HODGDON, Maine — With a large number of talented, returning players, the Hodgdon girls soccer team could be one of the top contenders in Class D North this fall.
Sixteen of the 19 players on the roster played last season, providing key leadership qualities for coach Rob Smith.
In his second year with the varsity girls program, coach Smith is optimistic for a successful season. He also spent three years as the varsity boys coach (2009, 2015, 2016) and spent several years coaching the current girls when they were underclassmen.
“This has been a fun and great group to work with so far this season,” the coach said. “We are always talking about building the program and we have the pieces. We just need the pieces to fall into place and they will as the season progresses. They want to work and put in the time to improve their individual game as well as cheer on their teammates to see them and their team improve.”
The Hawks finished 7-5-1 during the regular season and were 8-6-1 overall. Hodgdon defeated No. 10 Shead, 3-2 in the preliminary round and lost to No. 2 Penobscot Valley, 1-0, in a hard-fought quarterfinal decided on penalty kicks.
Hodgdon opened its season early — well before the start of the school year — with an Aug. 15 game against Easton. Hodgdon was victorious in that game 1-0.
“The first half of the game saw good opportunities for both teams to score, but both goalies did not allow anything to pass by them,” coach Smith said.
The teams played to a 0-0 tie at the half, but just 30 seconds into the second half Hodgodn’s Meghan Peters received a pass from Faith Howland at the top of the 18-yard line to put the winning goal in the back of the net. The coach’s daughter, Madison Smith, earned the shutout for the Hawks.
“Both teams had good scoring opportunities again in the second half, but the one goal would be enough for Hodgdon to hold on to the win,” Smith said.
Scoring goals will be the main focus for the Hawks coach this season. Hodgdon is without its top scorer from the past few years following the graduation of Delaney Little. The team also lost Monique Polchies (midfield) and Kaelyn Lawlor (sweeper) to graduation.
“Having lost our main scorers over the past few years, we will need to find ones to become the scorers this season,” coach Smith said. “We have been working on gaining confidence as we take shots on goal each practice. We hope this will translate on to the field as the opportunity arises that shots will be taken with confidence. Each year new players step up to lead the team in scoring and for others they learn how to set up their teammates with good passing that leads to an assist as a goal is scored.”
Members of the Hodgdon roster includes seniors Hope Howland (halfback/fullback), Vickie Porter (sweeper), Amelia Scott (fullback) and Madison Smith (goalie/fullback); juniors Alaina Campbell (wing), Alexis Ganzel (halfback), Peters (center-midfeld/striker), Alyeah Matheson (stopper/fullback), Ella Suitter (wing), Vanessa Ciarleglio (halfback), Faith Howland (wing/halfback) and Sydney Harvey (fullback).
The sophomores are Gracie Little (striker), Sydney Rockwell (wing), Shea Gilbert (halfback), Emma Folsom (fullback), Paige Fitzpatrick (stopper/goalie) and Molly Suitter (fullback); and freshman Kylie Campbell (halfback).
“I have had this group for six years, so the group knows the system we run and what I am looking for as they are on the field for practices and games,” coach Smith said. “We have experience in goal and on the defensive side of the ball as five of the nine defensive players saw significant time on the field last year.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Hawks have been working on its passing and dribbling. Those skills will continue to improve as they work on them in practice. The coach’s goal is to work on skills in each practice and have those skills put on display during the games.
“The girls’ dedication to working on the skills of the game will carry over into the game and give them the confidence to know that they can use those skills that have been practiced to perform their best during the game,” coach Smith said.
