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For the record, Kennedy can play

Tuesday, October, 02 By Bill Kipouras
Staff writer

Mike Kennedy posed one question to a reporter in a recent interview.

He asked, "Ever heard of the Gauchos?" Sure, Mike | they're a powerhouse AAU basketball program out of New York.

"Well," the Lynnfield senior and Northeastern soccer scholarship recipient replied, "I was playing basketball for an AAU team in a tournament, 'The Rumble in the Bronx,' and the Gauchos were there. I wasn't overwhelmed by the competition, but those kids were something else. Seeing some of them made me realize my future was in soccer."

What has been described as "a substantial scholarship" from the Huskies is positive proof that Kennedy made a wise decision.

He recently smashed Lynnfield's all-time goal scoring record, erasing his brother Rob's mark when he rallied the Pioneers from a 2-0 deficit with a four-goal second-half explosion. That gave him 51 career goals; Rob's old mark had been 47.

The thing about this 18-year-old is that he didn't dump basketball when he came to the realization that soccer was his most likely ticket to a college scholarship. "I decided that I would play basketball for fun. I love it too much to have ever given it up," the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Kennedy said.

In fact, he became a two-time Pioneers' basketball captain as well as a soccer standout, leading Lynnfield to the Division 3 state final in 2006. He scored 27 goals, a single season record, and registered nine of those in post season, another record.

If Kennedy remains healthy, he looms as a pretty good prospect to emerge as Lynnfield's boys career scoring leader in basketball, too. He averaged 22 points as junior, giving him 699 for his career. If he can duplicate last year's output, the school record of 1,125 is within reach.

Kennedy appeared in only a couple of hoop games in his freshman season and an injury limited him to 13 games as a sophomore.

"It would be a true honor to set two school records, but I don't want to even think about basketball. We've got to work harder in soccer," Kennedy said, referring to the team's 4-3-2 record and the designated goal of another state final appearance.

Lynnfield is missing some of the key pieces on defense from last year's state runners-up, thus it hasn't scored with much consistency. The midfield has had to drop back and help out a fairly new set of defenders, and consequently Kennedy hasn't been getting the space of years past because Lynnfield has had a tough time clearing.

He was facing one and two defenders on a rush in the past. This year there are often three defenders zeroing in on Kennedy.

He's still as dangerous as ever, however, with 14 goals in eight games, and is as driven to succeed.

"He's a kid who has lot of talent and has grown tremendously as player," Pioneers coach Brent Munroe said. "His competitiveness is huge factor in his success. He hates to lose, more than anyone I've ever coached.

"I can't emphasize enough how much he's driven; that probably makes him score goals. Mike is almost overly competitive. What he's accomplished individually has been terrific, because he's a team player."

Munroe figures that Kennedy figured in "about 70 percent" of his team's goals last year, and has led the Pioneers in assists for three straight seasons.

"His level of competitiveness will carry him a long way," Munroe said. "NU signed him before the season, which tells you something. He's someone not content to be average. My guess is that he'll be a real good college competitor." Munroe is not qualified to call Kennedy the premier soccer player in Pioneers' history. But athletic director Bill Adams will step forward on that call, speaking for 27 years at the school.

"Mike is the very best we've had in my time here," Adams said.

Rick Storer, the long time Ipswich High head coach, sounds like he'll be happy to see Kennedy graduate. "Kennedy has been tough on us | real tough. We haven't won our (Cape Ann League) division title in four years, and he's the main reason. I can't remember him not scoring against us," Storer said.