October 7, 2011 · 9:13 pm

Woodland Routed by Calais 8-1 in Girls Soccer

Chloe Black (11), Madison McVicar (6), Emily McCadden (13), Allie Hill (2), Meaghan Cavanaugh (1), Carly Davis (8), and Miranda Moffett (18) return to midfield after a first half goal.

(Baileyville ME)  No hats flew but there were two hat tricks registered as Calais routed Woodland, 8-1, in girls soccer on Friday afternoon at Baileyville.

Meaghan Cavanaugh (1) had three goals for Calais. Shown here with Nicole Hanson (14).

The Blue Devils had won the previous meeting this season between the two teams, 6-2, on September 14th at Calais.

Calais (7-2) scored four goals in each half and had seventeen additional shot attempts that beleaguered WHS goalie Devon Perkins made saves on.

Meaghan Cavanaugh and Madison McVicar each had three goals for the Devils while Allie Hill added two.

The Lady Dragon’s lone goal came from a second half penalty kick by Taylor Cochran.

Allie Hill (2) scored two goals and dominated midfield for the Blue Devils.

Woodland (4-5) surrendered the middle of the field to Calais and that gave the visitors frequent opportunities to advance the ball and find open teammates.  Allie Hill, in particular, dominated the center of the field for CHS.

The Blue Devils dribbled past Woodland defenders on many occasions all over the field.  Meanwhile, the Lady Dragons had trouble putting consecutive passes together throughout most of the game.

Credit Woodland, however, for showing plenty of enthusiasm despite facing a very good opponent.  When Taylor Cochran tallied the penalty kick in the last ten minutes of the game, you would have thought, by the volume of the Woodland reaction, that they had just won the game when in fact they still trailed, 6-1.

Meaghan Cavanaugh’s first goal (12:42) came as she dribbled down the middle and fired a left-footed shot.

Calais’s second goal (25:00) was Allie Hill’s penalty kick to the goalie’s left.

Meaghan’s second goal (33:38) was another left-footed shot from in close.

Madison McVicar (6) scored three goals. Here she shoots toward Julia Sprague (22).

The last goal of the first half was by Madison McVicar.  She took a pass from Jordan Hatch and came in on the left side.

The fifth goal (3:30) for CHS, and the first of the second half, was a long shot from midfield by Allie Hill that skipped through WHS goalie Devon Parker’s legs.

Madison McVicar (16:36) got a clean look to make it 6-0.

Taylor Cochran (30:46) broke the ice for Woodland with her successful penalty kick.

Meaghan Cavanaugh and Madison McVicar scored in the last five minutes of the game.

Meaghan now has 16 goals for the season while Madison has nine and Allie six. Taylor’s goal was her sixth of the season. Meaghan had four goals against Woodland in the September game.

Kelsey Worden

Usual Woodland goalie, Kelsey Worden, watched the game on crutches.

Seeing the cars parked around the field at Baileyville was a surprise to me.  I’ve been to games where no spectator is allowed along either end line.  Makes it tough to get pictures.

The Lady Dragon uniforms looked an awful lot like the shirts the two referees were wearing.  I learned that both Calais and Woodland will have to have new home uniforms next season.  I assume that the home team will have to wear white shirts in 2012.

While the game was going on I heard migrating geese heading south. In addition, I heard bloodhounds barking to remind me that it is hunting season now in Maine.

(I collect my own stats and take my own pictures.  Accuracy is very important to me.)

Clicking on any picture gets it to normal size.

Taylor Cochran penalty kick.

Allie Hill penalty kick.

Meaghan Cavanaugh (1) sets to shoot. Julia Sprague (22) defends.

Brittany Leighton (15) and Carly Davis (8).

cars around field

Hope Howard (7) with defender Miranda Moffett (18).

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October 3, 2011 · 9:14 pm

Masco and Georgetown Play to 1-1 Tie in Girls Soccer

Claudia Marsh (22), Leah Connerty (10), Mia Farnham (29), Olivia Buonopane (18), Paige Pratt (16), and Sarah Katz (8) return to midfield after Mia scored a Masco goal late in the second half.

