Field Hockey

Coach: Maureen Curran

Record: 5-9

Seniors: Deena Kimball, Emily McKinnon, Chelsea Pettengill, Kelsey Shea-Breton, Breanna Brookings, Ann Grazewski, Jen Legere and Kaitlin O’Donnell

One bounce can be the difference in field hockey, and South Portland just didn’t get enough to go their way this season. Five of the nine losses were by a single goal – three of them in overtime.

The Riots also had three overtime wins, against Thornton, Noble and Deering.

“(We) missed making the playoffs by one-half Heal Point,” said Curran. “We could easily have finished 11-3 and been one of the top-ranked teams in the league.”

For the second consecutive season, Pettengill was named all-state and an SMAA first-team all-star. The senior goalkeeper stopped 88% of the shots she saw.

McKinnon, who developed into one of the league’s top midfielders, was selected to the SMAA second team, while Shea-Breton, the Riots top scorer with six goals, received an honorable mention, as did Angela Giordano.

Boys Soccer

Coach: Mark O’Connor

Record: 6-8

Seniors: Mark Hurley, Andrew Ochser, Jason Battle, Mike Whipple, Steven Bartlett, Taylor Burgdorf, Nick Johnson, Alex Gato, Osman Suja, Josh Viola, Eric Bodwell, Sam Hersom and Ben D’Amboise

O’Connor had praise for his seniors, who helped collect more wins than the program had in the past two seasons combined.

“I had a large group of seniors who committed themselves to the program early on,” the coach said. “They had a solid work ethic and desire to make themselves better each practice and game. They formed a tight unit that paid dividends on the field with solid team play, stingy defense and prolific goal scoring.”

South Portland started out with a pair of convincing wins against Marshwood and Biddeford, but then ran into a stretch of really tough opponents, including Gorham, Westbrook, Cheverus and Deering, losing each of those games by just one goal.

In the finale against Windham, the Riots thought they might have a chance to sneak into the post-season and played with intensity in the 1-0 win. The team, however, barely missed advancing.

Midfielder Endy Carrera was named to the SMAA second-team all-stars, while Johnson, a forward, received an honorable mention.

Girls Soccer

Coach: Greg Damon

Record: 8-5-2

Seniors: Kristen Kill, Elisa D’Amboise and Mariemill Giordano

With a pair of ties and three 1-0 losses, the Riots were a few bounces away from reaching double-figures in wins. One of those losses came against eventual state champ Gorham.

South Portland started the season winning seven of nine contests, including five in a row. They were eliminated in the first round of the post-season by Bonny Eagle, 2-0.

Junior Christine Aceto was named as an SMAA first-team all-star, while goalkeeper Jackie Rice received an honorable mention.

Kill received the Quarterback Club Award, Giordano was the Unsung Hero and Jamie Harmon received the team’s MVP award.

Boys Cross Country

Coach: Paul Brogan

Record: 7-9

Seniors: Matt Bremermann and Tom Gott

Gott led the squad most of the season and finished 56th of 104 runners in the west regionals. He was named as the team’s MVP.

David Knowland won a race early in the season, when the Riots topped Noble and Windham, and was chosen as Most Oustanding Runner. Tom Biskup was Most Improved.

South Portland was 11th of 14 teams at the regionals.

“We had a young team that worked very hard and demonstrated improvement as the season progressed,” said Brogan.

Girls Cross Country

Coach: Karen Reardon

Record: 10-6

Senior: Emily Haeuser

Kendall Morong, the team’s top returning runner, was injured and never quite returned to 100%. In addition, there was just one senior on the roster, but the Riots still did a nice job.

“This was a terrific group to work with this past season,” said Reardon. “They worked hard together as a team and were a lot of fun to work with. Injury and illness affected us throughout the season.”

South Portland finished eighth in the west regional meet and 12th in the state meet, with Haeuser coming in 20th of 106 in the regionals and 36th of 102 in the states.

She received an SMAA honorable mention and was named as the team’s Most Valuable Runner. Lindsay Soule received the Quarterback Club Outstanding Runner Award.

“All of the team is back again next year, except for Emily, and we have very high hopes,” Reardon said. “The future is bright, and I look forward to seeing what this group, and future team members to come, can do over the next few years.”

Golf

Coach: Ernie Lamson

Record: 1-9

Seniors: Evan Griffith, Justin Maietta, Kevin Tait, Tim Clark, Zack Card and Morgan Fineberg

The team edged Westbrook, 9-4, late in the season for their only win.

“The kids were better than their record showed,” Lamson said. “Stroke averages were better than last year. It was a frustrating season for us.”

Both Maietta and Clark qualified as individuals for the state tournament. Maietta received the team’s Dimauro Award, while Clark received the Quarterback Club Award.

“We have quite a few underclassmen with experience,” said Lamson. “We should be a contender next year.”

Football

Coach: Steve Stinson

Record: 0-8

Seniors: Mark Anthoine, Anthony Bruneau, Billy Martin, Walter Michaud, Bryan Conley and Zach Theriault

With a new coach and only four returning starters, this was certainly a transition year for the Riots. Stinson had a young group and he believes that better things are ahead for his team.

“We are extremely excited for the future of South Portland football,” said the coach.