Lots of talent but low on numbers. Such is the case with the 2019 Boothbay Region High School field hockey team.

Donna Jordan, returning for her sixth year as Seahawk coach, won’t have any issues about substituting as only 10 players have joined the team, including three freshmen.

“We’ve got the talent and you only need seven players to field a team, so we’re ready to go,” said Jordan, who for the second straight year is dealing with a low turnout of players. Only 12 players played last year after nine seniors graduated in 2017.

“We had 15 signed up this spring but some of the players were concerned about keeping up their studies while also trying to play a sport,” said Jordan.

The 2019 team will be led by seniors Chloe Arsenault, Hali Goodwin and Josey Smith. Arsenault, a four-year starter, was last year’s leading scorer, is a two-time all-conference player and a national academic all-star. Goodwin and Smith are also competing in their fourth year.

Two juniors, Kylie Brown and Cortney Meader, did a great job for the Seahawks last season. Brown is one of the top defenders in the Mountain Valley Conference and Meader was used at various positions last season due to her speed and knowledge of the game.

Holding down the goalie position will be sophomore Jaelyn Crocker, and fellow sophomore Emily Echols returns for her second season for BRHS.

This year’s freshmen are Mara Gentry, Sydney Blake and Meghan Leeman.

This past summer, the Seahawks faced a total of eight teams in the Midcoast Summer League and the Maine Field Hockey Festival. The team also competed in the recent Coastal Field Hockey Play Day Championships, where they finished second behind perennial champion Belfast.

“We took on an aggressive preseason which in part is due to our numbers,” said Jordan.

Last season, the Seahawks finished in eighth place in Class C North and lost to eventual Class C champion Winthrop 5-1 in their quarterfinal match. This year, both Boothbay and Winthrop have moved to the South division after spending many years in the former East division (now North). Dirigo and Spruce Mountain have taken their place in the North division (which was the former West division).

Last year’s playoff teams whom the Seahawks will face twice this season include: Mountain Valley, which finished first and South C runner-up; Spruce Mountain (Class C runner-up); Winthrop (state champion); and Oak Hill (fourth in Class C South). Boothbay will also play Telstar twice, Hall-Dale twice, Lisbon and Dirigo. Wells joins Class C South, which also includes North Yarmouth Academy, Sacopee Valley and St. Dom’s, this year.