Nicoline Holland (17) gets a hug from assisting teammate Ashley Mueskes.

(Georgetown) Two good area girls soccer teams played to a 1-1 tie, as Georgetown (3-0-3) rallied five minutes after a Masconomet (4-3-2) goal late in the second half to net one of their own.

The Monday afternoon game was moved just before game time from Georgetown’s lower field to its upper soccer field.  There was too much water on the lower field, according to the officials.

On a cloudy afternoon, Masco had the most shots (17) and the most corner kicks (5) but the Royals had goalkeeper Jamie Block as the final defender.  The talented junior turned away several dangerous Chieftain attempts.  She also put good distance on goal kicks and punts to give her teammates a chance to regroup.

The Royals had defeated Masco, 2-1, in September at Masco in a non-league game.  Today’s tie counted in the Cape Ann League’s standings.

Dominque Anderson (21), Paige Pratt (16), and Alexa Ina (1) prepare to defend a Royal corner kick.

Both goals in this game were scored in its last ten minutes.  The visitor’s goals came off a Olivia Buonopane’s corner kick from the right corner.  Keeper Jamie Block moved toward the near post as the shot was in the air only to have it sail over her head into a crowd of players behind her.  Somehow, Chieftain Mia Farnham directed the ball into the net with ten minutes left in the game.

I suspected that Masco might now go into a defensive shell but they didn’t.  The Royals pressed hard into the Masco end and got one of their two corner kicks. From it, Kelly Chickering drilled a shot from the left that just barely sailed over the top of the Masco net.

Undaunted the Royals were back threatening again two minutes later.  Kristin Hogan passed the ball into the middle to Ashley Mueskes and the senior co-captain gave her teammate Nicoline Holland as nice a feed as you’ll ever see.  Nicoline (90+ career goals) took full advantage of the open side and tied the score with five minutes to go.

Ashley Mueskes sends a pass between Alexa Ina (1) and Leah Connerty (10) that set Nicoline Holland up for the tying goal.

The memorable moment the rest of the way was Ashley Mueskes hobbling off in the last minute with a leg injury.

Next game for the Chieftains is at Triton on Wednesday (October 5th) at 3:45PM

Georgetown travels to North Reading to face the Hornets at 7PM on Wednesday (October 5th) night.

The best player on the field?  Kelly Chickering.  Undersized but drawn to the ball in the defensive end.  Clever and speedy enough to end opponent’s scoring opportunities.

Masco was very good with short passes.

Georgetown ended up with nine shots and two corner kicks on Masco goalie Courtney Bouchard.

Division 1 Masconomet was 17-2-2 last year.  Division 3 Georgetown was 13-3-2.

(I collect my own stats and take my own pictures.  I am determined to be fair and accurate.)

The pictures will enlarge to normal size if they’re clicked on.

Alexa Ina (1) contests with Ashley Mueskes (6).

Ashley Federico (12) chases Paige Pratt (16) with Sarah Katz (8) nearby.

Jen Migliaccio (18) tries to get the ball from Paige Pratt (16).

Kelly Chickering (2) sends in a direct kick.

Masco goalie Courtney Bouchard hits the ball out with Kristin Hogan (20) and Katie DiMaio (13) looking for a rebound.

Masco goalie Courtney Bouchard makes the save as Nicoline Holland (17) and Alexa Ina (1) go by.

Nicoline Holland (17) dribbles past Paige Pratt (16).

Paige Marsh (19) battles Nicoline Holland (17)

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September 30, 2011 · 10:11 pm

North Andover Led by Brandon Walsh Overwhelms Newburyport 34-7 in Football

Brandon Walsh (16) passed for two TDs and ran for two. Here blockers Bobby Trickett (55) and Nate Hitchcock (56) give him protection.

John Iannone scores first NA touchdown.

(Newburyport) In non-league Cape Ann League action, North Andover did many things right and easily defeated Newburyport, 34-7, on a beautiful Friday night at World War Stadium.

