With no high school varsity soccer teams, the Boothbay Region Elementary School Wildcats are the only game in town. Boothbay has nine boys and four girls on the team playing in the Bus Line League’s coed division. Boothbay played its third game of the season Sept. 26 against Bristol, in an 8-3 loss. The Wildcats are now 1-2 after losing the season opener 4-3, and winning their second contest, 11-0. 

 

“We’re doing really awesome,” said first-year coach Megan Cope. “We have a lot of players learning to play with each other, and had some awesome games,” she said. “We’re scoring a lot of goals, and missed a PK (penalty kick) and missed several other scoring chances in the first game.”

 

Cope is a former Hall-Dale Bulldog. She played against Boothbay Region as a high schooler as a fullback. She later played collegiate soccer at University of Maine at Machias as a goalie and striker. So she has experience in both the offensive and defensive facets of the game. Now as a coach, she is seeing the game from another viewpoint. “I love seeing how they improvement from Point A to Z, and knowing I helped them achieve that,” she said. 

 

In the field, Cope’s team is led by a couple eighth graders who provide experience from previous seasons. Alana LaCourse began playing soccer at age 4. With nine years on the pitch, she is experiencing playing the sport against teams with boys and girls. “I really like it and it’s pretty awesome,” she said. LaCourse also enjoys playing with a mixed group of teammates.  “I like all the sportsmanship and communication between teammates.”

 

This is Nerla Laventure’s second year on the team. She is from Haiti and enjoys playing with her Wildcat teammates. She has scored four goals so far this season. “It’s a lot of fun playing with my friends and I like scoring,” Laventure said. The Wildcats play 12 Busline League games this season. There is also another non-league contest scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8 in Wiscasset. The Wolverines have separate boys and girls teams, but will combine into one unit for a special game versus Boothbay. “We were asked to play as part of Wiscasset’s homecoming weekend so we’re looking forward to that,” Cope said.