Girls LAX coach Nan Gorton congratulates sophomore goalie, Brigid Carovillano, on her 300th career save on May 11 @girls' lacrosse game vs. Hamilton-Wenham. What an incredible achievement!
(Courtesy Photo)
The ME boys’ lacrosse team hosted CAL member Amesbury HS on Monday. First 12 minutes out of the gate were back and forth, both teams exchanging tallies off possessions which Amesbury seemed to control. The defense would find a rhythm, get stops, and transition to offense. Three first quarter goals from Jesse Oliver, Mac Edgerton, and Quinn Brady would not be enough for the Hornets as they trailed 4-3 heading to the second quarter. The Hornets offense responded with four unanswered goals in the second quarter to gain the lead 8-4 at halftime.
The third and fourth quarters were explosive for the Hornets offense. There were 11 different goal scorers on the afternoon, including Freshman attack Charlie Thurlow’s first two registered varsity points (1g, 1a) following his first start of the season. Manchester would outscore Amesbury 11-2 in the final two frames of the contest winning by a final of 19-6, securing yet another home win on the season, and Manchester’s sixth CAL win. Manchester improves to 11-4 on the season.
Game Scoring: Quinn Brady 4g, Mac Edgerton 2g, 2a, Jesse Oliver 2g, 1a, Sam Athanas 2g, Cam Hubbard 1g, 2a, Stephen Martin 1g, 1a, 4/4 on face-offs, Doug Pratt 1g, 1a, Charlie Thurlow 1g, 1a, Declan Kirk 1g, Alex Fraser, 1g, Jack DiPasquale 8 saves, 5 goals allowed and Connor Dickson 1 save, 1 goal allowed.
ME boys’ lacrosse hosted the Tanners of Peabody HS on Wednesday, their first out of conference contest since April 27. Peabody would find the back of the Hornets net early in the first quarter off a low angle shot. The Hornets responded with a goal from Jesse Oliver, however the Tanners would score three more times in the first quarter leading 4-1 after one. Manchester Essex’s defense would stand tall, killing off a man down penalty, and holding Peabody scoreless in the second quarter. Quinn Brady would score twice to cut the lead to one, trailing 4-3 at halftime.
The second half both teams exchanged lengthy possessions at both ends, where both team’s goalies shined. Senior Captain Jack DiPasquale backboned the Hornets’ defense with a season high 14 saves on the afternoon, while Senior Sam Athanas played lockdown defense at the midfield. Peabody was scoreless again all of the third quarter before scoring halfway through the fourth quarter to go up 5-4 with their second lead of the day. Athanas would score in transition with a bounce shot from the slot to tie the game at 5. Then it was Hornets Senior Midfielder Chase Dickson with a dodge to his left to the middle and tuck one past the Peabody goalkeeper, to earn himself the game winning goal with little time to spare. Peabody would win the ensuing faceoff, and yet turn the ball over to the Hornets defense once again. Manchester would march down the field, call a timeout and kill off the last two minutes of the clock in the box to secure the win 6-5. It was an absolute battle of a win over a solid Division One team for the Hornets as they improve to 12-4 on the season.
Game Scoring: Quinn Brady 2g, Mac Edgerton 1g, 1a, Jesse Oliver 1g, Sam Athanas 1g, Chase Dickson 1g and Jack DiPasquale 14 saves, 5 goals against.
The ME Boys Lacrosse team traveled up the North Shore on Friday to Ipswich High School for a rematch of their previous meeting just two weeks ago. The first game was a dominant win by Ipswich; however the roles were in reverse as the Hornets took a quick 2-0 lead early in the first quarter thanks to back-to-back goals from Junior Midfielder Quinn Brady. Ipswich cut the lead to 2-1 shortly after with a long possession of their own and shortly tied the game soon after to end the first quarter of play. Second quarter the home team Tigers scored early to take the lead, but with the Hornets defense playing shut down defense on top opposing players they were able to hold Ipswich scoreless for the rest of the quarter. The Hornets responded with two more goals to head into half 4-3.
