Category Archives: Newburyport

February 17, 2017 · 11:40 pm

Newburyport stuns Lynnfield 67-55

Billy Arseneault (16 points) tries to get past Cam MacRae (14 points)

Casey McLaren (18 points) eyes the hoop

(Newburyport MA) Newburyport turned in an impressive win on Senior Night as they took down Lynnfield, 67-55.

The Pioneers (15-2) had a twelve-game winning streak snapped.

The Clippers (14-3) took the lead in the first two minutes and never gave it back.

The Pioneers went down by thirteen (34-21) three minutes into the second half but battled back to within three points (39-36) in the final two minutes of the third quarter.

Nick Rogers (18 points) ends the third quarter with a three. (Ball is above the scoreboard)

Nick Rogers (18 points) pushed the NHS lead back to nine (47-38) with a pair of three’s.

Cam MacRae and Zack Shone (14 points)

Later, Cam MacRae (14 points) strung five points in a row to boost the advantage to double digits (57-44) with 3:35 to go and sealed Lynnfield’s fate.

Lynnfield hadn’t lost since December (non-league Melrose) but were in trouble early versus Newburyport because top scorer Louis Ellis was a foul magnet. Two minutes into this game he had two fouls. LHS coach Scott McKenzie had to bench him for the rest of the quarter. Two minutes into the second quarter Louis picked up his third foul. Again, he was benched for the rest of the quarter.

Did it affect Lynnfield? For sure! The Pioneers tallied just eighteen points TOTAL in the first half. Louis played only four of the sixteen minutes.

Over a year ago, in the MIAA tournament, Louis collected a career-high thirty-four points against Newburyport to help oust the Clippers from the post-season.

What I’m trying to tell you is that when Louis Ellis is on the bench for twelve minutes of the sixteen-minute first half, and then is held to two points in the second half, Lynnfield is in trouble.

Brendan Powers gets off a shot in the lane

Credit Newburyport for much of the Lynnfield trouble. They constantly took the ball to the basket.

After halftime, Louis Ellis was back on the court but another starter, Dan Jameson, wasn’t. He was sick.

And then there was the Lynnfield foul shooting. A very unfortunate six-for-eighteen. I swear that I saw the Pioneers’ terrific point guard (Billy Arseneault) put a free throw in off the backboard. Things didn’t make sense for Lynnfield on this night.

Again, credit Newburyport for taking advantage despite a dreadful first half shooting-wise of their own. Casey McLaren ended up with eighteen points but fourteen of them came in the second half after an apparent lid was removed that gave him trouble in the first half.

Casey McLaren (18 points) takes the last shot of the first half

Despite tough shooting the Clippers had a 23-15 halftime lead.

Consecutive three’s starting the second half, by Casey McLaren and Nick Rogers from in front of the NHS bench, put the visitors down by eleven (29-18).

The best moments for Lynnfield were in an 11-2 run later in the 3^rd quarter that included several spin moves down the lane by Billy Arseneault (16 points). That collection of good offense narrowed the NHS advantage to three (39-36) with plenty of game left.

Nick Rogers ended that third quarter with a three and added another one (he had four in the game) early in the final quarter. LHS fell back away from one-possession territory and never got that close again.

Lynnfield had defeated Newburyport 67-48 on December 23^rd. The Pioneers raced off to a 20-5 first quarter lead. Billy Arseneault had twenty points in that game.

Newburyport made seven of its eight triples in the second half.

Good crowd with many there to honor the Clippers seven seniors.

Luis Ellis - Long night for a talented player

Louis Ellis – Long night for a talented player

Both teams used zones and man-to-man’s.

There were plenty of drives to the basket and attempted three’s.

Newburyport has now won fourteen of the last fifteen games.

In contrast to the Pioneers’ weak free throw shooting, Newburyport cashed thirteen of sixteen FT attempts.

Both teams are in Division 3. No doubt both teams will have home games in the MIAA tournament. There is also the possibility that they will meet for the 3^rd time this season in the tourney.

Lynnfield box

Newburyport box

(All pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Robbie Shay

Louis Ellis

Dan Jameson tries to shoot over Casey McLaren

Nick Roger’s step-back three gives Newburyport a 37-25 lead

Newburyport was thirteen for sixteen from the foul line

Zack Shone (14 points)

Bryant Dana in the lane

Tussle on the floor

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Filed under Lynnfield, Newburyport

Tagged as Billy Arseneault, Cam MacRae, Casey McLaren, Louis Ellis, Nick Rogers

February 10, 2017 · 11:43 pm

Masco runs streak to eight in dominating 59-31 win over Newburyport

The Clippers had few openings inside against Masco

Mak Graves (15 points) finds a way to split two Newburyport defenders

(Newburyport MA) No second-half comeback needed in this one.

