Soccer

Soccer at Thornton Academy traces its roots to 1973 when longtime track and field
coach Larry Bowie started the first boys team. Today the program is coached by Andrew
Carlson, who will begin his twenty-fourth season at the helm of the program in the fall of
2023. He is also the winningest coach in the history of Thornton Academy soccer with 127
victories.

The Thornton Academy girls soccer program offered its first varsity team during the
1992 season under Scott Nason. The Golden Trojans were immediately successful upon
entering Western Maine Class A and captured conference championships in only their
second and third seasons. Christopher Kohl coached the program from 2006-2016,
winning 125 games over that span and a regional championship in 2009. Today the
program is coached by Natalie (Berry) Sharland, who served as team captain in 2002 prior
to playing a four-year career at the University of Maine.

Some outstanding “futbolers” have donned the Maroon and Gold for both the boys
and girls programs. Simon Trcka dazzled SMAA foes with his scoring prowess from 2014-
2015 and was named to the Maine Soccer Coaches Association All-State Team in both
seasons. Dalton Moore (2015), Noah Niles (2016), Frantisek Vondrak (2017), and
Maxamus Spaulding (2019) were also named by that organization to its regional all-star
team.

The top scorer in the history of the girls program is Amanda Arnold, who tallied 178
points (69 goals, 40 assists) from 2010-2013. Jami Ladakakos scored 50 goals in a
Thornton Academy uniform in the early 1990’s and later returned to coach the Golden
Trojans. Tori Daigle and Haley DaGraca were talented scorers who later went on to play at
Merrimack and Saint Joseph’s College of Maine respectively; DaGraca graduated as the all-
time leading scorer in the history of her college. Sydney Proctor anchored the 2009
regional championship team in goal and had a career goals against average of 0.64 in 45
career games; she later was the goalkeeper for a national championship collegiate team at
the University of Maine at Fort Kent. Alexis Nason is the all-time program leader in
victories and shutouts and plays goal for Assumption College. More recently standout
defender Hazel Stoddard was selected by the Maine Soccer Coaches Association as an all-
region player.

The typical Thornton Academy boys and girls soccer season consists of fourteen
regular season games and five non-countable exhibition dates. The Thornton Academy
boys program traditionally plays in a preseason tournament at Marshwood or Noble and
also hosts an annual game against some of the program’s alumni. The girls program also
competes in one or more preseason tournaments as a means of preparing for the regular
season. For regional post-season purposes, the Golden Trojans are grouped in the Class A
South region and traditionally compete against some of the top programs in southern
Maine.

All home boys and girls soccer contests take place at Dr. Paul S. Hill, Jr. Stadium.
The boys program also utilizes the Eastern Trail facility located on the west side of the
school’s campus, for most of its practices. The girls program alternates between Hill
Stadium and a grass facility located to its west for its practice sessions. Participation in
Thornton soccer is a six-day per week commitment with occasional regular season games
taking place on Saturdays. Practices generally occur immediately after school.
Tryouts for Thornton Academy’s high school soccer teams take place during the
month of August. The varsity level is reserved for the school’s most highly skilled players.
Students still developing their skills and novice players are assigned to the junior varsity or
first teams.

Thornton Academy Middle School has offered soccer since the school’s inception in
2006. The team competes in the Southern Maine Middle School Athletic Conference
(SMMSAC) against York County competition. All of the team’s practices and the majority of
its home games are played at the field adjacent to the middle school building.

The school also fields a boys entry in the Maine Association of Independent School
Athletic Directors (MAISAD) league. Boys not earning a spot on one of the other school
teams may participate on the MAISAD squad. Many of the students who compete for the
MAISAD soccer team are members of the school’s residential life program, but that team is
also open to interested day students as well. Practices generally take place after 4:30 PM.

Season: Fall

2024 Opening Dates:
August 14– High School
September 5 – Middle School

Boys Teams: Varsity, Junior Varsity, First Team, Club
Girls Teams: Varsity, Junior Varsity, First Team
Varsity Boys Coach: Andrew Carlson
Varsity Girls Coach: Natalie Sharland
Junior Varsity Boys Coach: Peter Benham
Junior Varsity Girls Coach: Allison Mains
First Team Boys Coach: Colin Benham
First Team Girls Coach: Hallie Hawkes
Club Boys Coach: To Be Announced
Middle School Boys Coach: David Pasquarello
Middle School Girls Coach: David Pasquarello