This was D1 North Andover versus D3 Newburyport.  This was also a rematch of teams that had been part of a 40-0 Knight blowout last year.  And this was also another year for senior quarterback Brandon Walsh to show why he is one of the best in the state.

This didn’t figure to be a close game but on the scoreboard it still was at halftime (13-7) but in the second half the visiting Knights produced scores on their first three possessions while the Clippers came up empty on theirs.

Brandon Walsh was good as advertised. NA operated with no huddle and received the plays via hand signals.  In Tom Brady fashion, Brandon made changes at the line of scrimmage on many plays.

Brandon Walsh (only the six visible in the distance) runs 72 yards to Newburyport 1.

One big improvising play in the second half stood out.  Brandon saw the Clipper defense shift to his left and so he carried right, cut back into the middle, then down the left sideline for 72 yards to the Newburyport one yard line.  Other teammates tried to rush in from there unsuccessfully before Brendon finished the job himself to put NA ahead, 26-7 in the third period.

The Knights (3-1) had plenty of weapons beside Brandon.  He threw eighteen times and great protection kept him from being hurried on any of them.  He completed twelve throws including touchdowns in each half.

Clipper QB Connor Wile saw plenty of pressure but still connected on 14 of 18 attempts including a 34-yard TD pass to Brett Fontaine with 2:57 left until halftime.

Connor rolled right on that play to buy time and lofted a pass, over the top of turned-around defender Tom Moody, that Brett had to leap to get.

Brett Fontaine hit hard by Dan Laorenza (7), Nate Hitchcock (56), Glen Hartford (44) and Tom Moody (30).

Speaking of Brett, he was rocked after a couple of receptions.  One picture shows him being hit by four NA players and his helmet pushed back.  He came out of that play holding his left arm and I suspect that sight had the NHS basketball and baseball coaches holding their collective breaths.

Newburyport won the toss and deferred.  They tried an onside kick that didn’t work and gave NA great early field position.

NHS head coach Ed Gaudiano took a severe chiding from the referee after complaining loud and early about, what he saw to be, NA holding.

Newburyport started the second half with the ball (their own 27) trailing just, 13-7.  They could gain just four yards in three plays.  The punt attempt turned disastrous as a low snap forced punter Trevor Pituck to kneel to get it and the play was ruled dead at the N17.

Clipper QB Connor Wile stands in the pocket with good protection.

NA was quick to capitalize.  After a six-yard run by John Iannone, Brandon started to scramble and then at the last second threw left to Dan Laorenza who finished off the final eleven yards to score.  There was a delay as officials discussed whether Brandon was over the line of scrimmage when he threw to Dan.  It was ruled he wasn’t.  Glen Hartford’s extra point kick put the Knights in front, 20-7 with 8:10 left in the third quarter.

NA’s first touchdown was on a John Iannone seven-yard sweep around the right end.

The final Knight score was at the end of a long drive that started on the NA 23.  Glen Hartford got the TD.  He lined up in the backfield and went out into the flat after a fake handoff and was wide open on the right side for an easy connection with Brandon.

Jared Bradbury (11) stuffs John Iannone (23) near the Clipper end zone.

Brandon was also the punter and holder.  I don’t recall seeing him much on defense.  One NA partisan told me that Brandon is getting recruited by D1 schools as a safety.  I read a recent article on Brandon that suggested that his best sport may be baseball where he is a catcher.

Jared Bradbury had the defensive hit of the night on a Knight receiver.

Newburyport (2-2) plays next Thursday night (7PM) at Marblehead.

North Andover (3-1) is at Medford next Friday night.

(I take my own pictures and create my own captions.  I try to be as accurate as possible.)

The pictures will enlarge to normal size if you click on them.

Brett Fontaine (10) after touchdown catch.

Trevor Pituck punts

Glen Hartford kicked four extra points. Brandon Walsh holds.

Brandon Walsh punts

Brandon Walsh

NHS coach Bob Clarke hears from the referee.