Masco dominated from the get-go and routed Newburyport, 59-31, on Friday night in Cape Ann League action.

The Chieftains (12-4) had needed to rally after halftime in three of their previous four games to get a W.

Masco now has won eight straight. They face North Reading and Pentucket next week.

Newburyport (8-8) has reached the seriously struggling stage having dropped six of their last seven. Getting the ten wins needed to get to the tournament is going to require a major turnaround in quality of play.

Mary Erb at the line – Masco made 12-of-16 free throws

The best the Clippers did all night was put five points in a row at the start of the second half. Unfortunately, by then they were already behind, 39-14.

In the first 3 ½ minutes of the game the visitors pulled away 9-2 on two rebound baskets (Marissa DeLucia, Grace Fahey), plus two free throws and a triple by Mak Graves.

How did Masco win? They dominated the boards and were very accurate at the line and beyond the arc.

The Clippers were outrebounded by twenty (49-29). The killer stat here was sixteen offensive rebounds for the team from Boxford. Paige Amyouny was the board master with fifteen.

I have seen Newburyport twice now. Free throws were a glaring problem in both games. A one-point loss to Amesbury included missing the front end of two one-and-one’s in the last minute. In tonight’s game, NHS connected just four times in fourteen tries. Masco, on the other hand, was twelve-for-sixteen taking freebies.

Long range things followed the same pattern. Masco clicked seven times from beyond the arc while Newburyport just once.

Paige Amyouny in for two

Mak Graves (twice), Grace Fahey, Paige Amyouny, and Andrea Faia were successful from long distance in the first half.

The Clippers trailed 18-10 late in the first quarter but the next seven points belonged to Masco. That fifteen points lead was still in place (29-14) 2 ½ minutes into the second quarter.

The last four minutes of the second quarter were all Masco. They tallied ten straight points, including the last five by Andrea Faia, and had permanent separation, 39-14, at the half.

First look for me at Masco. Impressed with the defense and the rebounding.

Marissa DeLucia took on Newburyport’s best player (Krysta Padellaro) and held her to eleven points.

The Clippers were keen to get the ball inside to Katie Hadden and were able to. However, once Katie had the ball an extra defender showed up and left the sophomore with little room to maneuver.

Marissa DeLucia shadowed Krysta Padellaro

Turnovers were not a factor in this game. Each team had seven, according to my stat collection. There was full-court pressure by both teams but few miscues resulted.

Freshman Mak Graves (15 points) led all scorers. Nice article today about her in the Salem News. I was not sure which one she was during warmups tonight and was surprised to find out which one she was. Mak was easily the shortest girl on the floor but convinced me that she belonged out there with the “big” girls. Mak dribbled and passed well and even took in six rebounds.

Mak leads Masco with twenty-five three’s for the season. She had three against NHS.

Mak was a Cape Ann League All-Star in field hockey.

Grace Fahey (12 points) and Krysta Padellaro were CAL All-Stars in basketball last season. Paige Amyoung was a second teamer.

On January 4^th Masco defeated Newburyport 43-35 at Masco.

Missing from the Newburyport team is sophomore Anna Hickman with a torn ACL suffered against North Reading. The Clippers desperately missed her point-scoring ability and tight defense in tonight’s setback.

Thanks to Andy Tappin for two stat sheets. No better place to get information on what is going on with Masco girls’ basketball.

Mak Graves covered by Sam Cavanaugh

Masconomet has now qualified for the state tournament THIRTY-THREE straight seasons.

Masco box from the game

Newburyport box from the game

(All pictures will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Mak Graves

Katie Hadden floats in the lane

Katie Hadden tries to get between Lily Polakiewicz and Grace Fahey

Late game action

Grace Fahey (12 points) guarded by Maggie Pons

Lily Polakiewicz and Katie Hadden

Sam Cavanaugh gets to the hoop

Paige Gouldthorpe

Katie Hadden looks for a pass with Stephanie Mini defending

Plenty of Masco defense led here by Lily Andrews (2)

Krysta Padellaro (11 points) in the lane

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Filed under Masconomet, Newburyport

Tagged as Grace Fahey, Katie Hadden, Krysta Padellaro, Mak Graves, Marissa DeLucia, Paige Amyouny

February 3, 2017 · 11:41 pm

Second half eruption sends Newburyport past Triton 83-68

Triton’s Jack McCarthy shoots a free throw facing the active Newburyport student section

Brendan Powers (guarded by Liam Spillane) had an 18-point third quarter

(Newburyport MA) You knew going in that something had to give. It would either be Triton’s perfect road record (6-0) or Newburyport’s lengthy win streak (eleven).

