Westbrook fall sports preview

Sport: Football

Coach: Jeff Guerette-first season

Last year’s record: 3-5

2008 season: The 2008 season got off to a tough start for the Blazes, as they dropped the home opener to Portland 19-14.

Key players: Mike Anthony, senior, RB/LB; Andrew Drouin, junior, OG/LB; Patrick Fagan, junior, OT/LB; Christian Hamilton, senior, RB/DB; Tom Pratt, junior, QB/LB; Justin Richards, senior, C/DL; Dan Roukey, senior, WR/DB; Ollie Steele, junior, RB/DB and Pat Webber, senior, RB/DB.

Key games this season: at Deering on Sept. 12, vs. South Portland on Oct. 10 and vs. Windham on Oct. 24.

Season outlook: This is Guerette’s first year as the Blazes’ head coach. He is looking to begin the turnaround for the Blazes and mold them into a team that can compete year after year. Guerette said he is pleased with what he has seen from his team so far this year. “We have a nice mixture of experienced players and young athletes who will help us as the season goes along,” he said. “The keys for our success will be blocking, tackling, and staying healthy.”

School/Sport: Girls soccer

Coach: Ryan Hayes-first season

Last year’s record: 1-12-1

2008 season (as of Sept. 8): 0-1, the Blazes dropped their first game of the season 3-2 to Bonny Eagle on Sept. 6

Key players: Emily Wight (senior, midfielder), Jalissa Bryant (senior, defender), Amanda Northrop (senior, defender), Heather Niehoff (senior, forward), Karleigh Gaudreau (junior, defender), Lauren Blais (sophomore, midfielder)

Key games this season: Sept. 22 vs. Cheverus , Sept. 25 at Scarborough and Oct.15 at Gorham.

Season outlook: With a new coach, nine returning seniors, and several new faces, the Blazes look to improve greatly on what was a disappointing 2007 season.

Sport: Boys Soccer

Coach: Tim Gillis

Last year’s record: 7-5-2, defeated Thornton in the Class A prelims, lost to Scarborough in the quarterfinals.

2008 season (as of Sept. 8): 0-1, the Blazes lost to Bonny Eagle by a score of 3-1 on Sept. 6.

Key players: Galen Perkins (goalkeeper); Tyler Rand (midfielder/forward); Matt Foye (defensive center mid); Zach Russell (center back) and Jeff Morse (center back).

Key games this season: “We lost the season opener to Bonny Eagle, 3-1, so now every game is key,” Gillis said. “We are hoping to get back on the winning side against Massabesic and Windham this week, but this season every game with be a battle.”

Season outlook: The Blazes need to mesh as a team this season if they want to go deep in the Class A tournament. “We have some experienced players with considerable talent who have spent many hours focusing on soccer,” Gillis said. “But we also have younger talent, and several quality players who split time in the off-season with other sports. The degree to which all these players are able to play together, selflessly and unified, will be the essential ingredients to our success.”

Sport: Field Hockey

Coaches: Beth Murphy and assistant coach Deb Henry

Last year’s record: 9-6-1, defeated Noble in Class A prelims, lost to Sanford in Class A quarterfinals.

2008 season (as of Sept. 8): 1-0, beat South Portland 2-0 on Sept. 5.

Key Returning Players: Seniors: Erin Murphy-captain (injured), Ashley Clifford-captain, Olivia Hebert-captain, Cori Knott, Whitney Huff and Kathryn Bois. Juniors: Lizzy Conley, Ashlyn Bourgeois, Danielle Bouchard, Christina Cuddy and Katie Walsh

Key newcomers: Seniors Steph Pettis, Victoria Robertson, Bre Girard, Paulina Goyette, Kristen Wescott and Chelsea Thompson.

Key games of the season: Scarborough, Gorham, Biddeford and Deering

Season Outlook: Murphy said she is looking forward to this season and she is impressed with her team, despite some preseason injury problems. “This is probably the most talented group of young ladies in Westbrook’s program and they will be in the thick of things even with the loss of senior Erin Murphy to a knee injury,” Murphy said. “I am very confident that they will be in the top five in the SMAA. Their strengths will be defense and midfield, and I am looking for the forwards to step up their level of play. Team chemistry will play a crucial role in their success. These seniors have

been playing together since sixth grade and are looking forward to having a great season together.”

Sport: Golf

Coach: Eric Wales

Last year’s record: 2-8

2008 season (as of Sept. 8): 2-1; the Blazes opened the season on Aug. 29 with a 7-6 win over Cheverus, on Sept.2, the Blazes lost to Deering 7.5-5.5 and on Sept.4, the Blazes topped Scarborough 12-1.

Key golfers: Andrew Blais, Nick Finnochairo and Scott Heath.

Key matches this season: According to Wales, the Blazes need to do well away from their home course at Sunset Ridge. “Road matches are critical,” Wales said.

Season outlook: While a state championship might be too lofty of a goal for Westbrook, Wales is hoping for a winning season this year, and with a 2-1 record to begin the season, the Blazes are off to a good start. “Our goal is for a season of .500 or better, and to challenge against the upper teams in the division,” Wales said. “We are hopeful to have some of the big matches come down to the last group of golfers. Golfers one through six are very good, and we need to stay focused of what’s in front of us, and that’s to continually improve.”

Sport: Boys cross country

Coach: Sheri Piers

Key runners: Zach Dugas and Jon Murray

Key meets this season: Regional and state championship meets.

Season outlook: The Blazes will be fielding a completely new team this year, but Piers is optimistic that the young group of runners will be able to make some noise this season and in future seasons. “This year is going to be exciting, we have no returning runners this year. Everybody is new to the team this year, Piers said. “We are a young group with no seniors. The kids seem very enthusiastic so far and are working very hard. I look forward to seeing them progress.”

Sport: Girls Cross Country

Coach: Suzanne Ray

Key runners: Samantha Williams, Lydia Lewis, and Daria Semenov

Key meets this season: Regional and state championship meets.

Season outlook: Like the boys cross country team, the Westbrook girls cross country team is a young team with a chance to build for the future. “This year’s team is young with many new faces as we lost a lot of seniors last year,” Ray said. “The team is looking for captain Sam Williams to step up and lead the team.”