Tyler Martin follows Tyler Cusack (21) and Trevor Pituck (55)

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September 29, 2011 · 8:45 pm

Newburyport Easily Defeats North Reading 5-0 in Girls Soccer

Sarah Casey (18) lines up a shot as Kristen Landry (17) and Emily Schille (15) defend. Sarah scored the third Newburyport goal in the first half.

(Newburyport) The Clipper soccer girls easily defeated North Reading, 5-0, on Thursday afternoon at Cherry Hill Field in a Cape Ann League game.

Hannah Martin (15) scored the first Clipper goal.

Watching what I saw of the game (first half), it was hard to imagine that the Hornets (3-3) had only lost 1-0 to Newburyport (6-1) on September 13th at North Reading.

There was very little time spent in the Newburyport end.  Clipper goalie Lily Donovan was not tested, in fact she never touched the ball.  Hornet advances into the other end were long range or down the sidelines.  Good scoring chances never happened.

I saw only half of the game because it started raining near the end of the half.  I got under the trees hoping the rain would end.  I heard the rumbling of thunder at halftime and headed home.  NHS led, 3-0, at the time and I was quite confident that I would read in the Newburyport Daily News that they had won…..and they did.

The Clipper threats started early in this one and never stopped while I was there.

A Hornet hand ball set Hannah Martin up for a direct kick in the first minute.  The CAL All-Leaguer’s shot hit the top crossbar.

Carly Brand (11) dribbles toward the net with teammate Maryam Moshrefi (21) nearby. Both girls scored goals in the 5-0 victory.

Hannah finally scored at the 16-minute mark as she took a pass from Jaycie Triandafilou on the left side and fired a left foot shot over the head of NR goalie Miss Patalano.

Fourteen minutes later Hannah used another direct kick to set up teammate Carly Brand for goal #2.

With less than two minutes left, the ball got into the box from the side and Sarah Casey came down the middle and kneed the ball into the net for Newburyport‘s third goal.

North Reading’s returning CAL All-Leaguer, Jessie Valenti, was at the game but I don’t think she played…..at least in the first half.

There was only one ball girl available.  That had NHS coach Robb Gonnam retrieving shots off the bench side that went into the woods.  I am sure this wasn’t part of his game strategy!

This was my first look at the Clippers and they looked awfully good at least in this half.  Hannah Martin controls the center of the field and was very dangerous on direct kicks.  Alyssa Leahy controlled the deep third of the field.  Nicole Galer was elusive with the ball – several times defenders ran at her and she just pulled the ball away and moved on.  These girls were all Cape Ann League award winners in 2010.

(I take my own pictures and collect my own stat……..with the help of the Newburyport Daily News.  I strive to be fair and accurate.)

Clicking on the pictures enlarges them to normal size.

Jessie Valenti

Jaycie Trianafilou (19) looks for a rebound from NR goalie Missy Patalano.

Amy Sullivan dribbles toward the North Reading net.

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September 27, 2011 · 9:03 pm

North Andover Defeats Amesbury 3-1 in Girls Soccer

Liv Boudreau (#3) defended by Erin Leary (#13) in the first half.

(Amesbury) Sometimes a soccer game turns on a goal, other times it turns on a save.

North Andover goalkeeper Megan Collins denied a great scoring opportunity by Amesbury’s Hannah Zannini early (three minutes) in the second half and the Lady Knights (4-2-1) followed with three unanswered goals to defeat the Indians (3-1-1), 3-1, at Cashman Elementary School in Amesbury.

Hannah Zannini gets off a 2nd half shot as her teammates watch from the sidelines.

If Hannah’s hard shot doesn’t deflect off Megan’s hands AND the goal post, the Indians go up 2-0 and the outcome might have been different.

But the shot stayed out and five minutes later Amesbury goalie Sarah Abraham gave up a rebound in front to Pam Coufos and she tied the score, 1-1.

The visitors took the lead for good ten minutes later when a Alex Medlock cross from the right side found Jess Carney with an open look on the left side for the go-ahead, and what turned out to be, game winner.

North Andover’s final goal was set up on a pass from Tori Sullivan into the middle where Caroline Kirby had time and a clear view of the AHS goal.

