Waynflete girls’ lacrosse coach Cathie Connors calls Martha Veroneau a game changer.
“If we’re kind of slowing down a little bit and we need to be kicked in, she does that,” Connors said. “I can count on her to get fired up and want it.”
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Veroneau has been kicking the Flyers into gear since picking up a lacrosse stick.
This spring she had 47 goals and 28 assists to help Waynflete capture its second consecutive Class B state championship and become the Maine Sunday Telegram/Portland Press Herald’s player of the year.
Last month, Veroneau, who also led the Flyers to their first Class C girls’ basketball title, was named the newspapers’ female athlete of the year.
“She wants to win no matter what and she has the athletic ability to do that, where not many players do,” Connors said. “She definitely knows what needs to be done.”
“She’s always putting the team first,” said Catherine Veroneau, her twin sister who played defense for Waynflete. “When she’s playing she’s never looking for her own stats. She’ll do what the team needs.”
The unbeaten Flyers won their sixth straight Western Class B title when Veroneau scored 10 goals in a 16-9 victory over Cape Elizabeth in the regional final.
“She had 10 goals against Cape but she did that because that was what we needed her to do,” Catherine Veroneau said.
In the 7-4 win against Yarmouth in the state final, Veroneau made major contributions at the defensive end of the field to help Waynflete take control.
“She works everywhere,” Catherine Veroneau said. “People sometimes forget how strong she is on defense because her offense really shines, but she is a tremendous defender as well and will do whatever the team needs her to do.”
Last March, Veroneau scored the final 16 points of the game to propel the Flyers to a 59-55 victory against Calais in the Class C girls’ basketball final at the Bangor Auditorium.
“You don’t see many athletes who can actually take charge and follow through all the way to the end,” Connors said. “She’s a coach on the field, actually.”
In 2012, Veroneau set tournament records when she scored 47 points and sank nine 3-pointers during a Western Class C girls’ basketball semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.
This past winter, Veroneau was named Miss Maine Basketball after finishing her career with a school-record 1,465 points while averaging 21.5 points per game.
Veroneau, who intends to give up athletics and focus on earning a degree in nursing at Boston College, is one of her family’s eight children.
“The competitive edge I would have to say is from my family,” she said. “Coming from a large family, you always have somebody there to help you work on things. Overall there’s a different feel you get from being around so many people all the time.”
Each one of the Veroneaus has participated in athletics.
“Watching my older siblings compete has been inspirational, and they taught me to play sports the right way and how to work for things that you want,” she said. “I think that’s why I was able to come into the high school scene and do what I did the last four years.”
Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:
pbetit@pressherald.com
Twitter: PaulBetitPPH
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