Turned out it was Triton’s road record that took a hit as Newburyport erupted in the second half to down the Vikings, 83-68, on Friday night before a full house.

The Newburyport (12-2) winning streak now reaches twelve. They have not lost a game in 2017.

Who saw the amazing Clippers second half coming? Not anyone crowded into the NHS gym in the first half. Newburyport averages 65 points per game and they had twenty-six in the first half. A little more offense and the Clippers would reach their game scoring average in the second half.

But what we saw was a point-adding barrage by Newburyport. Twenty-nine in the 3^rd. Twenty-eight in the 4^th. That’s NBA level!

Will Parsons in the lane with Casey McLaren

It is fair to say that in a normal high school game a team could well have one big quarter. Two quarters like that…..not so likely.

For those who haven’t seen Newburyport, and this was my first look, they can score in a hurry. Looking for some long-range offense? The Clippers made thirteen 3’s. Want some layups? The Clippers spread the floor and penetrated off the dribble often.

The most noticeable thing about Newburyport, in my opinion, was their ability to break after baskets and long rebounds. They caught Triton (10-5) frequently this way.

At the money end of many of the breakouts was Brendan Powers (22 points). You talk about going wild in a quarter: Brendan had eighteen points in just the third quarter.

Triton did not go quietly in this one. Will Parsons (27 points) and Jack McCarthy (20 points) wouldn’t let it happen.

Jack McCarthy drives baseline

The Vikings were still standing after the Clippers 29-point 3^rd quarter because they had nineteen points of their own.

In fact, three minutes into the final quarter, the visitors only trailed by four (60-56) after a Will Parsons triple.

The Clippers had put ten unanswered together in the 3^rd quarter. With a four-point lead in the final quarter they created a second run of the same size. There was no recovery for the Vikings this time.

The decisive run of ten points included an arc-three by Casey McLaren (14 points), an old-fashioned three by Nick Rogers (17 points), and layups by Cam MacRae (12 points) and Robbie Shay (16 points). That run took just under two minutes to put together.

Now down, 70-56, Triton did not have the time or energy to cut into the lead the rest of the way.

Terrific crowd. Plenty of support for both teams. I am a fan of chanting as long as it doesn’t get personal. The Triton side was quick to reference football while those on the NHS end referenced the scoreboard. Good clean fun, I thought.

Nick Rogers and Chris Trotta

The moment in this game that made me laugh was in the final two minutes and Newburyport in command with a 75-64 spread. There had been a timeout and I’m sure that NHS coach Tom L’Italien stressed taking time off the clock. Ten seconds into the next possession Nick Rogers, who had made a three just thirty seconds earlier, could not resist launching a three from in front of the NHS bench. On this night, Nick hit that shot (his 4^th three of the game) and that left Coach L’Italien with his hands on his head wondering why the shot was even taken.

The Clippers lost to Lynnfield, 67-48, at LHS in December. The rematch will be in two weeks. The Pioneers are undefeated in the Cape Ann League.

Both Triton and Newburyport are in Division 3 and have qualified for the post-season tournament.

Colin Brennan (11 points) and Liam Spillane (10 points) reached double figures for Triton.

Newburyport box

Triton box

(All pictures will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

End of game

Nick Rogers

Robbie Shay blocks Liam Spillane

Cam MacRae

Brendan Powers gets two of his eighteen third quarter points

Colin Brennan

George Coryell defends Dylan Shute

Colin Brennan looks to get away from Robbie Shay

Jack McCarthy (21) tries to get a shot off against Casey McLaren

George Coryell

Will Parsons launches a three

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Filed under Newburyport, Triton

Tagged as Brendan Powers, Cam MacRae, Casey McLaren, Colin Brennan, Jack McCarthy, Liam Spillane, Nick Rogers, Will Parsons

January 24, 2017 · 11:25 pm

Late three by Abbie Sartori pushes Amesbury past Newburyport 40-39

Abbie Sartori at center court

Maddie Napoli pressures Krysta Padellaro

(Newburyport MA) Amesbury won a thriller over Newburyport, 40-39, on a three-point shot by senior Abbie Sartori with twelves second left.

