JULIA MURCH (left) fights for the ball against Freeport. (Photo by Dena Dunn)

FIELD HOCKEY

Cape 3, Lakers 0: Very fast paced game, Coach Pauline Webb felt once again the Lakers played very well from 25-to-25 yard lines. Freshman Julia Murch really stood out in this game with a very strong play as center-mid. Hailey Parsons had another strong game as a right mid.

Emerson Dinsmore had her first opportunity to play as a defender at the varsity level this year, and she was up to the challenge. She played so well, she stayed in for the rest of the game, and earned a starting spot for the Lakers’ game at Gray-NG.

“We, the coaches, tell the girls to be ready when they are called on,” Coach Webb said. “Emmerson was definitely ready!”

Keeper Maddie Nelson had six saves.

Lakers 0, Gray-NG 0, overtime: After playing such a great game at Cape on Thursday (Sept. 22), Coach Webb wasn’t sure what the LR girls would have left for another game on Friday at Gray. It was another nail biter for sure.

“Another strong game by everyone, but not strong enough in the offensive circle. Paige Davis had an opportunity to score at the penalty stroke line; she had a beautiful hard shot, but G-NG keeper was quick enough to get there and stop it,” Coach Webb said. “I was happy with their play, but challenged some of the players to step it up another notch and make those plays that will get us on the scoreboard.”

Maddie Nelson had a great game with 13 saves.

PAIGE DAVIS of Lake Region (left) competes for the ball. (Photo by Dena Dunn)

Sacopee 2, Lakers 1: Coach Webb couldn’t wait for Monday’s home game because she was looking forward to show local fans, who don’t travel to away games, how well and how hard the Lakers play despite their record.

“Unfortunately, we did not show up to play at our homecoming game against Sacopee Valley,” Coach Webb said. “Being down 2-0 with less than six minutes into the game was not where I wanted to be or expected to be.  I really don’t have words to explain how we played, because this is not how this team has been playing. We got out-hustled, which I haven’t seen at all this year. We made mistakes I couldn’t believe we were making.”

The Lakers had six offensive  corners in the second half, but couldn’t finish — “definitely something we’ve struggled with all season,” Coach Webb pointed out.

“We had an opportunity to tie it up at the very end of the game with a penalty corner — it was as though everyone just froze — it was very difficult to watch!” she said.

Paige Davis scored for the Lakers in the second half, assisted by Liz Cole.

Maddie Nelson had six saves.

BOYS’ SOCCER

Playing a junior varsity schedule due to limited numbers this fall (two returning varsity players, a majority of the squad are sophomores and four freshmen), Coach Michael Chaine has seen some good things to the start of this season.

The team is currently 2-1, losing its first game to Yarmouth 1-0. LR played well against Wells beating them the Warriors 2-1 on goals by freshman Brennan Bass.  The Lakers defeated Bonny Eagle 3-1 on goals by Peter Vigna, Skye Hoeflich and Brennan Bass.

The Lakers traveled to Kennebunk Saturday, and although the club was down three starting players, the Lakers managed to hold off the Rams until late in the game, giving up the one and only goal with about five minutes left.

“Kennebunk came right out playing very physical, both on and off the ball, which was the first time for the majority of my new players to experience. This type of play shocked many, but as a team, they did very well not to retaliate on several missed calls,” Coach Chaine said.  “It did, however, affect our ability to play controlled soccer (i.e. good ground passing) as they turned into a kick and run team.”

With sophomore Peter Vigna going out of the game early in the first half with a knee injury, the Lakers had to rely on several players being thrown into unknown positions.

“Although we were not able to pressure Kennebunk as much as I had hoped for offensively, the defense was constantly put to the test,” the coach said. “It was a tough 1-0 loss, but I believe everyone of my players knew that we had missed several chances that could have changed the outcome. In the absence of three starters, the results could have been far worse.”