Pam Coufos (#2) scored the Lady Knights first goal.

The lone Amesbury goal was by Hannah Zannini at the 28-minute mark of the first half.  Erin Leary sent Hannah on a long run down the middle of the field. Hannah got off a strong right-footed shot that beat the NA goalie in the upper right corner of the goal.

Whitney Whitlow (CAL All-League) hurt an ankle in the first half and played sparingly thereafter.  She had twelve goals and six assists in 2010.

Megan Cullen (CAL All-League) damaged her knee in the summer and is out for the season.  She had thirteen goals and nine assists in 2010.

Let’s just say that Amesbury had some weapons missing on offense.

But the Amesbury defense was together and they were tested by the quickness and persistence of CAL All-Leaguers Liv Boudreau and Pam Coufos among others.  NA ended up with eleven shots by my calculations. Amesbury had only allowed one goal through their first four games.

The two best players on the field may well have been NA defenders Rachel Barnes (CAL All-League) and Taylor Tagliente (CAL All-Star).  Rachel kept Indian threats out of the middle.  Taylor went down heavily early on but shook it off and covered a lot of ground for the Indians.  Taylor played every minute of every Amesbury game last year.

Audrey Samuelman (#9) and Rachel Barnes (back turned) defend in front of the North Andover net.

Amesbury’s next game is against Hamilton-Wenham on Thursday at home.

North Andover’s next game is home versus Pentucket.

The field was in fine condition.  The only problem was that the sun was a real factor down one end.  As luck would have it, I chose to stay at the other end and naturally all four goals were scored down the sunny end.

(I take my own pictures and collect my own stats.  My goal is to be accurate and fair.)

The pictures assume normal size if you click on them.

Elly Theriault (#19), Taylor Tagliente (10) and Emily Martin (16)

Whitney Whitlow

Taylor Tagliente

Leah Chittick (#20) with Taylor Tagliente (#10) and Amanda Martin (#12)

Hannah Zannini defended by Deidre Martyn

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September 23, 2011 · 10:18 pm

Hamilton-Wenham Stays Undefeated Downing Newburyport 18-6

HW punter Shane Jenkins leaps to catch a high snap in the 4th quarter.

NHS quarterback Connor Wile scrambles on 4th-and-8 in the fourth quarter.

(Newburyport) The Hamilton-Wenham Generals (3-0) continued undefeated with an 18-6 win over the Newburyport Clippers (2-1) on Friday under the lights and a persistent mist.

The final score is misleading because Newburyport showed right from the start that they could make yards against Hamilton-Wenham.  In fact, the Clippers scored on their first series (Jimmy Conway 12 yard pass from Connor Wile).  After that, despite good field position most of the time, the end zone eluded the home team.  Contributing to the lack of scoring were; mishandled snaps, penalties, and failure to convert 4th down opportunities.

On the other hand, HW was much more consistent on offense and much more diverse.  They scored one touchdown (Trevor Lyons) on the outside, another on the inside (Elliott Burr), and a third in the air (Pete Duval).

The two biggest plays, in my opinion, happened in the fourth quarter.

In the first one, the Generals (ahead 12-6) were forced to punt from their side of the field with five minutes left in the game.  Certainly the wet condition were a factor as the snap was high to HW punter Shane Jenkins.  The 6’2” senior leaped to make a one-handed snag and came down to get off a good punt.  If that snap had gone over his head, or been fumbled, the Clippers would have been set up very deep in HW territory with a chance to move in for at least a tie.

The second big play was a defensive stop by HW.  Clinging to a 12-6 lead with 3 ½ minutes left, HW defended the Clippers into a 4th-and-8.  On the next play, QB Connor Wile wanted to pass but ended up scrambling up the middle because of HW pressure.  A measurement showed that he ended up inches from a drive-continuing first down.

The Generals followed that 4th down stop with a march that ended in the Clipper end zone as QB Trevor Lyons completed a 23-yard pass to Pete Duval with 1:49 left to seal the win (18-6) for HW.

Referee signals Jimmy Conway (#23) TD in first quarter.

