The Cheverus boys and Windham girls begin defense of their titles as fall practices start.
Expectations.
Every high school team needs to define what it expects of itself. That process started officially Monday with the first day of high school practice for fall sports.
For the Cheverus High boys’ soccer team, expectations have changed dramatically in the past year. The Stags entered the 2014 playoffs as an unheralded seventh seed with a 6-4-4 record in Western Class A.
Cheverus embarked on the 2015 season as the defending Class A champions after a magical five-win tournament run. With 10 starters back, the expectations have only increased.
“If anything, winning the championship last year only motivates us,” senior captain and top defender Andrei Vile said. “Everyone thinks we were just a one-hit wonder team. We want to prove we can be a powerhouse.”
Monday was the first day of fall practices for Maine high schools for all sports: soccer, football, field hockey, volleyball, golf and cross country. Across the state, players and coaches began setting the foundation for the season.
There were probably a few soccer coaches across the state who referenced Cheverus as an example of what can happen if a team continues to believe in itself.
Meanwhile, Cheverus Coach Colin Minte was making sure his team was keeping its expectations grounded in the present.
“What we did last year was absolutely something special but this is a new team, even if it is a lot of the same players,” Minte said.
For most high school athletes, the preparation for a season starts well before the first official high school practice.
For example, Cheverus senior attacking midfielder Mackenzie Hoglund played on both U17 and U20 teams for Global Premier Soccer (GPS) Maine and also trained with the club’s professional development team.
“I’ve really only had one week off,” Hoglund said. “Plus we held captains’ practice three times a week and at those we really focused on conditioning. You have to get it done so you might as well get it done early.”
“Everybody’s been playing, we’re all excited for this,” said senior keeper Jacob Tomkinson, who made 17 saves against Lewiston in state final. “I’ve been working out all summer. I’ve been very excited for this.”
About 11 miles from Cheverus’ Washington Avenue practice facility the Windham High girls’ soccer team was finishing up the second of its practices.
The Eagles have won the last two Class A titles with a powerhouse roster of premier-level players. They lived up to preseason expectations in 2014 by going 17-0-1 but graduated eight players, including two-time Portland Press Herald Player of the Year Cassie Symonds.
“We’re definitely going to be a redefined team,” said Madison Mauro, a senior who intends to go from valued reserve to prominent starter in the midfield.
“Whenever there’s an opportunity, someone is going to rise up to it,” Mauro said. “There’s a lot of opportunity, obviously, with the departure of half of our team. I think someone is going to rise up because someone has to.”
Ciera Berthiaume, a powerful and fast senior forward, has already established herself as one of the top scoring threats in the state.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to keep the momentum going,” Berthiaume said. “I think our big goal is to win states again but we’re going to try our best. We just really want to play well this year and I think we can do that.”
The Eagles will also have to overcome a season-ending injury to defensive stalwart Katie Herzig, who would have been a four-year starter. Herzig tore her ACL playing club soccer in March and will miss the season.
The injury forced Herzig to change her personal expectations. Now she will try to help her teammates as a mentor.
“Of course I would rather be playing but I’m actually really looking forward to this opportunity to be able to watch from the sidelines,” Herzig said. “I’ve always been very outspoken in soccer and I’m looking forward to still being able to take that leadership role just from a different perspective.”
Herzig likes what she’s seen from her new vantage point.
“We lost a lot of talent. That’s no secret,” Herzig said. “But watching the girls this summer and even today, it’s watching a whole new set of talented girls.”
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