Miss Maine Field Hockey award recipient Haley Lowell of Messalonskee High School and runner-up Sydney Meader of Boothbay Region High School will headline McNally Senior All-Star Game scheduled for Saturday at Thomas College in Waterville as part of the 10th annual Maine Field Hockey Festival sponsored by the Maine Field Hockey Association.
Maine’s top senior players from the North region will battle the South stars in a noon game. It will highlight an event that will include 74 30-minute contests of seven versus seven play involving 31 schools.
The games begin at 8 a.m. and are scheduled to wrap up at 3:45 p.m.
The McNally Senior All-Star game is a regulation 60-minute game.
“We want the underclass players to have the opportunity to watch the graduated seniors. They’re going to see a lot of skill. It will give them something to aspire to,” said Thornton Academy of Saco coach Lori Smith, the public relations director for the Maine Field Hockey Association.
Skowhegan, Biddeford, Gorham, Belfast and Mt. Blue High of Farmington have two teams involved, while 26 other schools are sending one apiece. Every team is guaranteed four games, and some will play five.
“It’s a nice celebration of field hockey, and it gives the high school teams a preview of next year’s team,” Smith said.
For the second straight year, proceeds from the game will go to Camp Sunshine, which provides a summer camp experience for families who have children with severe illnesses.
“It is such a great cause and the response last year was overwhelming so we’re going to continue with them,” Smith said.
In putting together the schedule, Smith said they tried to match teams who won’t meet during the regular season in the fall.
The senior all-star teams will be led by the coaches who were involved in the state championship games last fall.
Skowhegan Maine Sports Hall of Fame coach Paula Doughty, Maine Central Institute’s Nancy Hughes and Winthrop’s Jessica Merrill will coach the North team. Westbrook co-head coaches Theresa Hendrix and Beth Murphy, York’s Barb Marois and Saint Dominic of Auburn co-coaches Jennifer Brown and Brian Kay will guide the South squad.
Lowell, who is attending Boston University this fall, and Meader, who plans to play at the University of Maine in Orono, are teammates on the North squad.
There will be a most valuable player selected for each team after the game.
Follow BDN Maine Sports on Facebook for the latest in Maine high school and college sports.