The win was the 13^th for the Indians and it erased the sting of their lone loss last week to Pentucket.

The Clippers made three 3’s in the final quarter and nearly had a fourth in the final seconds after Abbie’s 3-pointer.

Paige Gouldthorpe had the final shot. She had already made two three’s in the quarter. How she could be so wide open must have had AHS coach Matt Willis wondering. Of course, how Abbie Sartori (11 points), who had a triple in the game, could be wide open near the arc with Amesbury down by two, probably had the same effect on NHS coach Gregg Dollas.

This game was not sloppy. The shooting was. The total on both sides for missed layups, and wild shots in traffic, was large. On this night neither defense was giving much ground and there were few second shots.

Free throws? Both teams missed six. The report of Newburyport’s loss last week to Hamilton-Wenham placed the blame on poor foul shooting. Versus Amesbury the FT shooting wasn’t necessarily poor, just off at the wrong time.

Krysta Padellaro at the line

Katie Hadden’s FT try

Twice in the final thirty seconds the Clippers were at the foul line shooting one-and-one’s with a two-point (39-37) lead. Misses both times (Krysta Padellaro and Katie Hadden). Amesbury turned the ball over after Krysta’s miss but after Katie’s they produced the winning 3-pointer. Maddie Napoli found Abbie for the clincher.

The Clippers (7-5) fell behind early (4-3) after a Flannery O’Connor drive and stayed there for most of the game. The AHS lead was eight at the half (25-17) and after the third quarter (34-26).

The Clippers hadn’t made a three and the AHS interior defense was limiting most good looks inside. The exception being Anna Hickman (14 points) who managed four layups through heavy AHS traffic in the second quarter.

Anna Hickman (14 points) in the lane

That Amesbury eight-point lead looked safe entering the final quarter. But it wasn’t. The home team put a 13-1 run together to grab a 39-34 lead with 2 ½ minutes left. Now who’s in control! It’s the Clippers.

In the 13-1 run, the Clippers made shots from everywhere. Krysta Padellaro had a layup. Katie Hadden a jump shot. And then there were the three’s: one by Anna Hickman, and two by Paige Gouldthorpe.

Amesbury was in trouble but was able to recover as Newburyport did not score a single point over the final 2 ½ minutes. The Clippers had chances but they couldn’t cash them on this night. I did think that Paige’s late 3-point try was a good bet after one of her three’s earlier in the quarter had come from the same spot. But not this time.

Amesbury had nine unanswered in the second quarter to get a ten-point (18-8) lead. A jump shot and a three by Abbie Sartori, a jump shot by Chelsea Lynch, and full-court drive by Flannery O’Connor (12 points) did the damage for AHS.

Both Julia LaMontagne and Mikayla Porcaro turned up layups in the final thirty seconds of the third quarter. Mikayla’s just beat the buzzer.

Krysta was injured the in the 4^th quarter but a quick tape job by the NHS trainer enabled the junior to be on the floor in crunch time.

Paige Gouldthorpe (singer/defender)

Paige Gouldthorpe easily transitioned from singer to starter.

The big surprise for me was seeing Krysta and Maddie Napoli held to only two points each. Maddie did a good job of denying passes to Krysta. I saw her do the same thing to Triton’s Tessa Lafrance in AHS’s win over Triton.

NHS now has three straight losses. They face a tough one (Pentucket) away on Friday night. Later they will get Pentucket at home.

Amesbury hosts Manchester-Essex on Friday night. In the games ahead, the Indians will face four teams that they have already beaten this season. You have to like their chances of being a near-the-top seed in Division 3 North come tourney time.

Amesbury box

Newburyport box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Abbie Sartori stopped by Katie Hadden

Julie LaMontagne goes for a baseline drive

Katie Hadden stops Julia LaMontagne

Flannery O’Connor tries to get the ball from Katie Hadden

Abbie Sartori blocks Anna Hickman’s shot

Flannery O’Connor (12 points) looks to score

Crucial late-game jump ball

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Filed under Amesbury, Newburyport

Tagged as Abbie Sartori, Anna Hickman, Flannery O'Connor, L, Paige Gouldthorpe

January 10, 2017 · 11:41 pm

Newburyport brings down undefeated Manchester-Essex 62-47

Newburyport used its speed to get layups

Anna Hickman (20 points)

(Newburyport MA) What a second quarter!

The Newburyport Clippers took the visiting Manchester-Essex Hornets apart in that second frame and took the suspense over the outcome along with it.

