Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team brought its record to 2 – 2 on the young season with an impressive win over CAL Large perennial power Pentucket. This was the Hornets’ fourth consecutive away match on natural grass to open up the season, and after losing 2-1 to Amesbury earlier in the week the boys were looking for a better start in the match. The scoring opened early for the Hornets who opened the match asserting their physicality and their quick possession style passing attack. This produced the first goal in the opening minutes of the match when senior captain Naderson Curtis drove along the endline, drew the defense to him and slid a pass to fellow senior Jackson Cawley for a tap in. Throughout the match, the team defending was excellent and took away the Pentucket direct long ball attack thanks to the back four and center midfield play captained by the work rate of Beren Schmidt. The scoring continued off of more Hornet possession which gave Curtis a directional touch from well beyond the eighteen yard box. Curtis took a touch forward and crushed a knuckling shot over the Pentucket keeper who helplessly didn’t even move or react. The third goal of the first half came off a corner kick where Schmidt passed it short to Curtis and he ran at the defender who tripped him in the box. Curtis converted the penalty to go up 3 – 0. The second half Pentucket took their physicality up to the next level and after high pressing was able to turn the tide a bit and slot home two goals. The Hornets stayed focused and held on for the 3-2 win. This week the boys play Newburyport and Rockport in their first home matches of the season.
Cross Country
Manchester Essex Cross Country opened their season with two wins against Georgetown. The Boys won 19 to 44 with Sophomore Team Co-Captain Finn O'Hara winning the race in 18:00. Also scoring for the Hornets were Sophomore Charlie Lations 3rd, Senior Colin Harrison 4th, Senior Co-Captain Max Kirk 5th and Freshmen Brian Rosen 6th. Nate Gardner and Logan Cooper contributed to the margin of victory by coming in 7th and 8th.
The Girls won by forfeit as Georgetown was able to only run three girls. The top five scores for the Hornets were Senior Co-Captain Jane Whitten 1st, Freshman Lassen Ando 2nd, Freshman Sabine Cooper 3rd, Sophomore Lily Pilaud 4th and Mary Annabel Chrzanowski 6th. It was a great start for two very young squads.
The Hornets take on Hamilton Wenham Generals next Wednesday at Patton Park.
Field Hockey
Field hockey went 1-1 last week, defeating Amesbury 3-1 and losing to Pentucket 2-1.
Grace Gerhardt, Caelie Patrick, and Caroline MacKinnon scored goals in the Amesbury game. While Freshman Elsa Wood had her first varsity goal, assisted by Caelie Patrick during the Pentucket game. Major contributions made by defenders Helaina Davis and Phileine Dewidt, as well as goalie Paige Garlitz with a total of 14 saves between both games.
We continue to work on improving our outcomes on corners and capitalizing on free hits. The team will face Danvers on Saturday, 9/18, for an out-of-league game, and we had our first home game Tuesday against Newburyport.
Girls Soccer
The Hornets (1-5) welcomed rivals Amesbury to Hyland Field on Monday September 13th. Despite playing extremely well all 80 minutes, two late goals by Amesbury resulted in a 2-0 loss for the Hornets. Freshman Goal Keeper, Madi Cook, had 11 saves and Amelia Donnellan-Valade was named Player of the Game. On Wednesday September 15th the Hornets and Pentucket played a very spirited match, but two early goals by Pentucket put the Hornets in a hole that was difficult to get out of with the final score 3-0. Parker Brooks, Player of the Game, had an outstanding game on defense. The girls finished up the tough week against an out-of-conference Division 2 Billerica (4-0-1) team on Saturday, September 18th in Billerica. After giving up 3 goals in the first half, but the Hornets settled down and out-played Billerica in the 2nd half, keeping them scoreless till the final whistle. Despite the final 3-0 score, the Hornets played very well against a very skilled Billerica team. Madi Cook had 7 saves and Amelia Donnellan-Valade was named Player of the Game, her third on the early season.
