Unbeaten Scarborough holds off Windham in boys’ soccer

By Matt Pascarella

Windham went up against undefeated Scarborough at Windham on Monday, Sept. 22 and while the Eagles made it especially difficult for the Red Storm in the first half and kept them scoreless for the first 60 minutes, Scarborough’s defense was equally as tough, and kept Windham scoreless for two halves. At the final buzzer, Scarborough won 2-0.

Windham sophomore Sean Lebel turns to quickly get by an
opponent during a boys' varsity soccer game against
Scarborough on Monday, Sept. 22 at Windham High
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

“I think especially in the first 60 minutes we were creating opportunities,” said Windham senior Daniel Hancock. “We were possessing the ball, winning 50-50s, and that’s just the energy we need to keep the whole game. We were confident on the ball and that led to us getting more opportunities. We know we can play with any team in the state; it’s just playing that 80 minutes and scoring goals. That (scoreless for 60 minutes) gives us a little more confidence, but there’s still a lot of stuff to work on; it’s nobody’s fault, we just got to keep communicating and working at practice. If we fill those gaps in, we’ll be alright.”

Hancock said their problem all fall has been finishing; they need to score. He believes things are going to start clicking soon and they’ll figure it out.

Both teams started with incredibly strong defense. Windham went hard after the ball. Windham fired several shots at goal, but nothing got in.

Windham defense remained strong for the entire half as they made it difficult for Scarborough to score.

Senior Windham goalie Tate Robinson had several nice saves and the game was scoreless after one half of play.

“We prepared for the game really well and we expected to play with them,” said Windham sophomore Sean Lebel. “Our goal was to just hold them off as long as we could and put one in the back of the net, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. We had great opportunities in the first half, and we just ran out of gas in the second half. We were able to pair the ball really well we found marks in the back and when we were on the counterattack, we pushed the ball really quickly; we had a lot of good shots on net.”

Lebel said the mental and physical aspects need work. They need to build up more and stay connected.

In the second half, Windham came out with equal intensity as the first half, but it only lasted the first 20 minutes, which is when Scarborough scored.Windham kept their heads up and continued to fight.

Scarborough scored again, but Windham would not allow any more goals before the final buzzer.

“That first 60 minutes is the best we’ve played all year and that’s a huge success,” said Windham varsity boys’ soccer coach Jeff Neal. “The grind is there, the desire is there, the work rate is there, the believability is there in moments, but it’s not there consistently enough. We got to put the ball in the net and that’s something we’re working real hard at, and we’ll continue to work hard at and day-in-day-out. We had some great chances, it’ll come; everything seems to be right, but it’s not coming up right. We’re not going to get down on ourselves.

"We had some good combination play on the left flank in the first part of the second half but couldn’t connect that run on the finishing ball ... and when you're trying to push it a little bit that's a hard thing to sustain," Neal said. Hopefully we’re going to have some young players step up and we’re going to see some opportunities and just run, if it’s only five or six minutes if it gives some of our first-line guys a breather, I think tactically that’s something we need to look at more. Fuel in the tank – we ran out of it tonight.” <

WHS basketball wraps up successful summer schedule

By Matt Pascarella

Windham’s varsity summer basketball team wrapped up a successful season with their final practice at Windham High School on Thursday, July 31. For the final week of practices, the varsity team had Windham’s seventh and eighth graders join them. This was a great opportunity for seasoned players to teach younger players and younger players to learn from potential teammates and role models. The varsity team finished their summer season with an impressive 12-2 record.

Windham sophomore Boston Krainis is about to tip the ball
in the basket during a scrimmage in the final practice of
the summer prep basketball season at Windham High
School on Thursday, July 31.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

“Right now, we’re just focusing on each other, and coaches are getting us better,” said Windham senior AJ Moody. “We appreciate them (helping) us in the gym and bringing us together. We’re not afraid of anything (as a team). I can’t wait to face the teams we’re playing; it’s going to be a great (winter) season.”

Moody said mentoring the younger kids gave them a preview what it’s going to be like playing on varsity; it’s not easy, so it’s best to learn and begin to make that transition to the program’s expectations and playing style now instead of later.