The final was 62-47 for this Tuesday night game but if you were on hand one minute into the second quarter you saw the Hornets with a 16-12 lead.

One minute into the second half, the Clippers (6-2) were in front, 37-20. That was a 25-4 segment for the home team.

How did they do it? After a period of allowing the Hornets, especially Melanie Carter, to get to the basket the Clippers protected the paint better. They also rebounded better. Good defense transferred into up-tempo offense and layups down the other end. Even in their half-court offense Newburyport found ways to get to the basket for points or foul shots.

Anna Hickman (20 points) was a standout on both ends of the court. Her tight D on ME point-guard Kaitlyn O’Connell impacted the Hornets ability to run their offense. The sophomore forced turnovers and was part of numerous NHS fast-breaks. Anna drained two 3’s, made four other baskets, and took ten free throws. Quite a performance against a team that came in undefeated after six games.

Krysta Padellaro (17 points) in for two

Krysta Padellaro (17 points) had a big hand in the win as well, She put up eleven points in the breakaway second quarter. The ME deficit was only four (22-18) five minutes into the second quarter before the NHS junior dribbled the length of the court for one layup, drained a triple, and drove in for another layup. Those seven unanswered, extended the NHS margin to eleven (29-18).

Two free throws by Sarah Robinson (17 points) stopped the bleeding temporarily but the Clippers came back with eight points in a row (Olivia Olson layup & 2 free throws, Krysta jump shot, Anna layup) and the lead was seventeen (37-20) one minute into the second half.

The teams played even the rest of the way.

Manchester-Essex used a zone defense. Their trouble was getting back fast enough to get into it. The Clippers were eager to run after every defensive rebound and collected layups at the other end by doing it.

The Hornets (6-1) were coming off an impressive win at home (39-37) against Pentucket on Friday night.

Newburyport ended up with eighteen turnovers including four straight starting the game. ME finished with sixteen turnovers including five in their disastrous six-point second quarter.

Beth Castantini

Beth Castantini was on the Newburyport bench. She was a 1000-point scorer for the Clippers back in the day.

Manchester-Essex box

Newburyport box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Melanie Carter (12 points) had an impressive first quarter

Sarah Robinson (17 points) hit three triples

Katie Hadden

Olivia Olson (12 points)

Loose ball

Krysta Padellaro covered by Bridgett Kiernan

Anna Hickman shot ten free throws

Paige Gouldthorpe

Katie Hadden to the basket

Freshman Maggie Pons defended by freshman Bridget Twombly

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Filed under Manchester-Essex, Newburyport

Tagged as Anna Hickman, Beth Castantini, Krysta Padellaro, Melanie Carter, Olivia Olson, Sarah Robinson

December 18, 2016 · 2:04 pm

Hope Community Church Children’s Christmas Pageant

(Newburyport MA) Plenty of excitement today at Hope Community Church as the annual Christmas Pageant was put on.

The front of the church was filled with children recreating the Christmas story in costume and song.

Here are some of the pictures that I collected from the event: (The pictures enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

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Filed under Hope Community Church, Newburyport

Tagged as Hope Community Church Children's Christmas Pageant

November 12, 2016 · 11:52 pm

Newburyport gets it done with PK’s to take D3 North title

Newburyport captains Jen Stuart, Amelia Kroschwitz, Sami Kelleher, and Margaret Cote pose with the D3 North championship trophy

Audra Greenblott’s PK is past disappointed NR goalie Kat Hassapis

(Lynn MA) The Newburyport Clippers advance to the state D3 semifinals after defeating the North Reading Hornets on penalty kicks on Saturday afternoon/evening at Manning Field in Lynn.

The Clippers will now face Medway (18-1-2) on Tuesday night (7PM) at Westwood High School.

Newburyport (17-1-3) came away with the “W” but were outplayed and outshot for most of regulation and two overtimes.

The Clippers scored early (34:48) when Margaret Cote cashed a wonderful feed from Julia Groth in the middle.

Juliette Nadeau (2) sent in by Karlie Vesey gets a clean look.

The Hornets (15-5-1) had the answer less than five minutes later (30:17) when Karlie Vesey sent Juliette Nadeau in clean on NBPT goalie Jen Stuart.

The Newburyport coaching staff immediately called a timeout to settle things down. They probably would have called quite a few more timeouts the rest of the way if they’d had them because the Clippers were a step slow most of the time.

On this night, North Reading could not apply the finishing touch. Trust me, it wasn’t because of lack of setups.