The third quarter was scoreless for about eight minutes, with both teams' defense’ making stops and big saves. Jack DiPasquale made some spectacular composed saves when Manchester Essex needed to be bailed out, while Mark Pollock, Brennan Twombley, and Sam Athanas held it down for the defensemen. It would be Mac Edgerton that stuck a shot off stick high from outside with about three and a half minutes remaining to increase Manchester’s lead to 5-3 leading into the fourth. The last 12 minutes seemed to be all controlled by the visiting Hornets, with goals from Doug Pratt and Quinn Brady again in the slot off a feed from Charlie Thurlow behind the cage. Ipswich would win two face-offs and gain two possessions of their own and cash in on both to climb back within 2 with short time left in the fourth. Manchester would end the game by killing clock behind X to beat Ipswich for the first time since 2012. Final score was 7-5, where Manchester Essex moves to 12-4 on the season, and 7-4 in the CAL.
Game Scoring: Quinn Brady 3g, Mac Edgerton 2g, Jesse Oliver 1g, Doug Pratt 1g, Charlie Thurlow 1a and Jack DiPasquale 9 saves, 5 goals against.
The Hornets had two big matches in the past week, a rematch with Hamilton Wenham and a huge contest against Lynnfield on senior day. The girls fell 5-0 to Ham Wen on the road but had two incredibly close matches at both 1st and 2nd doubles. The whole team rebounded on Friday against Lynnfield and secured a huge 4-1 win with awesome tennis played across the board. The doubles teams of Sophie Zalosh / Emery Weber-Provost and Sienna Crocker / Grace Scarbrough both cruised to straight set wins while Calista Lai won a long, tight 3 setter and Grayson Crocker rattled off 9 straight games after going down 5-4 in the first set to win 7-5 6-0.
Baseball:
HW 12 - ME 6. Troy Flood went 2-4 with a HR a double and an RBI with 2 runs scored. Kevin Mckenna and Matteo Sarmanian each drove in a run.
Lynnfield 11 - ME 2. Troy Flood threw 6 innings but fell short as Lynnfield broke it open in the 6th. Kevin Mckenna and Matteo Sarmanian each had a hit.
Ipswich 12 - ME 6. Mike Deoreo, Troy Flood and Kevin Mckenna had multiple hits. Mike Deoreo, Zak Porat, Matteo Sarmanian, Jacoby Catazaro, and Ross Edelstein all drive in a run.
The ME boys’ tennis team played some of their best tennis of the entire season this week despite losing two close matches to the top two teams in the CAL, Hamilton Wenham and Lynnfield. On Monday the boys traveled to Amesbury to play the Red Hawks with a slightly different lineup. Charlie Virden, Finn Straub and Sander Breuker got straight set wins in the singles spots respectively, while the first doubles tandem of Finn Birkeland and Jack Lawler got the point at first doubles. Making their debut in the varsity lineup at second doubles were freshman Ben Tobin and sophomore Jack Bediz. And what a debut it was, winning in straight sets with a dramatic second set tiebreaker 7-4 to clinch the 5-0 win for the Hornets.
On Wednesday, the 9-1 Hornets hosted the 9-1 Generals in a showdown for a part of the CAL Baker Division title. Coming into the match, the only league loss for the Hornets came to the very same opponent that they were to face this time at home on Wednesday. In previous match, Manchester Essex was without their third singles player, and the Hornets came into the match hoping to able to turn the tide. At first singles Jack Cummins dropped his first set 5-7 to the talented one from Hamilton Wenham. In their earlier match this season, Cummins lost his first set 0-6 and this first set gave some indication that he was figuring out how best to play his solid opponent. Despite losing in straight sets, Cummins played extremely well. As this was happening, Charlie Virden was winning his first set on the way to cruising for the 6-2, 6-3 win over the extremely talented Generals second singles player. At three Finn Straub battled hard, but lost 2-6, 3-6. First doubles also lost in two very close sets 4-6, 4-6 and much like Cummins, the second doubles tandem of Finn Birkeland and Jack Lawler went three sets 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 with the Generals' second doubles opponents showing their growth in compete-level over their previous 0-6, 3-6 result. All in all, there was marked improvement in the play of the Hornets, but it wasn't enough to earn a tie for the league title.
On Friday, the boys traveled to the undefeated Lynnfield Pioneers and gave them everything they could want for a challenge. There were close matches at every position including at second doubles where Charlie Langendorf subbed in for Finn Birkeland who was unable to play due to illness. Langendorf and his partner Jack Lawler went three sets with the Lynnfield second doubles team 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 and narrowly missed earning another point in the final result. The point of the day came at third singles where Finn Straub won his match in dramatic fashion fighting of two match points to prevail in a third set tiebreaker 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-0). No rest for the Hornets this week as they play an excellent Marblehead side before ending the regular season with senior day on Wednesday against North Reading. The Hornets now sit at the number 9 spot in the Division IV State Power Rankings and, with their record and that ranking, have punched themselves a ticket into the Div IV State Tournament which is set to start on May 30.
