Come soccer season, the expectations are always high at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill.

So far, the GSA girls have flown toward the top of the Eastern Maine Class C heap, breezing to an 8-1 start with the only loss being to Hancock County rival and Class B power Ellsworth.

“We’re doing OK to start with,” said veteran coach Steve Bemiss, who has led the Eagles to four Eastern Maine titles and two Eastern Maine runner-up finishes since 2000.

Two sets of sisters have been formidable pieces to GSA’s puzzle this season.

Twins Emily and Alida Peake, both seniors, have excelled in the midfield and up front, respectively, with Alida Peake leading the Eagles with 17 goals and Emily contributing four goals and eight assists.

“[Alida] does a really good job of looking for passes and looking for shots, getting other people involved,” Bemiss said. “I would have to say if she continues at this rate she’ll be the best player I’ve had in three, four years.”

As a center-halfback, Emily Peake’s main jobs are helping man the back line and creating opportunities for the offense while Alida has great attacking instincts.

“If she sees an opening she’ll take that ball and shove it down the goalie’s throat, and if she doesn’t see that she’ll look for the cross,” Bemiss said.

The Eagles’ other sister combination, senior Dorin Curtin and sister Quinn, a junior, have each contributed nine goals with Quinn dishing out four assists.

Leading the back line along with Emily Peake is sweeper Stevie Theoharidis, stopper Roz Brokaw and goaltender Hannah Van der Eb.

“I would say we’ve got a lot of veterans … eight games into the season now we’re doing very well,” said Bemiss.

Van der Eb has flourished in her first season in goal.

“Every game she’s growing, getting better,” Bemiss said. “We’re doing pretty well, solid defensively.”

The Eagles are already looking forward to their rematch with Ellsworth, set for Oct. 16 at Ellsworth’s Del Luce Stadium. Ellsworth won the first matchup 3-1.

“We came out so flat, I don’t think that’s going to happen again,” Bemiss said.

While the Eagles are sound in most aspects of the game, in particular keeping the ball on the ground with crisp passes and long boots into the offensive end, Bemiss would like to see them improve on set plays, such as direct and corner kicks.

“We’ll boot it long if you give it to us, we’re a pretty good passing team,” he said. “If you can get through balls on the ground or in the air, let’s do it.”

To get to the promised land, the Eagles may have to go through the St. John Valley, with Fort Kent and Madawaska ranked 1-2 in the latest Heal point standings. Houlton was third and GSA was fourth.

“The County teams are always tough, they’re consistent in what they do,” Bemiss said.

The Eagles head to Orono today for a key game with the Red Riots, who defeated top-ranked Fort Kent Saturday.

Runners love mud

Running through mud is just another part of the sport of cross country.

Many runners in last weekend’s Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions, as singer Rick Charette put it, love galloping through the stuff.

“There was a lot of loose mud and it was really wet, but we all wear half-inch [spikes] so it worked out pretty well,” said Mt. Blue of Farmington junior Melody Lam, who led the Cougars to a third-place effort on the girls’ side.

Even though the Troy Howard Middle School loop had absorbed several inches of rain over the last week or so, the mud wasn’t too slick over the course’s open portions while the wooded sections were fairly dry.

“Our biggest thing was just to [do our best] for the rest of the team,” said Mount Desert Island senior Kymry Brooks., whose Trojans galloped to a runner-up finish.

‘Jammers to honor title teams

Camden Hills of Rockport is planning its third annual homecoming week and will honor two of the school’s state championship teams.

The Windjammers’ 1981 girls swimming and ski teams will be recognized at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, just before the girls soccer match between Camden Hills and Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield on Don Palmer Field.

People in the community with any contact information for members of the championship teams to be honored are asked to call Camden Hills athletic administrator Bill Hughes at 236-7800, ext. 414.

rmclaughlin@bangordailynews.net

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