Credit Clippers goalie Jen Stuart for handling the shots she could reach. NR went over the net and just wide a number of times.

This was the kind of pressure Clippers GK Jen Stuart faced frequently

NR keeper Kat Hassapis had shots to deal with but none of the doorstep variety.

Kat Hassapis dives for Margaret Cote’s successful PK

That’s why the penalty-kick segment was just what Newburyport needed to take the Division 3 North title.

In the penalty kick part, there are five rounds unless a team builds up an insurmountable lead. North Reading lost the toss and Newburyport opted to shoot first.

Margaret Cote and Kat Hassapis both connected in round one.

Karlie Vesey (16) and Margaret Cote (11)

Amelia Kroschwitz and Karlie Vesey (wide right) both were unsuccessful in the second round.

In the third round, Krysta Padellaro put Newburyport up 2-1 while Marissa Zarella’s attempt hit the crossbar.

In round four, Kat Hassapis made a diving stop of Colleen Bryon’s try while Clippers GK Jen Stuart slid to her left to block Jessica Muise’s attempt.

In the fifth round, Audra Greenblott found the left corner and for the second straight game gave the Clippers an insurmountable lead and the victory.

This was the third time these two rivals met this season. There was a win, a loss, and a tie for both of them.

I was at Manning Field last year when North Reading defeated Bishop Fenwick, 2-1, on a Haley Nathan goal to win the D3 North.

Krysta Padellaro (19) and Rachel Hill (12)

Newburyport has only allowed seven goals this season, not counting the penalty kicks of tournament play.

North Reading certainly played well enough to win. Just couldn’t take advantage of their numerous chances.

Impressed with defender Jessica Muise. Her strong foot made every corner kick a scoring opportunity.

Good crowd at an excellent facility for tournament soccer.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

2016 Division Three North champs

North Reading team captains – Marissa Zarella, Kat Hassapis, and Kristina Copelas

Clippers celebrate first goal

Jen Stuart corrals a shot

Sami Kelleher (8) and Kirsten Bradley (20)

North Reading threatens (Rachel Hill on the left)

header

Marissa Zarella (14) gets a head on a corner kick

Ball in the middle

Audra Greenblott

There was some contact

Kaitlyn Shevlin (6) and Colleen Byron (18)

Haley Nathan (11) traps a ball

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Filed under Newburyport, North Reading

Tagged as Amelia Kroschwitz, Audra Greenblott, Jen Stuart, Jessica Muise, Juliette Nadeau, Kat Hassapis, Margaret Cote

November 6, 2016 · 10:44 pm

Amelia Kroschwitz (goal, 2 assists) shines in Clippers 3-0 tourney win

Amelia Kroschwitz had a goal and two assists. Her she powers past a Weston defender

Amelia Kroschwitz had a goal and two assists. Here she powers past a Weston defender

Margaret Cote (11) scored a goal and played tight defense on Karenna Groff

(Newburyport MA) The Newburyport Clippers rode the shooting and passing of senior Amelia Kroschwitz to a 3-0 win over Weston in the Division 3 North quarterfinals on Sunday evening.

The victory will put Newburyport (15-1-3) into the semifinals against familiar Cape Ann League foe Hamilton-Wenham on Tuesday night at 7PM at the Manning Bowl in Lynn.

Amelia, the lone senior on the Clippers, was the big story as she tallied a goal in the first half and set up two teammates for scores in the second half.

#2 seed Newburyport used the large dimensions of Stehlin Stadium to their advantage regularly forcing Wildcats’ defenders to chase and protect their end.

Weston (10-6-3) had a couple of golden chances in the first half. Sophomore Jayme Leschly had a hand in both opportunities with long throw-ins into the box. Newburyport goalie Jen Stuart and defender Krysta Padellaro got in each other’s way on the first one and the ball came loose. No Wildcats able to cash in a juicy rebound. The other glittering Weston scoring chance belonged to junior Sophia Guerin who got in tight and shot right into NHS GK Jen Stuart.

That a Newburyport opponent left a game goalless was not surprising. The Clippers have only given up a total of six goals in nineteen games.

Amelia Kroschwitz put Newburyport on the board eleven minutes into the first half. A Wildcats’ foul, which WHS coach John Power disputed loudly, led to a direct kick.

Margaret Cote and Amelia Kroschwitz about to set the goal-scoring direct kick into motion

Margaret Cote and Amelia were both in position to take the direct kick from about 35 yards away. However, instead of driving the ball, Margaret tapped the ball to Amelia who did drive the ball at Wildcats’ GK Natalie Pettirossi. The ball came in low and hard and skidded under Natalie.

