One of the top girls’ soccer players in Maine, Scarborough High junior Lana Djuranovic, has decided to play college soccer for the University of Miami in Florida.

A midfielder, Djuranovic will enter her senior year this fall with 46 goals and 18 assists over the last two seasons. A Varsity Maine All-State selection in 2022, Djuranovic’s goal in double overtime lifted the Red Storm to the Class A state title over Brunswick last season.

The daughter of Serbian immigrants, Djuranovic said her background played a key role in choosing Miami. She attended a camp there in February, and it was then she felt like being a Hurricane was the right fit.

“I like that the school has a lot of diversity,” she said. “I fell in love with the school.”

It also helped that Djuranovic’s older sister, Una, already attends Miami and plays club soccer.

“Having my sister there is a really big influence,” she said.

Djuranovic plans to sign a national letter of intent to accept an athletic scholarship from Miami in November.

She said she looks forward to competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference, arguably the most competitive NCAA Division I women’s soccer conference. An ACC team has played in eight of the last 10 national championship games, including the last five. Among her future opponents will be friends from Maine, Yarmouth’s Ava Feeley and Emma Badger of Wells. Badger is at Boston College, and Feeley will join the Eagles next season.

Djuranovic wants to become an orthodontist and plans to study either biology or chemistry at Miami. With her college choice made, Djuranovic can focus on academics and helping Scarborough try to repeat next fall.

“I’m definitely not going to take it easy in school my senior year,” she said. “I’m excited I won’t have to stress out about it.”

FALMOUTH GIRLS’ lacrosse standout Sloane Ginevan held her knee brace and laughed.

“It’s definitely annoying. Not the best tool in my toolbox. But I’d rather this than nothing,” Ginevan said after Falmouth’s 18-9 victory at Windham on Tuesday.

Ginevan is back on the field for the Navigators after playing just nine games last year before suffering a season-ending ACL tear in her left knee, and she has shown no signs that the injury has affected her play. Ginevan scored a career-high seven goals Thursday in a 20-9 victory over Yarmouth. It was the Navigators’ eighth straight win after a season-opening loss to Kennebunk.

“The rehab process itself was grueling. Horrible, but definitely humbling,” she said. “It kind of gave me a mental reset to say, you know, I need to appreciate every single time I step on the field. I need to be ready. I need to work harder. I need to train harder. Definitely difficult physically, but beneficial mentally.”

Through nine games, Ginevan has 39 goals and 10 assists, which is better than her offensive output last season before the injury (31 goals and eight assists in nine games). She has been a key player at both ends of the field, said Falmouth Coach Ashley Pullen.

“She is playing great. She is a huge asset to us. It’s pretty great to have her be pretty close to 100%,” Pullen said.

Ginevan, who plans to play college lacrosse at Notre Dame, said she experienced a bout with nerves around the sixth month of her rehab process when she began working on cutting. That subsided when she realized she could play with the same zeal she did before the injury.

“I told myself I didn’t want to return to the field if I was thinking about it every time, because that would hinder how I play, right? I haven’t been noticing it, which is good,” Ginevan said.

LAKE REGION SENIOR Melissa Mayo, a pitcher, is another high school athlete returning from an ACL tear.

It’s taken until this spring, however, for her to feel fully healthy – and fully confident after injuring her left knee during the summer of 2021.

Mayo has guided the Lakers to an 8-2 after a loss on Friday at York. Through their first eight games, she had a 1.23 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 57 innings while batting .414. It’s a higher strikeout rate and lower ERA than she posted last year, when she had a 2.27 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 100 2/3 innings.

“I’ve definitely felt more comfortable this season. I’m a lot less worried,” she said. “I’m not just coming back from it, so I’ve had a year to get my feet under myself.”

Mayo tore her ACL while playing basketball, and missed the soccer season in 2021 and the basketball season in 2021-22. She returned last spring for the softball season, but with restrictions. She couldn’t run the bases, and fielding stretched that confidence in her repaired knee.

“I was worried about fielding any balls to the side, because the lateral movement is what could cause injury,” she said. “There’s always the concern about reinjuring. It could happen at any time.”

This year, however, she hasn’t felt the urge to hold back.

“Another year of strength and conditioning from junior to senior year definitely makes a big difference,” she said. “That has helped me become stronger overall.”

AFTER A SLOW START, the Thornton Academy softball team is climbing back into the Class A South race.

The Golden Trojans began the season 1-4, but won four straight games to climb over .500 before a loss to South Portland/Westbrook on Wednesday dropped them to 5-5. Thornton’s fourth win was the most impressive, a 5-3 victory Tuesday over a Scarborough team that has shown itself to be a top team in the region.

“It was kind of a beatdown, as far as starting the season off with three losses,” said senior third baseman Jessica Dow, who homered and scored twice against Scarborough. “(But) it was a good thing for us, honestly. A wake-up call, definitely, as far as playing the big teams like this.”

Thornton had a demanding start to its schedule, with games against Windham, Biddeford, Marshwood/Berwick and Gorham among the first five contests. Even with losses in all four, confidence stayed up.

“We knew that we could pick it up,” said senior first baseman Renee Gonneville. “We’ve just been working so hard in practice to get where we are.”

Thornton’s improvement has been fueled by both expected and unexpected sources. The infield and outfield defense has been sharp, as anticipated, but sophomore Tess Frager, a junior varsity call-up, has helped stabilize the pitching as Sophia Bogardus has battled injury.

“Sometimes it just takes some time to get things going,” said Coach Tony Miner. “We have a good lineup, it’s just a question of us putting it together consistently.”

« Previous

Thornton Academy hires three new head coaches

Next »

Maine high school basketball coaches puzzled by rule change affecting free throws