Monthly Archives: November 2011

November 5, 2011 · 8:13 pm

Newburyport Advances in Division 3 North MIAA Boys Soccer by Defeating Winthrop 1-0

Adam Traxler (5) scores the only goal of the Newburyport/Winthrop tourney game.

(Newburyport) The Newburyport Clippers escaped the Preliminary Round of Division 3 North boys soccer by defeating Winthrop, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon at World War Memorial Stadium.

Harrison Corbett (11) heads near the goal.

The Clippers (9-7-3), from the Cape Ann League, now advance to the First Round of the MIAA tournament and play #2 seed Lynnfield (15-3) at Jordan Park in Lynnfield at noon tomorrow (Sunday). The Pioneers defeated Newburyport, 5-2, on October 5th.

Adam Traxler’s 19th goal of the season was all that the Clippers needed to get by the Vikings.

The sophomore’s goal came sixteen minutes into the second half at the end of one of his every-game, speedy rushes down the right side. On the scoring rush, he passed the Winthrop defender and maneuvered in toward the net, firing a shot that went off Viking goalie Bryan Alzate’s hands into the upper part of the goal.

Winthrop, from the Northeastern Conference, had a glowing opportunity five minutes earlier in the second half when they were awarded a direct kick close to the end line just beyond the penalty area to Clipper goalie Matt Canning’s left. The shot taken tore across the crease and out the other side untouched as far as I could tell.

NHS goalie Matt Canning clears away a Viking threat in the first half.

The Vikings other shots were long range and NHS goalie Matt Canning was positioned well for each of them when they reached him.

Almost all the other good chances belonged to Newburyport. In the second half, Spencer Traxler had a good look from the middle and later Jordan Steelman reached the goalie’s doorstep. Adam Traxler had dangerous shots on net in both halves.

The referee had to straighten out the Newburyport student cheering section in the first half. Several of them persisted with derogatory remarks about the Winthrop players until he stepped in. Some of them may have been the same individuals drawing attention to themselves, rather than the American flag, during the playing of the National Anthem.

Spencer Traxler (6) has good look from in close.

Winthrop arrived late and the paper given out with their roster on it had numerous inaccuracies. Try identifying players in pictures when their numbers aren’t on the roster.

Newburyport had to get three points (2 for a win, 1 for a tie) in their last two games to even make the tournament.

Winthrop took a different route to the tournament. They played a division 3 opponent (North Shore Tech) in their season opener and defeated the visitors, 3-0, on September 10th. The Vikings (1-16-2) didn’t win another game in 2011 yet made the tournament because of the Sullivan Rule. According to that rule, if your record doesn’t get you in then you can get in by at least splitting against the teams you faced that are in the same division you are in during the tournament. That North Shore Tech game was their only one with a D3 opponent.

(I take my own pictures and collect my own information. I own any mistakes.) Click on any of the pictures to enlarge them to normal size.

Jordan Steelman (9) on doorstep.

Winthrop goalie Bryan Alzate after Adam Traxler goal.

Adam Traxler (5), Sam Brenner (20), Petrit Kraja (47)

Michael Lessard (3) & Allan Eagan (8)

Adam Traxler (5) & Jordan Steelman (9)

Chris Day (11) & Harrison Corbett (11)

Governor’s Academy Football Remains Undefeated With 29-10 Win Over Milton Academy

Tate Jozokos (13) follows Eli Morrissey (34) to the end zone on the last play of the first half.

Kirk Ryder rocks Mustang QB Anthony Scurto (4) in the red zone in the 4th quarter

(Byfield) Governor’s Academy continues undefeated (7-0) downing Milton Academy, 29-10, on a breezy afternoon at GA.

And likewise, Belmont Hill is also undefeated with their, 42-15, rout of Lawrence Academy.

That should make next Saturday’s, regular-season-ending, 1PM matchup between the Govs and the Hillies into the biggest game in this 2011 Independent School League season. There is something called the NEPSAC bowl after the regular season is over!

Governor’s had great success running the ball, getting all four touchdowns that way. The big problem for Milton Academy (3-4) was that there wasn’t one back they could key on.

The biggest play of the game was probably the last play of the first half. It was a play that never should have happened.

The visiting Mustangs trailed only, 8-3, and had the ball at their own 18-yard-line with a minute left in the half. They were deep in their own territory. Probably should have been a good time to run off some clock. But the Mustangs were throwing passes.

None were intercepted but the passes stopped the clock and gave GA time for a play from the Mustang 35. Quarterback Tate Jozokos swept left and used Eli Morrissey’s block to score as the halftime horn sounded. GA left with a 14-3 halftime lead.

Drew Jacobs (32) finds the end zone early in the third period.

The Mustang’s last minute fiasco loomed large when they drove 71 yards with the opening kickoff in the second half into the end zone finished off with Drew Jacobs eleven yard run. Justin Yoon’s kick closed things to 14-10.

Next possession Tate Jozokos was picked by Jack Conway to set MA up at their own 40 early in the third quarter. You started to think that maybe Milton Academy (3-4) could pull off a major upset.

Not on this day. The Mustangs final three possessions ended in turnover, red zone squander, and turnover. The Gov’s, meanwhile, put up two touchdowns and extra points, and ran out the clock on their last possession.

Kirk Ryder was prominent in two of those Mustang stops. He recovered Drew Jacobs fumble after Eli Morrissey’s tackle forced the loose ball. Later Kirk put a serious hit on Mustang QB Anthony Scurto on a failed fourth down play at the Gov’s nine just as he was releasing a pass.

Sammy Davis converted a 4th-and-3 late in the third quarter. Tate Jozokos (three touchdowns/one 2-point conversion) finished the drive with a one yard push up the middle. GA led, 21-10, as the third period ended.