The younger kids get mixed right in and learn the skills of the game from high school players. The development of both younger and older players emotionally and skill-wise is incredible.

"It's been a great group of guys,” said Windham varsity boys’ basketball coach Chad Pulkkinen. “We’ve had an extreme level of commitment ... they’re motivated. One of our things this year is ‘entitled to nothing’ - we don’t deserve anything yet; we haven’t earned anything yet. It was a great group of hungry guys that make good decisions on and off the court. It starts with our top guys, Tyrie (James) and AJ and we got some junior leaders in (Luke) Drottar, Landon Wyman and Colin Janvrin plus Boston (Krainis) and Sean (LeBel). They are the ones that are most committed, they’re picking guys up, they’re trying to help those young guys because they’re going to need guys to come and help them (on the court) and step in to have success with this team. Our pace of play is really good, and our defense is outstanding, I really love what our guys can do on the defensive side.”

During the summer the team traveled to East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania for a team camp where they could connect with each other and play the game.

Pulkkinen said he saw a lot of growth, maturity-wise, but also connection-wise, and that’s the biggest question for the team, can they connect together? The varsity guys are focused and want to work for it every day and that’s the mindset coming off two championship wins.

“It helps me learn what to expect from them, because our offense is a lot of anticipation, learning how they play,” said Windham sophomore Krainis about how the summer season helped him prepare for the winter. “Playing with Tyrie and AJ ... learning how they play. We’ve gotten hungrier – just because we’re the state champs doesn’t mean we deserve anything. We’ve got to keep working. The offense has been running really well. Everybody’s getting open shots, we’re scoring a lot of points, defense is great.”

Players will stay ready for the winter season by hitting the gym or the weightroom, or by playing a fall sport. The team will be around each other this fall, and they’ll keep working and cheering each other on.

While it’s too early to give a forecast of the varsity boys’ basketball season, Pulkkinen said they’ll be playing hard come winter; the team will be fun to watch and you’ll see the two determined seniors, James and Moody setting the tone. <

Windham avoids shutout against Yarmouth in boys' lacrosse scrimmage

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham High varsity boys’ lacrosse team suited up for a preseason scrimmage against Yarmouth, but came out on the wrong end, falling 16-2 against Yarmouth on Monday, April 14 at Yarmouth High School.

Windham senior Lukas Hammond looks to pass during a
preseason boys' lacrosse scrimmage against Yarmouth at
Yarmouth High School on Monday, April 14.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

Yarmouth came out very strong in the scrimmage and scored several goals in the first half. The Eagles kept at it, and scored twice in the second half, but it wasn’t enough against Yarmouth.

Windham plays its first regular season boys’ lacrosse game on Thursday, April 17 against Scarborough.

“We just got to move on and not fixate on this loss,” said Windham sophomore Luke Drottar. “We have a lot of potential; a lot of these guys are pretty good. I think we’ll bounce back. I think just more preparation and practice will help a lot. On the offensive side I think we swung the ball pretty well, on the defensive side we definitely slid our feet a lot better than our last scrimmage.”

Yarmouth came out strong and scored five goals in the first quarter. Windham still had plenty of time and kept their heads up early in the game.

While Windham remained intense, Yarmouth’s offense kept on the attack. Windham took several shots at goal but Yarmouth led at halftime, 12-0.

“I think we’ve got to get after it man down, man up, cutting toward the ball,” said Windham sophomore Tegan Perkins. “For defense, we got to be more talking and for our second slide, we just got to pitch it and have that all day and be really physical in slides. I think the game started to fall when we started getting chippy, when kids would drop a ball or make a bad pass and just put their heads down. I think our quick passes were really good and our first slide was mostly there every time; our right and left were there every time. We had a few guys who were super physical and always there and a couple guys who were just super loud, and it helped to have our goalie really loud. Caden Valle stepped up in goal.”

In the second half, Drottar intercepted a Yarmouth pass and scored.

Windham continued to take shots at the Yarmouth goalie, which resulted in freshman Sean Lebel scoring late in the fourth quarter.