GIRLS’ SOCCER

With his Laker girls currently holding the final playoff spot in Class B South, varsity soccer coach Peter Webb is very excited about the improvement in the girls’ overall play during the first half of the season.

“We have scored 10 goals in the last three games we have played against Fryeburg, Poland and Greely, which is extremely encouraging,” he said. “We had a really good outing at Greely on Saturday, but fell short with a 3-0 loss.”

At the half it was tied 0-0 and the Lakers had a few chances on net against a very good squad.

“We still had two starters on the bench with injuries and had two more come out during this game with injuries, which resulted in Greely taking advantage of our lack of depth,” Coach Webb said. “Lauren Jakobs and Neva Leavitt have given us a scoring punch and with the recent addition of Kristen Huntress, who has been out injured for most of the season, we should continue on our scoring ways. Melody Millett and Chandler True have given us solid midfield play, breaking up the other teams attack and starting us into our own offensive attack.”

Kaylyn Jordan has stepped up her play providing the Lakers with solid ball control and excellent service of the ball into the box from the wing.

Danica Chadwick, Maraia Nason, Meghan Boos and Aisley Sturk have provided a solid back line  and Madison Rock has been awesome between the pipes, Coach Webb said.  The new addition of Leoni Kohnen has helped round out the lineup.

“I am looking forward to the return of Brooke Harriman, who has been recovering from an injury since preseason,” the coach said. “Mindy Miller has been a great addition to the varsity squad this season coming off the bench and providing quality minutes.”

VOLLEYBALL

The Laker volleyball team has been playing hard, losing a tough match against Bonny Eagle last Tuesday, as they did a better job at the net on offense, with more attacks/hits that ended with kills (points) for their team, Coach Ryan Shible said.

“We struggled a bit with serve receive during games one and two, which slowed down or prevented our offense from generating some good momentum.”

G1: 25 to 9 B.E.

G2: 25 to 12

G3: 25 to 11

“Our team did much better with consistent passes to our setter against Massabesic this past Friday, which helped our team generate some good attacks/offense at the net, which greatly contributed to us winning our match,” Coach Shible said. “ We also did a good job of mixing up the offense with both hits and tips at the net.”

Melissa Bonenfant did great with 9 kills, as well as Autumn Tremblay with 6 kills at the net. The team was boosted by 10 aces from Lindsey Keenan, 5 aces from Catherine Christiansen, and a whopping 15 aces from Autumn Tremblay!

G1: 25 to 19 LR,

G2: 25 to 12 LR

G3: 25 to 10 LR

“I am now looking for our team to continue to increase our offensive power at the net; with harder and more consistent hits, along with consistent passes to our setters,” Coach Shible said. “If we can work on being more consistent in these two areas, it should lead to more wins for our team.”

CROSS COUNTRY

At Yarmouth, Coach Dan Dors felt both squads turned in their best runs of the season.

Addie Blais posted the fastest LR girls’ time in 23:32 to place 14th out of 43 girls over t he 3.1-mile course. Winning time was 18:51.

17. Hannah Chadwick, 24:05
18. Kennedy Brake, 25:35
19. Olivia Toole, 25:58
20. Emily Colson, 28:55

On the boys’ side, Jeff McCubrey ran a 19:35 for 16th place out of 70 boys. Winning time was 16:03.

26. Devyn Hatch, 20:16
27. Cameron Meserve, 21:01
28. Tim Moore, 21:02
29. Travis Corson, 21:45
30. Ethan Chadwick, 22:35
31. Ian St. John, 22:58
32. Andrew Gianiattasio, 23:06
33. Cody Doucette, 23:17
34. Ethan Colson, 27:07
35. Brandon Ross, 28:07

Up next: It’s Homecoming this Friday as the Lakers host Kennebunk, Sacopee Valley, Old Orchard Beach and Fryeburg Academy. Boys run at 4 and girls at 4:30 p.m.

The Lakers will be right back on the trail Saturday as they travel to the Belfast Invitational.