(Newburyport) They knew what to expect.
They prepared for it and executed against it.
The result was a convincing 18-4 win by Newburyport over Ipswich on Monday afternoon.
“We worked on moving the ball quicker and keeping our eyes open for off-ball cutters,” explained Clippers’ sophomore Rita Cahalane afterwards.
“They played a backer zone,” said NHS coach Catherine Batchelder post-game. “That defense presented man-up opportunities for us. We worked on it in practice and the girls saw it really well. They were able to get some wide-open shots.”
The Clippers (5-1) controlled the draws in the early going and locked the Tigers (2-3) into their defensive end. In fact, Ipswich didn’t get into the Newburyport end with possession for the first 9 ½ minutes.
However, by the time Ipswich penetrated Newburyport territory they were already down, 5-0.
Three Newburyport goals later the Tigers called a timeout.
The score was 12-0 at halftime.
The Clippers showed patience on offense opting for high-percentage shots.
“We spaced wide and got a lot of cutters open,” said Olivia McDonald afterwards.
Nothing selfish about an attack that gets eighteen goals and has ten different players contributing scores.
Anna Affolter and Lilly Pons led Newburyport with three goals each.
Avery Tahnk, Emily Fuller, Reese Bromby, and Olivia McDonald each scored twice.
Rita Cahalane, Maddie Heath, Sydney Turner, and McKenna Ward had solo goals.
The key contributor was probably Izzy Rosa who didn’t even score a goal but assisted on six of them.
The game went into running time with six minutes remaining in the first half and Newburyport ahead, 10-0.
The lead was stretched to 15-0 in the second half with eighteen minutes remaining.
Ipswich showed some scoring life thereafter with four goals including two from Halle Greenleaf. Julia Moseley and Kayden Flather had single goals.
The most celebrated Newburyport goal was probably in the last minute when defender McKenna Ward moved up into the offensive end and scored.
Weather was pleasant with sunshine and temperatures in the upper 50’s.
Newburyport 12 6 = 18
Ipswich 0 4 = 4
(The pictures will enlarge.)
McClelland Miscellanea 