That goal held up through the first half. Clippers Cricket Good, Anna Hickman, and Audra Greenblott put testing shots on the WHS net. The Wildcats had the two near-goals mentioned above.

That 1-0 lead felt anything but comfortable as the second half started.

I mentioned Amelia’s shooting earlier. The second half was about her passing.

Twice in the second half Newburyport used a set play out of a corner kick to get goals. Instead of launching the CK long distance the Clippers got the ball to Amelia on the end line. The Wildcats acted in both occasions as if they expected a long kick and stayed close to the net. Amelia dribbled the end line, eluded a defender and sent the ball toward the front of the net. Amelia’s passes turned into wonderful setups with clean looks on two occasions and produced goals by Margaret Cote (34:07) and Sami Kelleher (11:47).

Jayme Leschly

One constant was the long throw-ins of Jayme Leschly. What a weapon that is! From either sideline she was able to put the ball into the box and create potential trouble for the home team.

A Weston spectator told me that several of the team’s strikers were out because of injuries. Those Jayme Leschly throw-ins might have been even more dangerous if those scorers had played.

Margaret Cote did an excellent job containing skillful Karenna Groff of Weston. Late in the game Karenna found some open space and showed some fancy dribbling moves.

Weston won the Dual County League this season.

The Clippers played a scoreless tie with Hamilton-Wenham during the season at HW.

Newburyport hasn’t lost since September 13^th. That was a 3-0 loss to North Reading. The Hornets, also in D3 North, face #1 seed Swampscott in the game before the HW/Newburyport matchup. North Reading won the D3 North title last season.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Sami Kelleher comes away after putting the ball in the back of the Weston net

Sami Kelleher and Olivia Goff (3)

Katie Hadden (15) and Sophia Guerin (5)

Clippers GK Jen Stuart makes a save

Audra Greenblott (7) dribbles along the sideline

Collision at midfield

Amelia Kroschwitz with plenty of open space

Krysta Padellaro

Weston coaches Rachel Wood and John Power

Julia Groth (14) eyes a loose ball

Clippers celebrate Margaret Cote’s goal

This was the setup Margaret Cote (left) had after a pass from Amelia Kroschwitz

Newburyport GK Jen Stuart reacts to a shot

Colleen Byron and Weston GK Natalie Pettirossi

Erin Sarocco

Amelia Kroschwitz (5) congratulated by teammates Meredith Vartabedian, and Margaret Cote after first NHS goal

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Filed under Newburyport, Weston

Tagged as Amelia Kroschwitz, Jayme Leschly, Jen Stuart, Karenna Groff, Margaret Cote, Sami Kelleher

October 17, 2016 · 9:17 pm

Girls Soccer: Newburyport and North Reading in scoreless tie

Action off a corner kick in front of the North Reading goal

Pressure on Newburyport goalie Jen Stuart

(Newburyport MA) Shutouts are not unusual for either team.

North Reading entered today’s game with nine shutouts while Newburyport hit the turf field with eleven.

Therefore, the 0-0 final score between two of the Cape Ann League’s best girls’ soccer teams was no real surprise on this warm Monday afternoon.

However, the outcome was important to both teams. Why? In North Reading’s last game (Thursday) they had lost 2-0 to Masconomet. That was the second loss to the Chieftains this season. There was a need to tighten up the defense which, led by Kirsten Bradley and Kat Hassapis, was accomplished versus Newburyport.

For Newburyport this game put to rest the memory of a disturbing 3-0 loss the Clippers suffered on September 13^th at North Reading. I did not see that game but over the twelve games since then Newburyport has only allowed one goal. That’s what you call tightening up your defense!

Newburyport (10-1-3) needed that solid defense today as North Reading (10-3-1) had the better of the scoring chances in my opinion.

NR’s Meredith Griffin came the closest to scoring as her shot at 14:50 of the first half caromed off the crossbar. Here is the sequence of that action involving Meredith (green), Cricket Good (4), Krysta Padellaro, and goalie Jen Stuart:

In the second half (15:10), Haley Nathan had Clippers GK Jen Stuart defending her on the left but Haley passed instead of shooting. Haley’s pass across the goal put Jen out of position and had “open net” written all over it. Fortunately, for Newburyport there were no Hornets breaking in from the right and the ball rolled harmlessly across the endline. This is what that sequence looked like. Haley Nathan is #11:

Kat Hassapis about to make a save

The Clippers held their own on the defensive end and in midfield. They frequently put two or three passes together. However, the Hornets did not allow open looks. Kirsten Bradley was especially good at getting the ball away from Newburyport attackers. On the rare occasions that the ball got closer, there was the 2015 Cape Ann League Player-of-the-Year (Kat Hassapis) in net for North Reading.

