WINTHROP — The Maranacook/Winthrop girls lacrosse team put up big numbers on its way to the No. 1 seed in the Class C playoffs last season.
The Black Bears hope for a better ending this year.
“I think this is the best we’ve looked coming into the preseason,” said junior Hadley Farwell. “We’ve wanted (more success) all throughout the offseason. We worked through the summer, a little bit on our own. It shows people want it and are hungry this year.”
Maranacook/Winthrop finished 14-2 last season, losing to fourth-seeded Wells 7-5 in the semifinals.
During the regular season, the Black Bears put up video game numbers. In 14 games, they scored 194 goals, an average of 13.9 per game.
“Our potential is amazing,” Farwell said. “Us seeing that we can get that far last year, we feel we can go pretty far this year, and that’s how we play.”
The Black Bears must replaced Ashley DeSchamp, who recorded her 100th career goal last season. Coach Zach Stewart said the loss provides an opportunity for multiple players to get involved in the attack.
“Losing Ashley is going to hurt. Ashley was a 10, and she could score at any given time,” Stewart said. “But now that we don’t have a clear scorer, we have six girls who are 8s. They can score at any time, and they can catch and pass really well. They have the confidence to make some good passes and they’ve been playing together for a long time. I think they’re going to score some goals.”
Two potential leading scorers are the Davis sisters, Cooper and Emerson. Cooper Davis, a sophomore, had 25 goals, 24 assists and 116 ground balls last season. Emerson Davis, a senior, tallied 17 goals, 24 assists, 61 ground balls and 84 draw controls.
Maranacook/Winthrop’s Hadley Farwell applies defensive pressure to Celia Bergdahl during practice on Tuesday in Winthrop. The Black Bears went 14-2 last season and earned the No. 1 seed for the Class C playoffs. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel
“I feel like our strength (this season) is our speed and our grit,” Emerson Davis said.
“Obviously, we’ve lost some strong seniors, but we have a lot of upcoming freshmen and role players that are really stepping up,” added senior attack Sienna Beauchesne. “We think we found — not replacements, but people that can step up in those roles and bring the intensity.”
Most of the core of last year’s team returns, and the Black Bears feel they are strong, not only on attack, but across the field. Defensively, they are lifted by the return of junior Hadley Farwell, who suffered a knee injury during the semifinal loss to Wells.
“I’ve been ready to come back,” Farwell said. “Everybody has been amazing and excited for the season. (The knee) feels good. I went through my rehab and I feel better than ever.”
The Black Bears have two goalies in senior Devyn Eliasen and freshman Willow Woodford, a newcomer to the sport.
“Willow just knows how to stop the ball, she just had a knack from day one,” Stewart said. “Devyn was with us three, four years ago, and all of those fundamentals just rolled back into it. I would say we have a goalie competition, but really, right now, I’m (playing) one (goalie) one half and (the other) the other half, get them both in.”
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Maranacook/Winthrop has stacked its regular-season schedule with tough opponents in an effort to be better prepared for the playoffs. The Black Bears start the regular season Thursday at Freeport, which reached the Class B final last year. They follow that with another road contest against Class B stalwart Brunswick. Maranacook/Winthrop also has games against Class B contenders Cony and Mt. Ararat.
“Now that we have that upgraded schedule, that’s going to be very helpful,” Stewart said. “Not for our regular-season record, but it will be nice to get some very solid, southern (Maine) competition before we hit the playoffs.
“We have to keep our chin up. We have Freeport, we have Brunswick, we have Mt. Ararat after that. We could be 1-3 four games in, and that’s a reality we have to face. But I think the girls will learn a lot about themselves in a 1-3 (start). Or, maybe those girls just go out there and just ball and do the things they’re capable of and we’re 4-0. All that I care about in these first couple of games is that the girls keep their head and play consistently all the way through.”
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