For first-year Boothbay Region Lady Seahawks coach Bill Goldenberg, putting together his team is a lot like assembling a giant jigsaw puzzle. He is matching several returning talented players with others who have limited experience. Goldenberg replaces former coach Donna Jordan who guided the team to a tournament berth in each of the team’s three years as a varsity sport. Goldenberg begins the season with 13 players vying for 12 starting positions.

“The challenge is getting to know the players and understanding what they are capable of and melding them with the less experienced ones,” he said. “In practice, you see a lot of players with skills which shows Coach Jordan did a great job with them,” Goldenberg said.

This year’s Lady Seahawks have five seniors. Defender Lilley Harris and midfielder Hannah Cola played significant minutes in the past three seasons. For Cola, her speed and athleticism should serve her well as one of the team’s top playmakers. “It’s a tough position because there is a lot of running and it’s not always the most fun to play,” Cola said. Harris will rely on her communication skills in patrolling the defense with a new goalie. Alexis Davison is the team’s new goalie who replaces four-year starter Page Brown who graduated last year. Davison returns to the team after a two-year absence. As a freshman, she subbed twice for Brown in goal.

“We have a lot of confidence in Alexis. She was our goalie four years ago when we all played on a travel team as eighth graders. We finished the season undefeated so we know Alexis will be fine in goal,” Harris said. 

Despite a core group which has found success in recent high school and travel team seasons, the Lady Seahawks aren’t sure how they will fare this spring. The seniors are focused on mentoring the first-year players in getting them ready for the season. “It’s really a lot fun. We have no expectations because we have so many young players, but that is also the fun part,”  Harris said. 

Cola agreed that an important early factor in team chemistry is how the younger players react to mentoring. “We have five or six players who are either freshmen or first-year players. So there is a lot of bonding happening, and it’s fun explaining what we are trying to do on offense and defense,” Cola said. 

All the players are learning the game from a new voice this  year. Goldenberg played high school lacrosse in Syracuse, New York. In college, he played for Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. He recently coached lacrosse in the local YMCA program. “I haven’t coached girls, and I know there are some different rules. But, it is still the same concepts so that shouldn’t be a problem. Right now, I’m getting to know the players and they are getting to know me.”

In the program’s first two seasons, the Lady Seahawks reached the tournament semifinals. Last year, Boothbay finished 9-4 and in fifth place in the Class C Heal point standings. In the quarterfinals, Freeport beat Boothbay 18-7.