Globe South Sports

Soccer players

keeping it all together

Duxbury High senior Caitlin Burke will be headed for Dartmouth College next fall. (Peter Hrycenko/Sportspix)

By Justin A. Rice Globe Correspondent / August 27, 2009

Caitlin Burke is a returning Globe All-Scholastic on the defending Division 2 state champion Duxbury High girls’ soccer team. And the stress of the college recruiting process is now in her rear-view mirror.

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She is headed to Dartmouth College next fall.

Her teammate Melissa Gavin, though, is just entering the gantlet.

“You’re so busy during [junior year] soccer season; you have to keep your grades up and keep in contact with all the coaches,’’ said the talented forward, who netted both goals in Duxbury’s 2-1 overtime win over Wahconah in the state final last November.

“So it is really stressful. But high school [soccer] is obviously the priority when you’re in the season so you just have to keep it balanced between club and high school.’’

Burke, the team’s captain, said she’ll try to lighten the load for Gavin, a returning Patriot League All-Star who is being heavily recruited by Atlantic Coast and Ivy League schools.

“Hopefully, we can go far in the tournament; I know that helped me,’’ Burke said. “Hopefully we can help her out and go as far as we can.’’

Gavin, who assisted on both of Burke’s goals in the title game, is building an impressive résumé, too. Earlier this summer, she earned a spot on the Under-17 US Soccer Federation Region I team. But Gavin, also a standout on her club team, the Scorpions Soccer Club, is still anxious about juggling everything this fall.

“It’s sort of an ongoing process that’s pretty stressful at times,’’ Gavin said of being recruited by colleges. “It’s an exciting time at the same time. It’s good that [Burke] doesn’t have to worry about applying to all these colleges and she knows she’s going to a great school.’’

The Dragons, who will kick off their title defense with their first official practice today, return 14 players from last year’s squad that graduated five starters.

Junior goalie Emily Brook is back in net, and juniors Emily Gallagher (forward), Jess Williams (midfield), Hanna Dwinnell (midfield), and Meghan Woomer (defender) will also start this year. Sophomore Lily Peterson (midfield) also highlights the projected starting lineup.

Junior defender Lauren Grady suffered a season-ending knee injury during the offseason.

As long as Burke and Gavin are playing up front for Duxbury, the Dragons will have a target on their backs. The forwards, who first played club soccer together a decade ago, combined to score 77 points for Duxbury last season, including 23 goals by Burke and 21 assists by Gavin.

“Caitlin is very fast, good at taking on people physically,’’ said Gavin, who is often recognized for her deft technical skill. “She likes when the ball is over her head and she can run onto it. I would rather have the ball at my feet and make stuff happen with it.’’

Duxbury second-year coach Emerson Coleman said that Burke and Gavin are both difficult to defend. “So we have very good balance and it’s just a total team effort.’’

And the Dragons now have the benefit of having Coleman back for year two.

A 20-year boys’ coach in Plymouth, Coleman landed in Duxbury shortly before the start of last season.

“We all loved him; we loved the new style of coaching,’’ Burke said. “I think it helped that he was new. No one was comfortable with him so everyone had to win his respect. With a new person, everyone had to work that much harder to show him what they had. The whole season, everyone was playing their hardest.’’

By the time the tournament rolled around, Coleman seemed like an old hand.

After slipping by both Wellesley and Oliver Ames in the South semis and final, Duxbury edged Belmont, 3-2, in the state semifinals.

In the state championship game, they trailed 1-0 before Burke and Gavin teamed up for the team’s first goal with nine minutes left in the game. Burke’s game-winner (assisted by Gavin) came five minutes into overtime.

“We couldn’t even believe it, we were just so excited,’’ Gavin said. “We came into the year and we weren’t sure about how the season was going to work out. Mr. Coleman told us we had a championship-caliber team and if we work hard we could achieve everything we wanted to. We bought in, and ended up winning.

“It was awesome. During those games you don’t really think that what you’re doing is going to change the game entirely. But it was awesome how we were able to put that stuff together and win the [championship] game.’’

Gavin captured another state title this summer with her club team, which advanced to the regionals in West Virginia. She has also been working at soccer camps this summer.

“So I’ve been pretty busy with soccer,’’ Gavin said.

Burke, on the other hand, took some time off after making her commitment to Dartmouth. She has also considered playing both lacrosse and soccer at Amherst.

“It was definitely a relief,’’ said Burke, who plays club soccer for Crusaders United. “I was just really excited. I didn’t have that much soccer with my club so it was a nice break for me. It’s just really exciting to know [where I’m going] finally.’’

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.