The Clippers’ lone TD covered 12 yards as Jimmy Conway made a leaping catch near the middle of the end zone at 3:59 of the first quarter.  Brandon Trego’s extra point attempt was blocked.

Elliott Burr (112 yards – 1 TD) converted a 4th-and-2 to keep an early second quarter HW drive going.  Quarterback Trevor Lyons finished the drive with a clean 5-yard sweep right after faking a handoff to Elliott Burr. Matt Putur’s rush for extra points failed.

Tied 6-6, the Generals struck again in the second quarter.  Consecutive carries on the inside by Elliott Burr ended when he crossed the goal line on a 2-yard carry with 4:19 left.  Another failed rush followed for extra points but HW still led, 12-6.

HW quarterback Trevor Lyons sweeps right untouched for 5-yard TD in second quarter.

The visitors would build on that lead late in the 4th quarter.  The Pete Duval catch produced the points but it was a long sweep down the left sidelines by QB Lyons that set HW up at the Newburyport 25.

Brett Fontaine recovered a fumble in the end zone in the third quarter.

HW hosts Amesbury (2-1) on October 1st (Saturday) at 2:30PM.

Newburyport entertains North Andover (2-1) on September 30th (Friday) at 7PM.

(I collect my own information and take my own pictures.  I am doing my best to be accurate.)

Clicking on any of the pictures enlarges them to normal size.

Elliott Burr – 112 yards – 1 TD

game-time conditions

Trevor Lyons handoff to Elliott Burr in 2nd

QB Trevor Lyons throws from the pocket in 3rd.

Brett Fontaine (#10) recovers fumble in 3rd.

Tyler Martin (#32) in traffic in 4th

Connor Wile pressured by Matt Vogus (#77)

Matt Putur (#21) finds hole.

Clipper Tyler Cusack (#21) has Matt Putur (#21) on one side and Taylor Drinkwater (#55) on the other.

Pete Duval – TD reception

Trevor Lyons sweep in 4th

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September 21, 2011 · 8:28 pm

Newburyport Boys and Hamilton-Wenham Girls Remain Undefeated in Cross Country

Two of the best cross country coaches around (Don Hennigar & Steve Sawyer) matched up at Maudslay State Park and both came away with a reason to smile.

(Newburyport) Two of the best, and I’m not just writing about the coaches, won easily at Maudslay State Park on a pleasant Wednesday afternoon in Cape Ann League cross country competition.

Chris Suprin (16:02) surged down the stretch to nip teammate Keith Conway for the win.

Don Hennigar’s undefeated Newburyport boys team (4-0) stayed that way capturing the first five spots.  Steve Sawyer’s undefeated Hamilton-Wenham girls team (4-0) crossed the finish line in a six-member, first place blanket. Thanks to HW athletic secretary Dianne Bucco for identifying the girls in the picture for me.

HW stuck the Clipper boys with their only regular season loss in 2010.

Chris Suprin’s late race surge was enough to edge teammate Keith Conway for first place by a second – 16:01.

(Left-to-Right) Clair Pacione, Emily Weigand, Meg Blatchford, Emily Horgan, Kerry Phelan, and Sarah Duffy finish together.

The HW girls finished in what looked like a normal workout mode with no effort made to lunge ahead late.  The official gave the six HW girls the finishing cards and told them to sort out the order of finish among themselves.

(I collect my own information and take my own pictures.  I make a serious attempt to be accurate.  Mistakes can happen.) Clicking on a picture will increase its viewing size.

Kevin Rutigliano (14th)

Jack Blatchford (9th)

Dan Von Staats (8th)

Michael Allara (7th)

Matt Gillis (6th)

Chris Orlando (5th)

Nick Carleo (4th)

Joe Santo (3rd)

Kiley Knowlton (7th)

Kelly Conway (9th)

Erin Carroll (10th)

Kristin Mackey (12th)

Madeline Moore (13th)

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September 19, 2011 · 10:49 pm

Traxler Brothers Send Clipper Boys Soccer Past Ipswich 4-2

Adam Traxler (#5) chased by Sam Benford (#10) and Peter Eliopoulos (#7).