“We got to play within the rules of the game,” said Windham varsity boys’ lacrosse coach Peter Small. “We were playing ‘chippy’ (overly aggressive) beyond the rules of the game. I want us to play aggressive but within the rules of the game. As we started to get frustrated, we started to play chippy and get outside our head and stopped playing the way we think and know we should play. Our skill level is there; our foot movement on defense was pretty good, at times our sticks were really good; on the offensive side we can move in position, and we can move the ball really well.”

Small said that this loss shows everyone from coaches down to players needs to lock in. As they started to put pieces together of people who haven’t played together, communication needs to happen more.

He said the WHS team’s eyes are wider open now to the pace at which the game needs to be played. According to Small, they need to put those pieces together and move in a concerted 10 guys on the field entering the regular season.

Their next home game for Windham is at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, April 29 against Biddeford. <

Windham boys’ varsity summer soccer squad falls against Yarmouth

By Matt Pascarella

On a hot evening, Windham’s boys’ varsity summer soccer team traveled to Yarmouth where they fought hard for two halves on Thursday, July 11, but ultimately fell 1-0 to the Clippers.

Windham senior Preston Stretch sends the ball back into play
during a boys' summer soccer game on Thursday, July 11 at
Yarmouth High School. PHOTO BY MATT PASCERELLA   

“This is good for us, it’s a learning thing,” said Windham boys’ soccer coach Jeff Neal. “We’re trying to figure out some spots on the field right now; we’re trying to develop a next man-up mentality. We’ve got some guys in the rotation that maybe haven’t played a team like Yarmouth yet. It’s a good wakeup call for us. I’m pleased with the response, we’ve made some adjustments tactically, late in the second half and we got [Yarmouth] back on their heels a little bit. We want to be not as passive but preemptive in regard to not only how we defend but how we move the ball. We got to get off our heels and be more communicative about what we’re doing with the ball and our intent. There were times where we tried to push it when we shouldn’t have pushed it. There were times where we shook off a ball that was the right ball to play but we just didn’t see it because we weren’t communicating. These are all early season things. The good news is there were moments when we were doing those things and it showed.”

According to Neal the great thing about summer is that there is no pressure; kids get the opportunity to play different spots and try different things as the team tries to find out who they are.

Early on, Windham was aggressive and stayed with the ball and worked to get in front of the ball. Their defense limited scoring opportunities for Yarmouth, though in the first half, Yarmouth scored shortly before the end of the half and led 1-0.

“In the first half we were really struggling to step to the ball; we were letting Yarmouth control the game,” said Windham freshman Sean Lebel. “We weren’t connecting passes with the midfield and the attack. We made that adjustment at halftime, and we were able to push the ball more and attack more on the offense. Everything starts in the summer, so we have to make sure we are going 100 percent right now and as it gets closer to the season, we have to make sure we are putting in the work and we’ll be ready for the year.”

In the second half, Windham’s intensity remained and continued passing the ball well. Windham senior goalie Lukas Hammond had several excellent saves. Windham defense prevented Yarmouth from scoring again. While Windham worked hard going after the ball with multiple shots at goal, they weren’t able to get anything in the net.

“I think playing such a strong team helped us see where we can improve,” said Windham senior Carter Engelman. “We’re a bit worried about finding replacements for the players we lost last year, but we found a lot of people who might be able to fill those roles.”

Engelman said confidence is the key to succeeding going forward. <

Jordan-Small Middle School’s student-staff basketball game a fun tradition

By Matt Pascarella

It’s been a tradition at Jordan-Small Middle School (JSMS) in Raymond since 2003 that before February vacation, the school celebrates the end of the basketball season with a friendly student-staff game. This year on Friday, Feb. 16, JSMS staff members, students and coaches gathered in the gym to keep the tradition alive with coed staff teams playing 20- to 25-minute games against the school’s girls’ basketball team and then the boys’ basketball team.

Eighth grader Brooklyn Roy races to the basket during the
annual student-staff basketball game at Jordan-Small
Middle school in Raymond on Friday, Feb. 16.
PHOTO BY GARY HARRIMAN

“The purpose of the game is to celebrate the end of the season using the staff game as a culminating event,” said John Powers, who helped organize the event as well as teaches sixth and eighth-grade math at JSMS. “The entire school attends and they spend the time cheering on their friends and favorite teachers. We keep score but the game is friendly. It's fairly common for staff or students to give each other high fives when the other team makes a great play. I have personally played in the game every year since 2003 and it's always a ton of fun.”