Sammy Davis gets past Sean Sylva (37) and Vaughn Holliday (35) for 7-yard TD in the 4th quarter.

After Milton Academy’s red zone squander in the fourth period, the Govs put together a 91-yard march featuring a 26-yard run by Tate Jozokos and a bizarre 24-yard run by Sammy Davis. I say “bizarre” because Sammy fumbled the pitch that was supposed to send him left, picked up the fumble and ran right for the yards. He had the speed to get away with the change of direction. Sammy went the final seven yards on a sweep left. Tate scrambled for the 2-point conversion.

Jesse Gwozdz intercepted Anthony Scurto on the Mustangs’ last possession.

Milton Academy got on the board first on freshman Justin Yoon’s 35-yard field goal. That leg could land him on a D1 college roster four years from now.

Eli Morrissey took the next kickoff all the way to the Mustang 13. The Govs looked ready to roll into the end zone but Otis Handy picked off Tate Jozokos’ pass at the one.

Eli Morrissey (34) during long first period kickoff return.

On the first play after the interception the Mustangs tried to fake a handoff and have QB Anthony Scurto follow. The play was way too slow in getting started and Anthony was dropped in the end zone for a safety.

Things stayed 3-2 until late in the second period. A couple of long runs by Eli Morrissey and Austin Smith set Tate up for a one-yard scoring plunge with one minute until halftime. This brings us back to MA’s questionable strategy during the final minute of the first half.

The Gov’s tried an end around (Frank Barba) after one touchdown and a fake kick (Colin Smith) on another. The polish wasn’t on either one of those attempts!

This was my first look at the Governor’s. They certainly have a running game to be feared especially to the outside. I also liked the fact that many of the best blocks I saw were thrown by backs. If I were Belmont Hill, however, I would be wanting to force Governor’s to throw the ball – Tate threw two interceptions.

The Gov’s were very solid on defense. Bug Carper, Tucker Oniskey, and Kirk Ryder spent a lot of time in the Mustang backfield. Kirk’s QB hurry on 4th down in the red zone was significant. If the Mustangs had scored they would have trailed just, 21-17, with most of the final quarter left.

Belmont Hill (7-0) versus Governor’s Academy (7-0) on November 12th (Saturday) at 1PM in Byfield.

(I take my own pictures and draw my own conclusions. Mistakes are unintentional.) If you click on any of the pictures they will enlarge to normal size.

Tate Jozokos

Otis Handy

Kirk Ryder

Colin Smith

Anthony Scurto

Ipswich Girls Soccer Team Ties Newburyport 0-0 to Gain Advantage in CAL Division 2

Ipswich clinches at least a tie in CAL Division 2 at Newburyport.

Hannah Martin (15) sends one of many potentially dangerous direct kicks toward the Ipswich goal.

(Newburyport) The Ipswich girls soccer team was the one celebrating after their evening (0-0) match with Newburyport on Tuesday night at World War Stadium……….and they didn’t even score a goal or win the game. But what they did was at least assure themselves of a tie for the Cape Ann League Division 2 championship.

Ipswich (8-0-3) now has 19 league points (2 points for a win – 1 point for a tie) with one game left – Georgetown away at 3:45PM on Wednesday. Newburyport (8-1-3) also has 19 league points but their regular season is over.

Therefore, a Tiger win or tie versus the Royals and they have the CAL D2 title to themselves. An Ipswich loss and they end up sharing the top spot with Newburyport.

The Clippers only league loss was to Georgetown (3-2) so Ipswich will certainly not have an easy afternoon of soccer versus the Royals.

Courtney Long launches a testing direct kick for Ipswich.

The two most dangerous players on the field were Hannah Martin and Courtney Long. These players took all of their team’s direct kicks. Both could put up the distance to send shots into scoring areas. That none were finished off for goals by either team was a surprise to me.

Clipper Carly Brand shadowed 14-goal scorer Hannah Weagle and that was effective defensively. However, that strategy left Carly out of the flow around the goal when the long direct kicks came that way. Carly had a goal last game versus Amesbury on a header off of a Hannah Martin direct kick.

The best Tiger chance was on a corner kick fifteen minutes into the second half. Shannon McFayden took the kick and delivered it right on Clipper goalie Lilly Donovan just as Tiger Katie Glaubitz got there. A pretty good collision resulted but Lilly held her ground and the goal was prevented.

Katie Glaubitz collides with Clipper goalie Lilly Donovan in the second half.

Newburyport’s chances weren’t so much shots but near-shots. Their normal short passing game seemed to vanish when they got into the offensive end so there were few, if any, set ups for clean looks and shots.

This game was more physical than most. Several Ipswich girls went down after contact but returned to play later.

Ipswich (12-1-4 including non-league games) has now gone fourteen straight games without a loss. Newburyport (13-2-3 overall) is undefeated in thirteen of their last fourteen games.

The tournament pairings are ahead. Ipswich will be competing in Division 3 while Newburyport is in Division 2. Both teams fell to the eventual North divisional winners in 2010. I was at the Ipswich loss to Weston at Fraser Field in Lynn.

Ipswich coach Nancy Waddell explained to me before the game that the seedings for the tournament can be tough. Her reasoning was that D3 teams in strong conferences get losses against higher division opponents and get seeded low. They turn out to be tough early opponents for top seeds in D3.

I still think that World War Stadium is a terrific site for a soccer game for spectators. I’m told, however, that the Clipper team would prefer Cherry Hill so the tourney games could well be over there. Apparently that field is wider.

(I take my own pictures and collect my own information. I own any mistakes.) Click on the pictures and they become normal size.