enlarge 2009 Telegram File

K.R. Jurgelevich was the state’s leading goal scorer this season while leading Portland to its first Class A boys’ lacrosse championship.

K.R. Jurgelevich can't ever remember not having a lacrosse stick in his hands.

As soon as he could walk, he used a sawed-off stick to play catch with his father, Kurt.

As he grew older, Jurgelevich and his dad, who was an All-American at Adelphi University, roamed Portland looking for places to use their lacrosse sticks.

"We passed and threw when we could get a chance," the younger Jurgelevich said. "We use to go at night under the lights at Dunkin' Donuts or someplace, wherever we could get light. We'd just pass. We'd have to get a hundred touches without (the ball) dropping before we'd go home. It was fun. We'd just pass, and we'd talk. It was just a great time."

Jurgelevich developed an abiding love for lacrosse and a willingness to work hard to be the best he could at playing the game.

Jurgelevich capped his high school career by scoring 65 goals in 16 games this season to lead Portland to its first Class A state championship, and becoming the Maine Sunday Telegram's MVP for boys' lacrosse.

"He makes everybody around him better," Portland Coach Eric Begonia said. "He's a totally unselfish player."

In addition to being the state's top goal scorer, he led the Bulldogs with 26 assists.

"There have been hundreds of times where he's given up the ball," Begonia said. "He'll be on the doorstep where he just has to rip it, but he sees a teammate open and he passes it across the crease. Because he can make that extra pass, it makes him more of a threat."

Jurgelevich also won a phenomenal 81.1 percent of his faceoffs and scooped up 117 ground balls, an unusually high number for a player who spends the majority of his time in the offensive end of the field.

"He very rarely comes off the field," Begonia said. "He handles most of the faceoffs. He plays in man-up and man-down situations.

"When the second midfield unit comes on, he goes up on attack. That's where he gets his rest."

"I take everything into consideration in being a good player," Jurgelevich said.

"Ground balls. Checks. How you position yourself on defense. I think about everything when I play."

During the last four years, Jurgelevich has also learned how to pace himself, only using his speed at the most opportune time.

"As a freshman and a sophomore, he would go 200 miles an hour all the time, and he would wear himself out," Begonia said. "He now changes speeds and has change-of-direction moves. He's the total package."

Jurgelevich, who is adept with either hand, hopes to earn a spot in the starting lineup at the University of Massachusetts, a nationally ranked Division I program.

"They just lost a left-handed attackman, so K.R. coming in as a freshman may have a chance to fill that void," Begonia said.

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com