One of the benefits of the games is the whole school getting to see their athletes in action. As not every student is able to attend games during basketball season, this gives them the opportunity to see the results and all the hard work that the athletes put in.

Powers said the game has that old-school pep rally feel to it. Getting the entire school together for a friendly competition is a great way to spend the final hour before February vacation, he said.

He grew up playing basketball through high school and always enjoyed it. He’s been coaching at JSMS for many years and says while it’s fun for the adults to compete against the students, it’s also fun to be on a team with colleagues doing something they often don’t get to do.

One of the highlights for Powers this year was JSMS eighth grader Sean Lebel, who made a deep three-pointer from just over half court. The crowd went wild and everyone on the court celebrated with high fives.

“As a student-athlete playing in the game, I was just trying to score on the teachers as much as possible,” said JSMS graduate and boys’ basketball coach Andrew Wing. “You really wanted to beat the staff because it has never happened before. As an alum-coach playing in the game, you are simply trying to not get embarrassed by the talented young student athletes and you also don’t want to be the first staff team that loses to the students.”

According to Wing, the game is important not only because it’s a tradition, but it’s fun for the student athletes.

For Wing, playing with the teachers instead of the students was a nice full-circle moment.

The games were also meaningful for the student athletes.

“The thing that I like most about the game is that you are able to play against teachers and staff members that you have formed relationships with over the past few years,” said Sean Lebel. “The student-staff game gives you an opportunity to have fun and bond with the people and players around you. It is a great experience to have the whole school watching you while you play basketball. Everybody in the crowd cheers both teams on and always stays positive even if somebody makes mistakes.” <

Raymond soccer nabs back-to-back wins over Saint Dominic Academy

By Matt Pascarella

Raymond’s girls’ and boys’ soccer teams earned wins over Saint Dominic Academy at Jordan-Small Middle School in Raymond on Monday, Sept. 25. The girls won, 1-0, and the boys earned a 5-1 win.

Raymond seventh grader Jack Buxton gets ahead of his
opponents in a game against Saint Dominic Academy on
Monday, Sept. 25 at Jordan-Small Middle School in
Raymond. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELA   

Girls

Raymond took the field aggressively and worked to be first to the ball, succeeding often. Raymond began the game by taking a shot on goal. A short time later another Raymond shot at the goal just barely missed finding the back of the net.

Raymond sixth grader Paige Leveille said communication and passing went well against their opponent.

Players from Raymond had strong defense during the game and kept Saint Dominic Academy from scoring and limited many of their chances. Raymond seventh grade goalie Layla Martin had several saves in the two halves. At the half, the game was scoreless.

The Raymond team didn’t let up as they began the second half. Raymond took a shot on goal that hit the crossbar. They continued to fire shot after shot at their opponent’s goal. Leveille scored in the second half.

Raymond defense remained strong and held off Saint Dominic Academy for the remainder of the game. Raymond did not let up their intensity until the final whistle.

“It was my first goal on the seventh and eighth grade middle school team – it felt really good,” said Leveille.

“I think they’re doing a really good job,” said Raymond girls’ soccer coach Mandy Anderson. “They’ve been working on their positioning; the key to winning is being a team and working together to make the goals happen. We had some good passes, some good give-and-go’s, the defense is really strong and keeping that line of keeping their offense off the net.”

Boys

The Raymond boys took the field ready to get the ‘W.’ They had several shots at goal early on and it didn’t take long before Raymond eighth grader Sean Lebel scored. Raymond controlled the ball and the field, with defense holding off Saint Dominic Academy. Midway through, Raymond led 1-0.

“Every day in practice we’ve kept improving; you can see they are starting to come together more as a team,” said Raymond boys’ soccer coach Andrew Wing. “Every practice, wanting to get better and it’s shown, they’ve gotten better.”

Wing said hustling, getting good crosses, which led to a couple goals, and taking the space in front of you all went well during the game.

The second half was goal heavy for Raymond. They kept up their intensity; Lebel scored again, then Saint Dominic Academy scored on themselves. Saint Dominic Academy scored on Raymond, but Raymond defense would allow only one goal.

