Maine Sunday Telegram All-State, MVP Announced

The high school boys' player of the year and All-State selections are listed here, and the girls' honorees are listed here.

- John C.L. Morgan

2011 WHS Boys' Varsity Soccer Post-Season Awards

Robert "Soup" Jordan Award
Named in honor of Robert "Soup" Jordan, the Westbrook High School boys' soccer coach from the program's inception in 1973 until the early 1980s, the long-tenured annual Robert "Soup" Jordan Award will recognize the best player from the Westbrook v. Bonny Eagle game.

Sawyer Award
Named in honor of Geoff Sawyer ('96), the Westbrook soccer alumnus who holds the school record for the best single-season offensive output with 19 goals in 13 assists in 1994, the 1st annual Sawyer Award will go to the player who is chosen by the coach to be the Offensive Player of the Year.

Perkins Award
Named in honor of Galen Perkins ('09), the Westbrook soccer alumnus who holds the school record for the most shutouts in a single season (9 in 2008), the 1st annual Perkins Award will go to the player who is chosen by the coach to the be the Defensive Player of the Year.

Rand Award
Named in honor of Travis Rand ('07), the Westbrook soccer alumnus who was an All-New England selection in 2006, the 1st annual Rand Award will go to the player who is chosen by the coach for demonstrating capable leadership skills, a stellar work ethic, good decision-making skills, and strong team spirit.

- John C.L. Morgan

(Update: Kyle Gaudreau won the Robert "Soup" Jordan Award, Dylan Gillis won the Sawyer Award, Austin Watts won the Perkins Award, and Joe Quinlan won the Rand Award. All four players are part of the Class of '12.)

The Question

The Question: Should Maine High School Soccer Adopt a Promotion/Relegation Format?

As most of us know, the classification of high school soccer teams (and other high school sports) in Maine is based on the various high schools' enrollment numbers, instead of the strength of a soccer program at a particular school.

The question to debate, then, is this: Should high school soccer adopt a promotion/relegation system so that the classification of programs has more to do with the strength of a soccer program than it does the number of students enrolled at a school?

To put this hypothetical question into concrete terms, the 16-team Western Class 'A'* classification would relegate two teams** per season to Western Class 'B,' and Western Class 'B' would promote two teams to Western Class 'A.' Based on results from this year, for example, Bonny Eagle and Biddeford would drop to Western Class 'B,' while the two regional finalists from Western 'B'--Falmouth and York--would be promoted to Western 'A.'

What are the pros and the cons of such an idea? What would the promotion and relegation format look like exactly? And if the pros overwhelmingly outweight the cons, what are the chances for something like this actually ever happening?

- John C.L. Morgan

* Cape Elizabeth and Greely, two teams that are included in the Western Class 'A' Heal Points rankings and tourney despite playing a Western Class 'B' regular season schedule, have been inserted into the Western Class 'B' Heal Points rankings for the sake of this thought experiment.

** The number of teams relegated and promoted is based on the Barclays Premier League's policy of 15% (or 3 of 20) of its teams being relegated to the Championship League.

Westbrook Soccer Alum Enjoys Record-Setting Season at St. Joe's

PPH:

But now [Zach] Johnson is enrolled at St. Joseph's,where he is a business major and a record-setting scorer for the Monks' soccer team. Johnson scored one of the goals Saturday as St. Joseph's beat Norwich 4-1 for the Great Northeast Atlantic Conference title and a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Monks, making their second NCAA appearance in three years, will play Trinity in the first round at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Babson College in Massachusetts.

- John C.L. Morgan

(Update: St. Joseph's lost to Trinity College, 1-0).