Lee’s record-setting Pickering tops state’s soccer honorees

BANGOR – When you score 177 goals in a four-year high school soccer career, you tend to get a lot of attention. And when you’re Lee senior striker Shelby Pickering, and your career statistics are read out loud to a room full of soccer players and coaches, you tend to get a lot of oohs and aahs.

“We don’t score that many goals in practice,” Orono High girls coach Cid Dyjak joked with the audience gathered for the Maine Soccer Coaches Association awards banquet Sunday at the Spectacular Events Center.

Pickering, whose 177 career goals broke a state record earlier this past season, was named the MSCA’s All-America representative for the girls. Mount Ararat of Topsham fullback Adam Gadbois earned the boys All-America honor.

The coaches association handed out All-New England, all-state and Player of the Year awards in each classification, plus coach of the year honors.

Although the crowd was impressed when Dyjak ticked off Pickering’s numbers – including a state-record 56 goals and 23 assists this season – being named the top girls soccer player in the state didn’t matter that much to her.

“I don’t really like all the individual awards,” said Pickering, whose soccer jersey No. 13 was retired by Lee last month. “I just wish we could have gotten the state championship in soccer. That’s what everyone works for. That’s the main goal.”

Ellsworth’s Jensen Rich and Jesse Kaplan of Brunswick earned All-New England honors, as did Hampden’s Kim Stephenson and Maranacook of Readfield’s Toby Martin on the girls side.

Rich was just happy to be attending the banquet with teammates and fellow award winners Jacques Tardie and Andy Berry, whom he counts as two of his best friends.

“My team put me in good spots and everyone’s done their jobs. Strikers just get a lot of the attention,” said Rich, who finished his career as a striker with 48 goals and 27 assists.

It was the third All-New England award for Stephenson, who missed most of the season because of a knee injury. She had 18 goals and 19 assists last season and finished her career with 46 & 48.

Eastern Maine swept the boys’ Player of the Year awards. Bangor High’s Dylan George was the Class A Player of the Year and Rich got the Class B nod, while Madawaska’s Myles Morneault and Van Buren’s Tyler Lapierre earned the Class C and D honors, respectively.

Martin and Pickering were the girls Players of the Year for Classes B and D, respectively.

George Stevens of Blue Hill coaches Jim Sperry and Steve Bemiss were also honored. Sperry was the East boys Coach of the Year, while Bemiss was nominated for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America New England Coach of the Year in the small-school girls category.