Elsa Freeman graduated early from Deering High so she could enroll at Boston College and get her collegiate soccer career started.
“I was only there for the spring season, but it was very good. It was a very big transition,” Freeman said.
Playing for the pro-am Maine Footy club this summer is the next step in Freeman’s development as a player. Now in its third season, Maine Footy opened its United Women’s Soccer League season Saturday in Ludlow, Massachusetts against a strong New England Mutiny squad.
Maine Footy’s first home game at Deering’s Memorial Field is at 6 p.m. on June 7 against Worcester Fuel.
There are some changes to Maine Footy this season. Mony Hang is the new executive director, taking over from Justin Van Til. Paul Baber is the new head coach, with Todd Sniper serving as an assistant. Baber and Sniper also work together as assistant coaches with the University of Southern Maine men’s soccer team. Hang has experience in developing athletic opportunities for girls and women, having founded the Maine Girls Flag Football League in 2020.
“I got a chance to look over what Justin did and why he created the program. It was very similar to why I created a league I created five years ago. I want to grow it. I want to give the girls an opportunity to keep playing. I want to showcase the skills they have,” Hang said. “I want to see these ladies kill it. I’m excited for the summer. I’m excited to see what we’ve got. It’s a little bit of a new team.”
In roster construction, the focus was on the Maine in Maine Footy, Baber said. With the state producing more Division I-caliber talent, it made sense to look at players from in state first, he said. Of the 22 players on the team last summer, eight were from Maine. Maine Footy leadership knew the roster had to better reflect the growing in-state talent base.
“I can tell you that 15 years ago, we went out of state and we didn’t win a lot,” Sniper said of coaching travel teams. “Now we travel out of state and we’re competitive.”
That’s not to say out-of-state players aren’t welcome. They certainly are.
“For example, (Saturday) we have seven players from out of state joining the team. We’ll travel with seven or eight girls from Maine, and seven or eight will join us. Tactically it doesn’t help us, but as far as quality on the field, it really makes us much more competitive. We’re trying to find that right balance,” Baber said. “Well, we’re Maine Footy. We really want to be Maine players and Maine collegiate players.”
That’s how the club got goalie Grace Wilson, from Adelaide, Australia. Wilson was a freshman on the University of Maine team last fall.
“For me, staying in Maine was the main thing. My coach (Maine coach Scott Atherley) recommended this program. It’s just a fun place to stay and play over the summer. I just want to play as much as I can, and if I went home I wouldn’t have that opportunity,” said Wilson, who played with Australia’s under-20 national team at the world championships last year.
Another change is living arrangements for players from outside the Portland area. Last season, the team was housed at St. Joseph’s College in Standish. This summer, players like Wilson are with host families. It’s a better way for them to feel connected to the area, Sniper said.
The team will once again run a soccer camp for girls, scheduled for July 14-17 at Memorial Field, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, for girls ages 8 to 14. Along with the camp, Hang hopes girls find inspiration from Maine Footy by simply watching the team play.
Maine Footy begins the season having practiced just a few times, and as Baber noted, would be joined by newcomers for Saturday’s season opener. That makes it tougher to install a system, but not impossible.
“You’re dealing with Division I players, for the most part, and they’re at the collegiate age where they’ve seen different formations, different systems. We don’t try to do anything too complicated with them, but they’re all experienced players,” Baber said. “When you have players at this age and this experience level, we expect them to fit into any system pretty easily.”