THE HORNETS ARE AT IT AGAIN!
The (ME) Girls Lacrosse Team hosted Pentucket at home on Hyland Field for their season opener. The history between these teams is rich! The games in 2021 and 2022 were both decided in overtime, one for each team! It is always a nail-biter, and this 2023 season opener was more of the same!
Starting ME off in the mid-field, Captain Hadley Levendusky (’23), Captain Ella Chafe (’24), and Mechi O’Neil (’24) took control of the draw and worked hard up and down the field the entire game! Chafe had three goals, and both Levendusky and O’Neil had two goals apiece. On defense we were led by Captain Paige Garlitz (’23), Charlotte Crocker (’25), Harper Brooks (’26), Teyah Fleming (’26), Hannah Davis (’25), Aisling Twombly (’25) and our force between the pipes, Brigid Carovillano (’25). Carovillano ended the day with 10 saves!
Freshman, Laila Mears, had her first varsity goal at attack and is off to a strong start! She was supported by Liv Cahill (’24), Lucy O’Flynn (’24), Liv Kent (’25), Sylvie McCavanagh (’25), Abby Kent (’26), and Ellie Morgan (’26). O’Flynn added her first goal of the season, and McCavanagh followed with her first and one more to follow! Final Score: Hornets 11, Pentucket 9
Next up ME traveled to Marblehead to take on the Magicians. Marblehead proved to be a very aggressive team and ME needed to stay composed and strong. O’Flynn had the ESPN Highlight-reel play of the game when she battled for ground ball, energizing the rest of the Hornets to take her lead and continue to fight hard the whole time! A second highlight of the game was Freshman, Abby Kent, who scored her first varsity goal. She was supported by goals from Chafe, McCavanagh, O’Neil, and Levendusky. Final Score: Hornets 7, Marblehead 5.
Finally, the Hornets headed off to Masconomet High School on Wednesday April 5, 2023, at 6 p.m. in the wind and the cold. That game, too, is always a tough one. Last year the Hornets tied the game with a goal at the buzzer and won the game in OT. This year, Masco came back in their own buzzer-beater fashion, pushing ME into yet another OT. But the Hornets kept their composure and after a brilliant play on defense by Captain Paige Garlitz to get the ball back for the Hornets and make a quick decision pass to O’Neil, O’Neil was able to find the back of the net and take the win home to ME. FInal Score: Hornets 9, Masco 8
In all of these games ME has had a few players helping from the bench due to injury. Gabbi D’Andrea (’24) and Maggie Light (’25) have been missed on the field but are a true presence on the team and are equally as important as the healthy players on the field. They too were contributors for the big wins!
The week of April 10th for the Girls Lacrosse program at Manchester Essex Regional High School was one for the memory books, and not because of huge wins. Rather this week the Hornets truly embodied what high school sport is all about: learning life lessons, giving it your all, accepting adversity, playing with the highest integrity and serving others.
On Monday afternoon on our own Hyland field, we hosted Georgetown. We knew it was a game that we had to remember to never underestimate our opponents! Fortunately, we started fast, and never looked back defeating the Royals 15-4. Highlights of the game included a coast-to-coast goal by sophomore, Charlotte Crocker, an ESPN-highlight type catch from Liv Cahill and nine saves by Brigid Carovillano. Goals were scored by: Chafe, Mears, Garlitz, A. Kent, McCavanagh (2), O’Neil (3), Crocker, Levendusky (3) and L. Kent (2).
On Thursday, we welcomed back to the field after her ACL injury in 2022, Gabbi D’Andrea. It was a GREAT day to celebrate her return and she played lights-out, starting at the low defender position. Highlights included working on plays, focusing on improving the depth of our program, learning new positions and perfecting the ones we know so well. We defeated North Reading 15-4, priming us for the biggest challenge of the week, and perhaps the season, Medfield High School. Goals were scored by Chafe (2), Brooks, Mears, Garlitz, A. Kent, McCavanagh (3), O’Neil (4), Crocker and Levendusky.
Friday we as a program, JV and Varsity crammed into a yellow school bus and fought traffic for over an hour and a half all the way Medfield MA, to take on the 2022 Division 3 Champions. (We were the Division 4 runners-up.) Needless to say, they are good! We knew that we had to raise our game.
