By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
LIMESTONE — After four years away, Mike Dugal has returned as coach of the Eagle girls varsity soccer team.
Contributed photo
Stephanie Leighton of Limestone-MSSM looks to advance the ball in a game against Hodgdon last week. The Lady Eagles would win this game easily 7-0.
Dugal experienced success during his first run, which lasted from 1997-2008. His team made multiple playoff appearances and the highlight was an Eastern Maine Class D runner-up in 2006.
He wants to bring a winning attitude back to the Limestone-MSSM squad.
“We’ve got a great bunch of athletes,” Dugal said. “They have a lot of potential, and it is important for our seniors to be good examples and help the younger players to build success. If we don’t get there this year, then in seasons ahead. We have to be patient, but it will happen.”
Dugal is counting heavily on senior Amanda Allen, who captains the team along with classmates Stephanie Leighton and Karen Page.
“When [Amanda] speaks, the team listens,” Dugal said. “Her leadership is very important for us.”
After a 1-3 start, with the team’s next game set for Thursday against Wisdom in St. Agatha, Dugal has decided to forego the 4-4-2 alignment the team has been playing and go with a 4-3-3 setup, putting an extra player on the front line.
“We want more attacking,” he explained. “Two is not enough upfront.”
That means junior Daniele Pelkey will move up from a midfield position and play forward along with freshman Kennedi Smith, the team’s leading goal scorer through the first four games, and sophomore Mariah Williams, who leads the Eagles in assists.
The goalie position has been a revolving door so far after the starter for the first two games, Autumn Beauchamp, transferred to Caribou. Page filled in at the position against Hodgdon and Easton last week, but will go back to her normal sweeper spot, with sophomore Jordyn Hopkins now getting the start between the posts.
“Karen is very strong on defense, but she was willing to help out when we needed a goalie,” Dugal said. “Now she’s back at her regular position and we think Jordyn will do a fine job.”
Page has three young teammates to work with on defense —- sophomore stopper back Kelsee Albert, sophomore wing back Melissa Cantafio and freshman wing back Annie Sinclair.
“I’m confident the defense will come into play in our turnaround,” Dugal said.
The midfield group has some solid experience in Leighton, who plays in the center and has the strongest foot on the squad, and Allen, who can maneuver the ball well from her position on the wing. Freshman Ellyzabeth Bencivenga, whose grandfather, Tom Cote, coached the team prior to Dugal’s first go-around, is very quick and does not back down from a challenge. She will start at the other midfield wing.
With only 14 players on the team, the three substitutes will get plenty of action on the field as well. Dugal said senior Hunter Smith will start some games and can play either at midfield or on the back line. Senior Jade McConnell, who suffered a knee injury last year and is still not 100 percent, will see time all around the field in spots. Hayley Frank, the lone MSSM student, played for the first time Saturday and also will help the team in multiple positions and is an aggressive defender.
Becky West, a former Eagle standout in goal in the 1990s, is Dugal’s assistant coach.
“There are no weak players in this group,” Dugal said. “They are all very talented and coachable — they all want to learn.”
Dugal has instituted skill work as part of the practice regiment and has already seen the results.
“We start our practices with several minutes of a workout which centers around ball control, and I can already see they are getting better in that area,” he said. “They’ve made great strides since the beginning of the season.”
Even though the team has started slowly, his goal is to improve on the four-win season from last year and set the building blocks for success in the years to come.
“I want to build a legacy,” he said. “When I came in during my first run in 1997, those players set the tone for the success we had years later and I want to see something similar during my second run. And I know these girls can do that.”