Lebel scored again and Raymond seventh grader Jack Buxton found the back of the net before the end of the game.

“It was a beautiful pass from Sean, and I had in mind I was going to score,” said Buxton.

Buxton was the goalie in the first half and he said that the team’s defense was better than usual.

Lebel said practices and playing together as a team led to the win and that they get better every week and are connecting passes. <

Windham varsity boys’ basketball wraps up successful summer session

By Matt Pascarella

It’s been a busy and productive summer for the Windham High School boys’ basketball team. They became Gold Rush champions during a basketball camp at Thomas College in Waterville. The entire team has been working hard each morning showing up for early morning practices. In the final game of the summer season, Windham boys’ varsity beat Edward Little at home, 56-49, on Thursday, July 27 in a game that showcased their hard work and dedication.

Windham's Conor Janvrin dribbles past two Edward Little
opponents during a summer basketball game at Windham
High School on Thrursday, July 27.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

For the first time, the boys’ high school basketball program invited Windham seventh and eighth graders to join them in a week of practices as they finished their summer season.

“We couldn’t wait for the summer to start, just because of the guys we had coming back,” said Windham varsity boys’ basketball coach Chad Pulkkinen. “Summer has been great, because we get to hang out with these guys, but also helping fuel their passion for the game. It’s very rewarding for me.”

During the final game of the summer season, Edward Little jumped to an early lead. Windham tied the game with the Red Eddies several times and the game was tied at 22 at the half.

At the start of the second half, Windham really increased their intensity and took the lead. Windham remained out in front and made it difficult for Edward Little to get this win.

Windham junior Creighty Dickson said they pushed the pace, finished at the rim and played fast pace on defense; it was a solid game.

When Pulkkinen opened practice up to seventh and eighth graders, he said he’s seen his players start to understand their roles as role models and that gives them a sense of how to hold themselves as players and athletes. It’s a win-win for both sides. It’s been very collaborative and powerful for the program.

“It’s been good we all work out together a lot,” said Windham junior Conor Janvrin. “We all worked together, everyone knows their role and plays a part in the team; I’m looking forward to the upcoming season [this winter].”

Windham sophomore AJ Moody, sunk 3 three-pointers during the Edward Little game, said this was the last summer with some of the seniors. He really wanted to show up for them and put everything on the line; he couldn’t ask for a better coaching staff. He likes teaching the upcoming high school players new things and he can’t wait to play with them.

The varsity players got to show the middle school players how they do things offensively and strategically. The overall comradery has been really fun. Pulkkinen enjoyed seeing his team as a great set of role models. It was fun for him to see varsity players giving back to the youth program.

“It was really fun to watch and play against a bunch of high-level players and being able to learn from them,” said Windham eighth grader Sean Lebel. “They showed me the pace that high school basketball is played at and is a very big step up from middle school. It was a great way for me to work on fundamentals and get up a lot of shots. It was nice to build relationships with a lot of the high schoolers too.”

Windham junior varsity and assistant varsity coach Geoff Grigsby said the commitment and dedication he’s seen on the court from players of all ages this summer really proves Windham is a basketball community on the rise. <

Raymond Roadrunners basketball holds own against NYA

By Matt Pascarella

The Jordan-Small Middle School Raymond Roadrunners basketball team played an outstanding game with a lot of energy against North Yarmouth Academy at North Yarmouth Academy on Thursday, Jan. 12.

Raymond seventh grader Sean Lebel goes up for a layup in
a basketball game against North Yarmouth Academy on
Thursday, Jan. 12 at North Yarmouth Academy.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

Raymond kept it neck-and-neck with North Yarmouth Academy matching them shot for shot in the first quarter. North Yarmouth Academy did take a small lead in the second half, but Raymond was determined to not give up without a fight.

Raymond remained aggressive in the second half as they worked to close the gap between the teams. Raymond’s effort was strong, but at the buzzer North Yarmouth Academy got the win 43-35; but Raymond definitely held their own.

“We just need to work on the little things to create better shots,” said Raymond eighth-grader Isabella Vassoler. “I think we did decent. We did really well ... passing the ball around and in the second half we played way better defense and we stayed with [North Yarmouth Academy].

