Once again, the city of Portland has made its mark well beyond its borders in the sport of lacrosse, placing two boys and one girl on All-American teams.

For the sixth year in a row, the Portland boys’ lacrosse team has an All-American, as junior Caleb Kenney was honored. Senior teammate Pat Curran qualified as an Academic All-American.

Kenney was one of the most unstoppable offensive forces this spring, leading the Bulldogs back to the Class A Final. Kenney had a team-high 52 goals, 28 assists (second on the squad) and a team-high 80 points in the regular season, highlighted by a mind-boggling 10-goal performance in a regular season-ending 16-12 home win over Scarborough. Kenney also led Portland with 114 ground balls and even won five of the six faceoffs in which he participated.

Kenney continued to dazzle in the playoffs, scoring twice (with one assist and nine ground balls) in the semifinals against Lewiston, six times (again with one assist and nine ground balls) in a narrow regional final victory over Messalonskee and three times in Saturday’s state game, an 8-6 loss to Scarborough.

“Caleb is a very serious student-athlete who succeeds both on and off the field,” said Bulldogs coach Eric Begonia. “He has earned the respect of his team with his play and positive leadership style as an elected junior captain. who will also be a captain in the upcoming football season.

“Although his numbers speak for themselves, he is as unselfish a player as you could ask for. He practices as hard as he plays in games and sets the standard level of effort that we expect others to strive to. His size, strength and pure athleticism, along with his high lacrosse IQ, have made him a dominant player on offense as well as defense. He’s tireless, very competitive and motivated.”

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Kenney was joined on the All-American squad by Brunswick senior defender John Williams, Cape Elizabeth senior defender Ben Brewster and senior attackman Tom Foden, Falmouth senior midfielders Dan Hanley and Michael Kane, St. Dom’s senior atackman Trevor Haefele and Yarmouth senior attackman Steven Petrovek and senior goalie Cam Woodworth.

Kenney follows in the footsteps of Matt Morneau (2005), Garrett McAdam (2006), Sam McAdam (2007), K.R. Jurgelevich (2008 and 2009) and his older brother, Dylan Kenney (2009).

Curran earned Academic All-American honors. A first-team league all-star, he led the defense with 56 regular season ground balls (placing fifth on the team) and had only two penalty minutes.

“Patrick is among the finest young men that I’ve had the privilege to work with in my time here at PHS,” said Begonia. “An incredible student as well as athlete. He is the epitome of what student-athletes should aspire to be. He provided our team with a leadership style that is positive, inspiring, and proactive. He was our number one defender who usually covered the opponents’ best attack. He never came off the field. I’m proud of him as a student, athlete, but even more so as a person.”

Curran joined Edward Little’s Timothy Brodsky, Lewiston’s Kurtis Stocker and St. Dom’s’ Timothy Day as Academic All-Americans. His selection marks the second year in a row a Bulldog qualified (Igor Radosavljevic was honored last spring).

Congratulations also to longtime Cheverus boys’ coach Deke Andrew, who was given the prestigious Maine “Man of the Year” award.

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Falmouth’s Mike LeBel was chosen Coach of the Year. Yarmouth’s Dave Maxwell was named Assistant Coach of the Year.

On the girls’ side, the nonpareil Waynflete program extended its All-American streak to 11 years as Morgan Woodhouse, an honorable mention in 2009, was one of four from the state this spring.

Woodhouse was arguably the most valuable player in the state, dominating on draws, winning her share of ground balls, playing fierce defense and most importantly, scoring goals with abandon. She had a season-high seven goals May 12 in a 15-5 win at Falmouth, fittingly, on her 18th birthday.

In the playoffs, Woodhouse helped the Flyers beat Wells, 18-7, in the semifinals, with five goals and an assist, down Falmouth, 11-6, in the regional final, with one goal, one assist and five ground balls, then scored twice in Saturday’s 7-3 loss to North Yarmouth Academy in the Class B Final.

Woodhouse finished with 51 goals and 27 assists.

“Morgan has been a major contributor to the team since her freshman year,” said Waynflete coach Cathie Connors. “She’s a natural team leader and an exceptional role model for younger players. She was crucial all over the field for us. Morgan is an accomplished athlete, but always remains modest and humble. She graduated from Waynflete a week ago, but I am sure her name will be brought up for years to come.”

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Woodhouse, who will attend Bowdoin College in the fall, was joined on the All-American team by Brunswick’s Leila Mills, North Yarmouth Academy’s Courtney Dumont and Yarmouth’s Danielle Torres. Kennebunk’s Camille Auger was an Honorable Mention.

Waynflete’s run of All-Americans began in 2000 with Shelly Hodges and hasn’t been broken since. Johanna Rosenfield (2001), Courtney Drake (2002 and 2003), Linden Ellis (2004), Betsy Critchfield (2005 and 2006), Gretchen Koch (2005 and 2006), Maggie DeFanti (2006, honorable mention), Glennie Hill (2006, honorable mention), Ashley Allen (2007 and 2008), Laura Armstrong (2007, honorable mention, and 2008),  Mariah Monks (2008 and 2009) and Anna Libby (2009) were also honored.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net

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