Turcotte weaves past peers

2009 Sun Journal All-Region Girls' Lacrosse Team

Ayla Allen  Mtn. Valley

Katie Armington  Fryeburg

Liz Barclay  Edward Little

Stephanie Belanger  Lewiston

Lauren Brett  Oxford Hills

Emily Child  Mtn. Valley

Eden Cianciolo  Fryeburg

Kelsey Cote  Lewiston

Brittany Coulombe  Mtn. Valley

Olivia Fournier  Lewiston

Marissa Hanning  Oxford Hills

Heather Knights  Oxford Hills

Alicia Large  Edward Little

Karen Leary  Edward Little

Ebony Mills  Oxford Hills

Saba Naji  Lewiston

Caitlin O'Connell  Mtn. Valley

Michelle Rancourt  Lewiston

Shelby Turcotte  Lewiston

Hannah Warren  Oxford Hills

2009 Sun Journal file photo of Lewiston lacrosse senior Shelby Turcotte

- jpelletier

Submitted photo

Lewiston's Shelby Turcotte drives toward the net during a game against Oxford Hills earlier this season.

- Norma Heidrich

In what amounted to Lewiston's biggest win of the season, Shelby Turcotte's name was conspicuously absent from the score sheet.

"She didn't put up stats in that game, really," Lewiston coach Christy Gardner said. "But it was the things she did away from the ball, setting the picks, opening up the lanes, and just being herself. All of that mattered, too."

"I was one of those people who had to bring the ball up through the midfield, especially in that game," Turcotte said. "The midfield was really, really important. Goals, assists, their all the same to me."

Turcotte had a knack for finding her way around the field. A feisty player with a wiry frame, Turcotte didn't let her size hamper her.

"She had such speed and determination, nobody could really stop her," Gardner said. "She just wanted it that much."

"You just fight through it all," Turcotte said. "I hit the gym a bit this year, and that helped a lot, but when it comes to the sticks and the trips and the dirty stuff, you're no better than they are if you do it back, so I just kept fighting through it."

As a junior last spring, Turcotte came close to leading a senior-laden team in a number of offensive categories, finishing second or third in most of them.

"I kind of started late, really," she said. "I started as a sophomore and I was still really kind of learning through my junior year."

This year, there was no equal. Turcotte took 40 shots,  scored 25 goals, dished out eight assists, corralled 29 ground balls and caused 14 turnovers.

"About the only things she didn't lead the team in were turnovers and fouls," Gardner said. "Which are not things you want to lead in anyway."

But beyond the statistics, Turcotte was a gamer. When the mood got too serious, she lightened the mood by cracking a joke or two. When things weren't serious enough, Turcotte held the team's focus.

"We'd go into game against teams that, you'd say their names and you'd get worried," Gardner said, "but she'd shrug it off. She never sweated that stuff."

Cool, calm and collected under pressure, Turcotte took on different roles as the situation dictated.

"You've got to be the same for every game," Turcotte said. "If you make a big deal about it or make a scene, it doesn't do you any good, anyway."

Next year, Turcotte will join fellow Lewiston alumna Kelsey Rodrigue at the University of Southern Maine, where she plans to play lacrosse.

"I'm excited about that," she said. "I'm going down to meet the coach soon. It's going to be fun."

But before she gets there, Turcotte has one more accolade to collect. For her accomplishments in lacrosse this season, Shelby Turcotte is the 2009 Sun Journal Girls' Lacrosse Player of the Year.