Two of the top girls’ soccer players in the Mountain Valley Conference were injured last week. It happened on the same play.
Monmouth’s Kylie Kemp and St. Dom’s Kelly Pomerleau collided in a game Wednesday. Both were taken off the field by ambulance with possible concussions. Both are currently out indefinitely.
In a scoreless tie, Kemp put her Mustangs ahead with a goal late in regulation. She chased after a loose ball and headed it toward the net and past a charging Pomerleau. The momentum of both players led to a scary collision that had both sprawled on the ground during a lengthy delay.
Pomerleau was helped up but was obviously unsteady on her feet. She was put into an ambulance. Kemp was put on a immobilization board as a precaution due to a previous back injury.
The goal was the sixth of the season for Kemp and it gave her 59 in her career, two shy of the school record.
Monmouth coach Gary Trafton said Kemp is likely out one to two weeks.
Pomerleau is the Saints athletic goalie and leader. When she got hurt Wednesday, she vowed to get back up and play because she felt she owed it to her team for allowing the goal. Her Saints rallied in her absence to tie the game in regulation and win it on Emma Byrne’s second of the day.
St. Dom’s coach Alicia Pelletier said Pomerleau is working with the team’s trainer and is day-to-day. Nicole Robitaille got the start Saturday for the Saints in a 3-1 win over Mt. Abram.
The absence of both players will be a challenge to two teams expected to be among the top in the MVC and Western C. Both players are a significicant presence on their respective teams. The inactivity also might not be welcomed by two very active athletes. Both girls’ are among the top female athletes in their respective schools. Both are standout basketball and softball players.
New home
The Mt. Blue girls’ soccer team christened the new high school field in style Tuesday with a 6-0 win over Skowhegan. Eryn Doiron scored two goals and had an assist while Miranda Nicely, Hope Thompson and Kiana Thompson each had a goal and an assist. Lauren Guppy also had a goal and Thea Bridges and Addie Schanz teamed up in goal for the shutout.
It a nice sort of homecoming for the Cougars, which haven’t had a true home field in a few seasons.
“It was amazing to return to the school after two and a half years of being basically a road team,” Mt. Blue coach Fred Conlogue said. “The feeling of the stadium as well as the quality of the field was priceless.”
Conlogue said his team was thrilled at the opportunity to get on the field and play for the first time. The Cougars had a pretty good home crowd under the lights as well.
It also helped that the Cougars produced their first win of the season with a great effort.
“We came out very strong and finished the opportunities to jump out to a 5-0 lead at the half,” said Conlogue. “It was nice to be able to play all the girls in the varsity game and still hold on for the shutout.”
Also part of the festivities that evening was recognizing Barry Maguire. He was the first coach for the girls’ program when it started in 1986. He was the head coach until 1992. Maguire was presented a plaque to honor his dedication to the program.
Allen on fast track
Winthrop senior Ben Allen didn’t want to start too fast in the heat and humidity of his cross country meet last Wednesday. But he’s happy with how quickly he’s come out of the gate for the 2013 season.
Allen won the first Mountain Valley Conference meet with conference powers Boothbay and Monmouth on his home course on Wednesday. Even though he wanted to conserve his energy in the less than ideal conditions, Allen pulled away early to win by 42 seconds.
Prior to the victory, Allen finished fourth overall at the preseason Laliberte Invitational in Augusta on August 30, keeping up with some of the top runners in Class A.
“I’m feeling pretty good about my season. I think there’s a lot of room for improvement, which is great,” he said.
Allen, a baseball and basketball standout at Winthrop, trained hard through a busy summer, Winthrop coach Ed Van Tassel said.
“He had a strong year last year and had some disappointments at the end of the season on an individual level, and that just motivated him to work hard this summer,” Van Tassel said. “He’s ready to roll.”
Winthrop’s next scheduled meet is Sept. 18 at Carrabec, where Allen will have his first race against the conference’s top runner, Telstar’s Josef Holt-Andrews.
Win some, lose some
Lewiston lost a key player from last year’s boys’ soccer team when all-state forward Yusuf Yama transferred to Portland.
“He’s starting for the Bulldogs,” said Lewiston coach Mike McGraw, whose team won the KVAC title last year with Yama leading the charge up front. “He’s playing awesome.”
Yama and his family moved to Portland last spring.
“He avoided me for about a week because he didn’t want to tell me,” McGraw said.
His skills and experience up front are tough to replace, especially with other key graduation losses. But Lewiston should have enough talent to pick up the slack.
“We have plenty of guys,” McGraw said. “We’re more than capable if we play. We just can’t put ourselves in bad situations.”
Lewiston didn’t just lose via transfer, the Blue Devils gained in that regard. Despite losing Yama, the Blue Devils added sophomore Maslah Hassan, who was a standout at Edward Little last fall.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
