Brunswick

High School girls lacrosse team, fresh off a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championship, now has more incentive in its quest for another State Class A championship: Head coach Beth Caputi plans to retire after 12 years, six state-title appearances and two championships (2008, ’09).

With one child (Mac) at Bowdoin College, another (Maggie) set to attend Middlebury and two other girls (Lydia and Claire) in prep school, Caputi will spend more time watching her children in their endeavors.

“I have decided to retire now that my own kids are spread out all over New England,” said Caputi. “A very bittersweet decision for me after 12 years of fun coaching the Brunswick girls!”

The personable coach has compiled a 153-29 record, including 19-9 in the postseason. She has guided the Dragons to 12 straight tournament appearances.

This spring, Caputi has the Dragon girls sitting at 11-1 and the top seed in Eastern Maine Class A.

Brunswick is scheduled to take on No. 8 Oxford Hills (8- 4) in quarterfinal action today at 4 p.m.

The Dragons are coming off a 14-6 win over Lewiston in the KVAC Championship. In that game, the Dragons, as they have so much in Caputi’s tenure, spread the wealth around.

Annie Kelly scored four goals, while Corinne O’Connor chipped in with three goals and two assists, Caroline Wild a goal and four assists, Dakota Foster and Suzannah Smith two goals and two assists each, Jen Machin a goal and assist, and Grace Rabinowitz a goal.

“And, my defensive group did a terrific job! Goaltender Molly Herman had four interceptions,” lauded Caputi. “The unit includes Katie Swan, Olivia LeRoy, Sasha Hampton, Callie Nicholson, Kelly, Smith, Foster and Molly, of course!”

“Beth is truly a coach to look up to and model yourself after,” offered longtime Morse coach Linda Levesque. “She is always willing to listen, to share and to experience new things. She cares deeply about lacrosse and kids, and it shows in the way that she handles herself and her teams. She has given of herself tirelessly to our state organization and to our conference. She has an eye for talent development and gets the best out of each individual. She will be missed.”

Added Brunswick athletic director Gene Keene: “I wish I could bottle coach Caputi’s ability to convince kids that hard work can be fun. I believe it is this ability that has led Beth and her BHS teams to so much success during her career. We certainly will miss Beth and we wish her well.”

For now, Caputi is only thinking about the postseason.

“Now with the Eastern Maine bracket expanded to eight teams, the tournament becomes more exciting and competitive, I think,” added Caputi. “This will be our most challenging run ever to get to the state game. If we win, we will play the Cony/Mt. Ararat winner Saturday in the regional semis for what I hope will be a close, exciting game to get to the regional final. The girls are focused and committed to each other. Really a great group!”

Mt. Ararat coach Sam Chard also was effusive in his praise of Caputi.

“Beth and I have been through some tough games over the years,” said Chard. “She will be missed in lacrosse for not only her knowledge of the game, but what she did to the sport in the area. Brunswick lacrosse is Beth Caputi and her passion for the game shows in the success of the program.

“I can remember the very first game as a jayvee coach in 2002 when I got to experience her intensity as she and our head coach exchanged pleasantries (wink),” Chard said. “My initial reaction was disbelief and amazement that these two coaches could be so competitive and intense, but after the game, both coaches made amends and I think that’s what impressed me the most about Beth. After an intense game, she was still gracious with the victory and she let her kids do the celebrating.”

“With such a successful program, Beth never ran up the score on her opponents and didn’t keep her top players in a game just to pad up stats,” continued Chard. “She was a gracious competitor then and still is today. Beth is a winner and her teams of the present and past have laid the foundation for the success of future teams everywhere. Her spirit will always live on the lacrosse field and the positive impact that she’s had on her players will make them successful in their future.

“It’s always disappointing to see great coaches retire from the game. Thank you, Beth, for being a pioneer in the sport and bringing the game to a higher level.”

And of her immediate future, Caputi was non-committal. “I just want to watch my kids right now, but I’m not ruling anything out,” she said.

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