
“We knew what each player wants and how to play to their specific strengths,” Valente said after a recent 8-0 win at Bonny Eagle.
Windham Coach Deb Lebel knows she has an extremely talented group that has played hundreds of competitive games together, at the youth level, for premier-level club teams and for the Windham varsity team.
“I’m not a big fan of playing year-round, but this group has played together on some of those premier teams,” Lebel said. “I can’t believe the time these kids put in during the offseason.”
Valente, Symonds, Sargent, Soucy, Mycock and Morton have played extensively with the Portland-based version of Seacoast United Maine.
Symonds said playing for Seacoast United has provided her and her high school teammates with top-notch coaching and year-round practice.
That translates into greater personal confidence and an increased trust in teammates’ abilities.
“You kind of learn how to keep your composure a little more,” Sargent said. “Over time we kind of matured and learned how to compose ourselves.”
Also in the senior class is starting right back Hannah Haskell, who is currently injured, and reserve Alana Dube.
Windham underclassmen Spencer, Berthiaume, Maggie Symonds (Cassie’s freshman sister), Caitlyn Winn and Emily Kent are also Seacoast United players.
Teammates Katie Herzig and Madison Mauro play year-round club soccer with the Portland Phoenix.
The group’s dedication and love of soccer was born at the town-based youth level. Playing for Windham Travel Soccer, coached by Valente’s father, Ernie, the current seniors won state titles at the U12, U13 and U14 age groups.
“I would say soccer created the bond,” Valente said.
Next year Cassie Symonds, the reigning Maine Sunday Telegram and Gatorade Player of the Year, will be attending Holy Cross as a scholarship soccer player. Valente will play soccer at Southern New Hampshire University, a Division II school in Manchester, New Hampshire. Mycock, the goalie, will be playing at Babson College.
Sargent said she, along with Soucy and Morton, also still have the desire to continue playing soccer.
“They just make each other better in practice,” Lebel said. “And in practice they really do work.”
Lebel pointed to her team’s fitness as a key factor in a rare challenging game, a 3-0 win against Gorham.
“On Mondays they don’t like me because I make them run pretty hard,” Lebel said. “But I really think that benefited us in our Gorham game. Our fitness was a little better.”
In the next 10 days, the Eagles will get a better idea of just how good they can be this year. Windham hosts Scarborough on Friday and Marshwood next Wednesday, two teams that appear capable of challenging them.
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