Vassoler said that even if you have to compete against someone taller than you, keep sticking with it and keep your head up. She thought they did much better than she originally expected.

Early in the game, Raymond snagged several turnovers and kept it close as they also grabbed rebounds and moved the ball very well. North Yarmouth Academy tried to get a big lead, but Raymond wasn’t more than a point or two behind.

Raymond seventh-grader Sean Lebel had an incredible game as he put up 20 points over two halves.

“On offense we need to play more as a team,” said Lebel. “Boxing out was a big thing because we let up a lot of second chance points. Our defense wasn’t that bad; I think we did pretty well pressing and getting turnovers.”

Lebel said he learned to not force shots, look for teammates and pass more.

North Yarmouth Academy did have a small lead at the half, 20-15.

In the second half, Raymond remained aggressive and continued to do their best. North Yarmouth

Academy widened the lead, but it still wasn’t out of reach. Raymond took advantage of any mistakes North Yarmouth Academy made, like when they scored on their own basket.

Raymond fought for the ball and was catching up. They continued to get rebounds and sunk several baskets.

Raymond seventh-grader Brooklyn Roy said they played a really good game overall but still need to work on little things like shooting, passing and cutting around the court. She thought communication and getting open for each other went well.

Raymond seventh-grader Niko Powers said passing went well.

“We were definitely outmatched height-wise,” said Jordan- Small Middle School Raymond basketball coach Deb Lebel. “In terms of effort, I just said to them I will take that effort all day long. You don’t give up, you keep playing, you don’t hang your head; that’s what I feel like made it really fun. Raymond kept in the game.”

Coach Lebel said there are still some things they need to work on, but they’ve been working on better passing and boxing out, which really helped them in this game. <

Raymond Roadrunners soccer comeback effort falls short against Durham

By Matt Pascarella

The Raymond Roadrunners came back from a 3-1 deficit to force a 3-3 tie, but a late goal gave Durham the victory during a middle school soccer game on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at Jordan-Small Middle School in Raymond.

Raymond seventh-grader Niko Powers keeps his focus as he
takes the all to the goal during a coed middle school soccer 
game against Durham at Jordan-Small Middle School on
Tuesday, Oct. 11. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA
 

The coed Roadrunners squad played this game a little different than the traditional two halves; instead, they played three periods. The teams were scoreless after one period and Raymond was up 1-0 after two periods of play.

In the third period, Durham jumped out to a 3-1 lead. Raymond was quick to tie it. Eventually Durham went ahead 4-3 with just a few minutes left.

“I think we played really well,” said Jordan-Small seventh-grader Sean Lebel, who scored two of Raymond’s three goals. “I think just playing in the midfield and being able to get a stop before it went on to [Durham’s] side [went well].”

Lebel said compared to the first time they played Durham earlier in the season, Raymond had a better offense and defense in this game.

The match began with very high energy from both sides. The first period was a match of two very strong offensives and even stronger defenses. For the first 30 minutes neither team was able to score.

In the second period, Raymond defense remained tight with excellent hustle which stopped Durham from possible scoring opportunities. On a Raymond corner kick, seventh-grader Sabri Igiraneza was there to knock the ball past the Durham goalie giving Raymond a 1-0 lead.

Raymond seventh-grader Brooklyn Roi said she thought the game went well. Durham is tough team, but Raymond scored several good goals. Roi said that Raymond played much better game against Durham this time than previously. Roi said passing and improved communication on the field really helped Raymond; they were also aggressive and communicated with lots of crosses and passes.

Durham made up for lost time when they tied the game from a corner kick early in the third period. Durham took a 2-1 lead after another goal.

Lebel then scored to close the gap. Raymond kept up the intensity and Lebel scored again a few moments later when he kicked the ball from the top of the penalty area and it flew right over the goalie’s head and tied the game at 3-3.

Raymond fought hard during the remaining time, but Durham was able to score again with less than three minutes left and held onto the lead as the clock ran out.

“Our defense is playing way better than they have been,” said Raymond Roadrunners soccer coach Scott Allen. “Some of our starters getting after it, hustling; we were down 3-1 and ... they weren’t afraid to come back. The season has been great – our only loss has been to Durham. It’s rough, but it was a close one. We’ll get them next time.” <