Clippers celebrate Spencer Traxler’s go-ahead goal.

(Newburyport) Too much of the Traxlers for Ipswich.

The Tigers (2-3) were defeated by Newburyport, 4-2, in boys soccer on Monday night at Newburyport Stadium in Cape Ann League play in the Clippers‘ home opener.

The Traxlers (sophomore Adam & senior Spencer) scored all of the Clipper (1-1-2) goals, including three in the second half.

Ipswich goalie Erik Fyrer watched the action unfold in the first half, and yelled variations of the following to his defense, “Five is their best player.  Contain him.”

Adam Traxler (#5) was indeed a threat in this one every time he was near the ball.  He endangered the Tiger defense numerous times dribbling into open space and let shots fly on net with either foot.  He finally got a shot past Ipswich goalie Erik Fyrer with a spin to the left at 10:48 to give NBPT a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers didn’t have a shot on net for the first twenty-six minutes but responded to Adam’s first goal with one of their own just 1 ½ minutes later.  2010 CAL All-Star Ryan Law dribbled into the middle and then beat NHS goalie Matt Canning to tie the score.

Cole Lewis (#3) about to pull down Matt Jaeger for penalty kick.

Ipswich pulled ahead, 2-1, early in the second half as a Matt Jaeger break in forced defender Cole Lewis to pull him down in the box.  Senior Joe Baraiolo grounded the resulting penalty kick past Matt Canning’s left at 36:40.

Adam’s 2nd goal tied the score (2-2) sixteen minutes later.

Both teams seemed to sense the importance of the next goal and both had glittering chances.  Finally Spencer Traxler put his left foot on a ball that crossed in front and NHS led, 3-2, with seven minutes to go.

That goal seemed to do in Ipswich.  Adam pounced on a bad Ipswich clearout and quickly made it, 4-2, just a minute later to give the Clippers Win #1.

Joe Baraiolo strikes successful penalty kick for Ipswich.

Nice to see the scoreboard used to keep track of the time and the score.  That’s the beauty of playing in a stadium.

(I collect my own information and pictures.  Accuracy is important to me.  Mistakes are unintentional.)

Adam Traxler and Sam Benford

IHS goalie Erik Fyrer

Harrison Corbett (#11) and Kyle Cantrell (#9)

NHS goalie Matt Canning

Ryan Law

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September 14, 2011 · 11:04 pm

Newburyport Sweeps North Andover in Cross Country

Kiley Knowlton (20:40) wins the girls race

Alex Sullivan leads North Andover.

(Newburyport) The undefeated Newburyport (3-0) boys came at North Andover (2-1) in a bunch on Maudslay State Park’s 3-mile course and defeated the visitors, 22-35, in cross country on Wednesday afternoon in Cape Ann League competition.

(left to right) Chris Suprin, Keith Conway, and Joe Santo sweep 2-4 together.

NA‘s Alex Sullivan (16:00) easily won the event but had to wait over a minute before 6th place teammate (Greg Macarthur – 17:07) arrived.  Meanwhile, Clipper runners Chris Suprin, Keith Conway, Joe Santo, and Nick Carleo took places 2-5.  Sophomore Chris Orlando completed the Newburyport scoring with an 8th place finish.

The Newburyport Clipper girls (2-1) took out NA (2-1), 23-34, sweeping the first three spots.

Clipper senior Kiley Knowlton (20:40) finished alone.  Forty seconds later teammates Kelly Conway and Erin Carroll were in.  Getting those first three spots was crucial because the Knights covered 4-7, led by Danielle Poto.  Newburyport’s Sarah Jacqz (8th) and Rachel Rikeman (9th) ended the NA streak of runners.

Kelly Conway (right) and Erin Carroll (left) take 2nd and 3rd.

Danielle Poto (4th)

The Hamilton-Wenham Generals are Newburyport’s next opponent next Wednesday at Maudslay.