Impressed with the play of Newburyport’s Krysta Padellaro and Margaret Cote. Both of them displayed the fearlessness that had them winning more than a few 50-50 balls.

Newburyport goalie Jen Stuart is unscored on in nine straight games. Next game for the Clippers is hosting Triton Wednesday (6:30PM).

Kirsten Bradley (20) and Sami Kelleher (8)

Next for North Reading is hosting Pentucket on Wednesday at 4:30PM.

The weather was amazing. Temperatures in the 70’s this late in October?

The last time I saw North Reading girls’ soccer was last November at Fraser Field in Lynn when they defeated Bishop Fenwick 2-1 to take the D3 North. I got a pretty good shot of Haley Nathan driving home the game-winner.

Unusual call (to me) in this game was against North Reading for having too many players on the field. I also saw an NR player sent to the sidelines by a referee for unsportsmanlike conduct.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Rachel Hill (12) and Margaret Cote (11)

Olivia Sullivan (20) and Kaitlyn Shevlin (6)

Chasing the ball

Kirsten Bradley

Cricket Good (4) collides with Meredith Griffin

Ball in the middle

Action around Kat Hassapis (19)

Jess Muise (9)

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Filed under Newburyport, North Reading

Tagged as Haley Nathan, Jen Stuart, Kat Hassapis, Krysta Padellaro, Margaret Cote, Meredith Griffin

October 15, 2016 · 6:46 pm

Girls Soccer: Tewksbury and Newburyport settle for 0-0 tie

Cricket Good (4) moves toward the Tewksbury net with teammate Sami Kelleher (8)

Margaret Cote (11) and Jenny Lerman (14)

(Newburyport MA) Newburyport (10-1-2) has only allowed one goal since a 3-0 loss to North Reading in their second game of the season.

That lone goal is still the only goal after the Clippers settled for a 0-0 tie against non-league Tewksbury on Friday night under the lights at the Stehlin Stadium.

No question in my mind that Tewskbury (7-5-1) was happier with the tie than the Clippers were. Why? A point is a point and the Redmen haven’t qualified for the MIAA tournament yet. Also, they held down a strong team like Newburyport while being without key scoring weapon, Marissa Ladderbush. Marissa (sophomore) tallied twenty-five goals for the Tewksbury JV’s in 2015 and has scored goals at the varsity level in 2016.

Amelia Droschwitz (5) open in the corner on the baseline.

It had to be a frustrating tie for Newburyport. Unbeaten in the previous ten games and playing at home seemed to the Clippers’ advantage but it only led to another terrific defensive effort. During the previous ten, Newburyport had registered twenty-four goals. Shutting them out in this game clearly spoke well of the Tewksbury defenders.

I thought that Newburyport carried the play in the first half. Putting passes together in the midfield happened. Putting passes together in the goal-scoring area, not so much. The shots were long and Redmen GK Leanne Durham had a good look at each of them.

Olivia Sullivan (20) settles the ball for Newburyport

Second half saw ten minutes where the visitors from the Merrimack Valley Conference nearly scored. Five minutes in a Tewksbury shot deflected off Newburyport GK Jen Stuart and off the crossbar. Five minutes later Jen came way out to play a ball in and didn’t get it. Fortunately, for Newburyport no one from Tewksbury could get a shot at the open net.

The rest of the way Newburyport had the chances: Colleen Byron with 15 minutes left and Sami Kelleher with seven minutes left. With five minutes to go, a Clippers shot went off the crossbar. But there were no goals scored.

Emily Chmela (19) and Amelia Kroschwitz (5) battle for the ball

A big game ahead for Newburyport on Monday afternoon. They will be rematching with North Reading at home. The Hornets did a number on the Clippers, 3-0, on September 13^th. Newburyport hasn’t lost since.

Impressed with NHS defenders Katie Hadden and Krysta Padellaro: physical presence and strong kicking.

One thing that didn’t go well for Newburyport was corner kicks. They had a number of them but instead of getting the ball into the front of the net they chose to tap it to a nearby teammate. With Tewksbury packed in the area no good shots came out of that strategy.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)