Lee girls enjoy success in soccer, cross country

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For Lee junior Carrie Mallett, cross country practice occasionally sometimes got lonely this fall. Sure, she had several junior varsity runners and the Lee boys to run with and push her during workouts, but mostly she ran against herself.

So where were the rest of the Pandas? Why, at soccer practice, trying to hold on to last year’s Class D state title.

This year eight of the nine girls on the Lee cross country team were also members of the soccer team. The cross-team system is working well for the school as the Pandas won the Eastern Maine Class D soccer title Friday afternoon, and then went on to win the Class D state championship Saturday.

Lee scored 22 points, followed by Monmouth with 50, Elan of Poland with 87.

The 17-0 soccer team will be going for its second straight Class D state crown Saturday against Waynflete of Portland.

Although Mallett is the lone non-soccer player, she does have an edge on the rest of the cross country team – her three years of running make her the most experienced member of the squad.

The program’s progress – the Pandas were fourth at states last season – has been enjoyable for her to watch.

“I’m really glad,” said Mallett, who finished sixth overall in Saturday’s race. “The whole thing is really exciting.”

It’s even more exciting because the team is extremely young. Both the soccer and cross country teams are, in fact, quite young.

Freshman Brooke Harris played in the soccer game Friday, then turned in a fourth-place finish at the cross country meet. Freshman Amanda Gifford also did play and finished eighth the next day.

Also scoring in the cross country meet was senior soccer star Shelby Pickering, who was 10th, and junior Kerri Harris, who rounded out the scoring with a 16th-place finish.

Other soccer players on the cross country team are sophomore Nicole Slavinsky and freshmen Laci McLaughlin, Aarika Ritchie and Kimmy Thurlow.

Harris did feel some nerves for the cross country meet during Friday’s soccer game, she conceded.

“We just really wanted to do well for our school,” she said.

It was a hectic schedule for the soccer-cross country girls this fall. Most days they went to soccer practice, where they got in a little bit of running but nothing that could sufficiently train them for cross country. On their days off they joined Mallett at cross country workouts.

“Soccer’s not really good for long distance running but you do keep your endurance up,” Harris said.

The Pandas didn’t go into the cross country season with a state championship in mind, but keeping a close eye on other teams’ times, the girls realized a title was within their grasp.

“We definitely saw that we could do it, but we knew we would have to work hard,” Mallett said. “And we did.”

Pandas tough on defense

Lee’s offense gets a lot of attention, and rightfully so as Pickering has scored more goals this year – 55 – than some high school teams do in a season.

But the team’s defense deserves plenty of accolades, too. The Pandas have allowed just six goals this year despite what is essentially a whole new group in back.

Goalie Jackie Moors and junior defender Liz Read are both returning starters. But the rest of the group, freshmen Thurlow and McLaughlin and junior Kerri Harris, who was at Brewer High last year, are also starting. Brooke Harris, a freshman who starts in the midfield, occasionally spells Moors.

According to coach Thomas Pickering, Thurlow’s transition from forward to stopper has been a big key to the team’s success, especially against Greenville in Friday’s Eastern Maine Class D final.

Thurlow’s job was to keep a tight mark on speedy Laker forward Hannah Breton, who did all of Greenville’s scoring in a 3-0 semifinal win over Ashland.

Pickering was trying to ready Thurlow for her assignment all season.

“We played her back there all year to get her ready for this game,” he said Friday. “We knew which teams were going to be left at the end, I think most people did. That’s what we got ready for.”

It’s been an adjustment for Thurlow, who said she had always played striker or offensive midfielder and was a bit shocked by the move.

“When [Pickering] moved me back I thought he was mad at me or something,” Thurlow said with a laugh. “But he took me aside and talked to me. It’s growing on me a lot.”

The Pandas have six freshman starting this season.

“They’re young but they have more experience than some of our older kids,” coach Pickering said. “They’ve played together for a while and that helps.”

High schoolers look to Red Sox

Everyone seems to be finding inspiration in the Red Sox and their postseason run these days – even high school teams.

Take Bangor soccer coach Adam Leach, talking about how his team found ways to score when senior striker Dylan George was tightly marked:

“We talked in practice about the Red Sox,” he said recently. “It’s not going to be Manny or Pedro, it’s going to be some other guy who’s going to win it, a [Mark Bellhorn] or a Trot Nixon.”

Or Lee Academy guidance counselor Kendra Ritchie, who announced that senior Shelby Pickering was a state finalist for the Wendy’s High School Heisman:

“The Red Sox have Manny Ramirez. The Yankees have A-Rod,” she told the crowd gathered for the Eastern Maine Class D girls final against Greenville. “Lee Academy has Shelby Pickering.”

There was this from Winslow senior Brittany Morin, about the Black Raiders’ road trip to Presque Isle, during which the team watched the movie “Miracle” about the underdog 1980 USA Olympic hockey team:

“We had heard the Boston Red Sox watched it during the playoffs and it worked for them,” Morin said. “Our game played out the same way as the movie, as we were behind and then came back at the end.”

The Ellsworth boys got in on the baseball act, too. The program for Saturday’s EM Class B title game had a message that read in part, “Red Sox Nation Rejoice.”

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.

STATE SOCCER SITES

CLASS A

At Morse H.S., Bath

GIRLS: Brunswick vs. Greely, 10 a.m.

BOYS: Hampden vs. Greely, 1 p.m.

CLASS B

At MBNA Field, Lincolnville

GIRLS: Winslow vs. Gorham, 10 a.m.

BOYS: Ellsworth vs. Yarmouth, 1 p.m.

CLASS C

At Schenck H.S., East Millinocket

GIRLS: George Stevens vs. North Yarmouth, 10 a.m.

BOYS: Madawaska vs. Carrabec, 1 p.m.

CLASS D

At Hampden, Weatherbee School

GIRLS: Lee vs. Waynflete, 10 a.m.

BOYS: Van Buren vs. Waynflete, 1 p.m.