This was the first cross country meet I’ve been to at the state park.  The temperature’s were probably too high for the runners’ liking but comfortable for those of us watching.  For some reason the meet started nearly an hour late but that just seemed to increase the interaction time among runners and among spectators. I was pleasantly surprised that bugs weren’t an issue.

(I try to be accurate in these accounts.  Spelling matters to me.  Identifying runners accurately matters to me.  Mistakes are unintentional.)

Clicking on any of the pictures enlarges them.

boys start

Sarah Jacqz (8th) followed by Rachel Rikeman (9th)

NA coach Rick DelleChiaie (in blue)

Girls start

Kiera McManus (5th)

Nick Carleo (5th)

Chris Orlando (8th)

NHS coach Don Hennigar

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September 12, 2011 · 9:11 am

Triton Boys Tie Newburyport 2-2 In Cape Ann League Soccer

Triton threatens late in the first half.

Sophomore Adam Traxler scored Newburyport’s first goal and had several other scoring chances.

(Byfield)  They’ve done this before – played to a tie.

The Triton Vikings and Newburyport Clippers played to a 2-2 tie in boys soccer on warm Monday afternoon at Triton in Cape Ann League action.

The teams played twice last year and finished one game scoreless and the other one, 3-3.

This was a rescheduled, weather-impaired game from last week.  It was the actual opener for Triton (0-0-1) and the second for Newburyport (0-0-2).  The Clippers began the season with a 2-2 tie with Methuen.

The conditions were great for spectators but not so for participants – too hot.  The conditioning of both teams appeared suspect and there was plenty of needed substituting on both sides.

The Clippers dominated play early.  They had already played a game and performed like that.  Triton was cautious, more interested in preventing a goal than scoring one.

The officials had the Triton goalie (Dalton Tzitzon – sophomore) change his shirt because he could have been mistaken for a Newburyport player.

Jake Stelline (#10) scored the tying goal for Triton late in the first half.

Newburyport had its chances without results for twenty minutes.  Senior AJ MacDougall hit a shot wide and came close with a header.  Junior Jordy Steelman had the ball close to the Triton goal.  A short while later AJ MacDougall contacted the Triton goalie’s best friend (crossbar).

Persistent sophomore Adam Traxler finally cashed in for the Clippers twenty minutes in.  He broke in alone and finished high to give Newburyport a 1-0 lead.

The Clippers kept after Triton.  Adam came close to a second goal and senior Matt Eagan had a good opening.  Neither cashed in.

Triton finally brought some serious pressure very late in the half, led by senior Jake Stelline.  The Viking senior hit the post on a break in and came back again with a shot off goalie junior Matt Canning’s hands into the upper corner to tie the score.

The halftime rest revitalized the Clippers.  Immediately they were into Viking territory and putting on pressure.  In the first minute there was a sequence with shots and rebounds before senior Harrison Corbett scored.  Newburyport led 2-1.

Jake Papanicolaou, shown here dribbling right, later would dribble left into the same area and beat Clipper goalie Matt Canning to the short side to tie the score in the second half.

As in the first half, Newburyport pressed again for more.  Again the dangerous chances came from Adam Traxler.

Triton was a lot earlier to start answering back than in the first half.  Both senior Mark Schwarz and Jake Papanicolaou had threatening shots during the middle twenty minutes of the forty minute half.

It was sophomore Jake Papanicolaou who produced the game-tier with eight minutes left.  The skilled dribbler took control of the ball on the left and maneuvered into the middle before unleashing a left-footed kick that beat Matt Canning on the short side.  That made it 2-2.

I didn’t see any particularly dangerous shots thereafter.  Both teams were clearly gassed.

Newburyport plays at Pentucket on Thursday while Triton gets to visit Amesbury on the same day.

(I collect my own information and take my own pictures.  Any mistakes are unintentional.)

Click on any of the posted photos to enlarge them.

Spencer Traxler (#6) and Jordy Steelman (#9)

Mike Mulkern (#23) and Adam Traxler (#5)

Goalie Matt Canning looks behind him in the first half.

Jordy Steelman (#9) and Matt Kelly (#24)

Action in front of the Newburyport end in the second half.

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