In The Hornets Nest

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Cross Country:

ME Cross Country teams split their meet with Amesbury.  Boys lost 32 to 26 with Finn O'Hara winning in 17:18. It was a close race for second to fifth places with Amesbury edging out Charlie Lations 4th and Logan Cooper 5th by seconds.  Also scoring for the Hornets were Nate Gardner and Henry Chadbourne.  Henry out-leaned Sam Heanue at the line.

The girls won 23 to 35 with Lassen Ando winning in 21:27. Also scoring for the Hornets were Sabine Cooper 3rd, Whitney Turner 4th, Stella Straub 6th and Lily Oliver 8th.  Auraylia Lord also figured in the scoring by displacing Amesbury's 4th and 5th runners.

Frank Kelley Invitational on Saturday gave athletes a chance to participate in their first big race of the season and see the course for the CAL championships.  Complete results can be found here.

The boys took 23rd place of 33 teams.  Finn O'Hara led the way with an 18th place finish in 16:26. Also scoring were Charlie Lations 18:04, Logan Cooper 18:19, Nate Gardner 20:28 and Henry Chadbourne 21:03.  The girls did not score as we only had 4 runners in the championship race.  They ran well led by Lassen Ando 21:14 followed by Sabine Cooper also 21:14. Whitney Turner 21:27 and Stella Straub 22:32.

Next meet is against Ipswich at Crane Beach on Wednesday.

Golf:

Hornets golf picked up two wins last week, both at Essex County Club, where their home record stands at 3-1.

On Tuesday, the Hornets took down Georgetown in a very close match by a score of 113-110. Captain Sam Athanas led all scorers with 28 points.  Our three starting Freshman followed with Matt DeOreo scoring 20, Gray West tallying 19 and Jack McCavanagh with 18.

On Thursday, the Hornets topped a solid North Reading team by a score of 120-112.  Sam Athanas led the team with 25, followed by Gray West with 23, Jack McCavanagh with 22, Matt DeOreo with 19 and Mike DeOreo with 18.

This week the Hornets travel to Rockport and Amesbury and host Hamilton Wenhamm.

Boys Soccer:

The ME boys' soccer team had two hard fought matches this week against Newburyport and Rockport.  On Tuesday, the Hornets traveled to a stacked Newburyport team who sit atop the CAL Large Division.  The Clippers jumped out to an early lead and their closing speed and quick-passing physical play caused trouble for the possession style the Hornets.  After a quick 2-0 lead, ME dug in and held their own for good portions of the match, but in the end lost 0-5.  On Friday night, the Hornets went to Rockport and played a stellar match to come away with a 2-2 draw.  The man of the match was senior captain Becket Spencer whose dribbling and finishing were on full display.  Yet, to create those chances for him, it was a full team effort of solid defending and good passing.  The first goal came in the first three minutes of the match where a solid team build put Spencer in the left corner of the box.  He then drove the end line and scored at an impossible angle to put the Hornets up 1-0.  Rockport would bounce back on a longer strike from distance which hit a bump in the turf and completely changed direction to get past Hudson Wood, who had several excellent saves in the match.   Senior captain Finn Lawler played exceptionally well with several well-read steps to intercept passes in the defensive third and then quickly played balls to strikers to initiate counters.  Sam Bothwell created so much in the middle and attacking thirds that Rockport was forced to man mark him during the entire second half.  The second Hornet goal came early in the second when Spencer got the ball near the top of the 18-yard box and dribbled past the Rockport back four and scored.  The final Rockport goal would come 15 minutes later on a penalty shot which freshman keeper Hudson Wood initially saved, but the shooter got his own rebound and pounded it home.  Wood would have to leave the game after fracturing his shoulder on the PK save and sophomore defensive center mid, Charlie Langendorf came in to preserve the 2-2 tie with several impressive saves himself.  The 2-3-1 Hornets hit the road and travel to both Georgetown and Triton this week.

Girls Soccer:

Coming off a great week the ME Girls varsity soccer team was looking to pick up some points in important games last week.  They began the week with a home game against Newburyport.  Despite conceding early, the Hornets managed to draw level when Pippa Springer’s corner was punched away by Newburyport’s goalkeeper only for the ball to fall to Mech O’Neil who managed to redirect the ball to Harper Brooks who prodded the ball home.  The game was not even for long however, Newburyport struck back just before the break.  The Hornets started slowly in the second half and were soon losing 3-1.  After a timeout they rallied, scored one and looked dangerous, but the game ended 4-2 to Newburyport.

POTM: Charlotte Crocker for dominant and physical play in the middle of the field.

Against Rockport on Thursday the Hornets started strong, with Charlotte Crocker hitting the post in the opening minutes.  ME then scored a flurry of goals through Pippa Springer (2), Kendall Newton (2), Mechi O’Neil and Harper Brooks. Libby Lawler (2), Charlotte Crocker, Lilly and Pippa all contributed with assists.  The score stood at 6-1 heading into the break.  The Hornets maintained their intensity in the second half and could have scored more.  They hit the woodwork no less than 6 times in the second 40 minutes but finally managed to score through Olivia Kent after a nice corner routine from Pippa and Libby Lawler.  Mckay Brooks, who had hit the crossbar earlier, turned provider for Kendall Newton who completed her hat trick for a final score of 8-1.

POTM: Kendall Newton for an excellent attacking display on the right wing.

The week was not over after Rockport, with the team heading to Stoneham on Saturday morning for what promised to be a much tougher test.  The Hornets defended well for the majority of the game and created chances on the counter despite having less of the ball than they were used to.  The first half finished 0-0, but Stoneham scored twice from set pieces, a throw in and a free kick, in the second half. Manchester Essex fought back and could have scored more than once but were unable to find the back of the net.

POTM: Mckay Brooks for another solid defensive display.

The Hornets will be frustrated to not have come away with more this past week, but they look forward to two competitive games at home against Georgetown and Triton this week.

Field Hockey:

Monday 9/19: Loss against a strong Newburyport team (3-1).  Goal scored by Ella Chafe.

Wednesday 9/21: Full team win against Rockport (4-0) with goals scored by Grace, Ava, Greta, Fiona.  Standout players were Juliana Saunders who just returned from an ACL injury and Mallory Huppe who as a defender, supported transition with her hits up the field.