It took our Hornets a few minutes to settle into the level of play demonstrated by Medfield, but after halftime, we stayed with them! Defending two Division 1 recruits (one to BC and one to Northwestern) who barely, if ever, left the game. We had three goals for the day: (1) Never give up (2) Play in smaller increments (3) Leave believing we had more fun than they had, no matter the score.
Mission accomplished. We never gave up, which was demonstrated by the fact that Medfield played their starting line-up the whole game. We played in smaller increments. We tied the third quarter, and the second half was a close 6-4 battle. Although dropping to Medfield 17-8, it was a PROUD day to be a Hornet! And we definitely had a lot of fun. Goals scored by Chafe, Garlitz (2), McCavanagh (3), O’Neil (2) and Levendusky. Most Valuable system of the day was our defense, led by Carovillano and Crocker, assisted by D’Andrea, Fleming, and Brooks. And finally, the player of the game was Carovillano in the net, with 17 spectacular saves!
Since Spring Break, the Hornets have been hard at work. On Monday April 24, 2023, they took on Triton away, and displayed great teamwork and even better sportsmanship. The game was filled with pretty passes, beautiful interceptions, and lots of skilled fast breaks. FINAL SCORE: Manchester Essex 15, Triton 5
Then, after a week of rainy days and juggling field space, the Hornets headed to Ipswich for a battle against the Tigers on Thursday May 4, 2023. It was, as it always is, an epic battle. Unfortunately, the Hornets got off to a slow start and found themselves training early by 3 goals. But they never gave up, battling back the entire game, only to fall short in the end by just two goals. Harper Brooks had a stellar performance on defense, where she came up with five caused turnovers, and several impressive ground ball recoveries! The entire offense showed moments of true brilliance, all of whom looked for each other and moved the ball extremely well. Each of the four goals were scored on plays that had at least one pass, if not more. That is the sign of TEAM CHEMISTRY, which this team truly has! The Hornets look forward to May 18, Senior Night, where they will be able to take on the Tigers again, this time at Home. FINAL SCORE: Hornets 4, Ipswich 6
Finally, on Friday May 5 the Hornets got back on the bus and traveled to Lynnfield. There, the team got back on the winning train! Everything was working! Levendusky, O’Neil, Chafe and A.Kent took control of the draw. Crocker, Brooks, Twombly, Fleming and D’Andrea held the defensive zone together. Carovillano was nearly perfect between the pipes. And the offense was clicking thanks to Garlitz, McCavanagh, Light, O’Flynn, L.Kent, Mears and Cahill! All in all a day to celebrate. FINAL SCORE: Hornets 11, Lynnfield 3
The Hornets boarded the bus on May 9, 2023, for another away battle, this time against powerhouse Newburyport. The Clippers have a reputation of complete domination, beating every team this year by an average of 15 goals! The Hornets brought their confidence and every ounce of effort to keep the Clippers to a 14-5 final score! With a nine-goal differential, the Hornets were able to improve their own power ranking in the league. We left feeling a sense of having won a moral victory! On to the next! FINAL SCORE: Hornets 5, Newburyport 14
On Thursday, May 11, 2023, the Hornets were able to settle the score against Hamilton Wenham, whom they lost to earlier in the season (10-8), during spring break. On their own Hyland field, the hornets came out focused and determined. Changing strategies quickly proved to change the course of the game. Levendusky, O’Neil and Chafe dominated the draw control, while all the attackers peppered the Hamilton-Wenham goalie relentlessly, scoring multiple goals on rebounds! Defense was strong, allowing only three goals after the first five minutes of play. Special plays by O’Flynn, Levendusky, O’Neil, A.Kent and Crocker kept the energy of the team up the entire game. But the highlight of the day was not the win itself as much as it was a celebration of goaltender Brigid Carovillano’s 300th save as a varsity Hornet. Over the course of her, not yet, two full years in net, she maintains a save percentage of almost 60%. That is an incredible accomplishment and the whole team was in roaring, cheerful celebration. FINAL SCORE: Hornets 12, Hamilton Wenham 6.
We managed to get in only one practice this week because of heavy winds, gusting into the high 20s, and even reaching 31 mph. The one day we managed to sail was useful in learning how to maintain control upwind and downwind and avoid capsizing.
Next week we will be participating in the Mass Bay Sailing League Regatta at Community Boating in Boston on Monday and competing in the Mass State Fleet Racing Championship at MIT on Wednesday and Thursday.
