2023 boys' lacrosse team seniors. From left to right; Matthew Russo, Alex Fraser, Lokys Saffo, Wyatt Garlitz, Jesse Oliver, Sam Athanas, Doug Pratt, Declan Kirk, Jack DiPasquale, Brennan Twombly, Daniel Wood, Mark Pollock and Chase Dickson. Not shown Wyatt Doyle and Camren Hubbard.
(Courtesy Photo)
Boys Lacrosse:
The ME Hornets lacrosse team celebrated senior night with 15 student athletes playing in their final game of the regular season at home. After both teams exchanged long possessions in the opening quarter remaining scoreless, it would be Jesse Oliver to score first, then Declan Kirk to allow Manchester Essex to go up 2-0 with short time remaining in the first. The visiting Fishermen would score off a broken transition play to cut the lead to 2-1 about three minutes into the second quarter. Charlie Thurlow would score for the Hornets off a feed from X by Oliver to go up 3-1 shortly after. Gloucester would score on their following possession in settled offense to cut the lead back to 1 for the Hornets. Chase Dickson would get his first of the game with a dodge from top center heading north to the cage and stick a shot to put the home team up 4-2 while also drawing a late penalty with short time remaining in the half. Manchester would cash in on their man up opportunity with a low angle shot by Quinn Brady, then assisting Oliver again in the pursuing possession to extend the lead to 6-2 heading into halftime.
About four minutes into the third quarter, Oliver would score his third of the day on a dodge from X going up 7-2. Brady would score again from a dodge from the left and make it 8-2. However, Gloucester would gain possession time of their own, and be denied by the Hornets Defense lead by senior Goaltender Jack DiPasquale (9 saves), freshman Aaron Crompton (2 CTs) and Senior Sam Athanas (2CTs). Gloucester would take a few unsportsmanlike penalties which would allow for the Hornets to continue finding the back of the cage taking advantage of their given opportunities. With under a minute to play, Brady finds the back of the cage making it 10-3 in favor of the Hornets heading into the fourth quarter. This would be Manchester’s biggest lead of the game and seemed out of reach for Gloucester. The Fishermen would find the back of the net four times in the remaining quarter tying Manchester’s four goals of their own. The Hornets offense came to play and the defense stood tall as they held off the game winning by a final of 14-7. This was Manchester Essex’ first team win on senior night in 4 years, concluding a 14-4 regular season record and 7-4 in the CAL.
The team now awaits their fate for the MIAA playoff bracket to come out next week.
Game Scoring: Quinn Brady 5 g 1 a, Jesse Oliver 3 g 1 a, Declan Kirk 3 g, Charlie Thurlow 1 g, Chase Dickson 1 g, Sam Athanas 1 g, Mac Edgerton 2a and Jack DiPasquale 9 saves, 7 goals allowed.
Baseball:
ME baseball highlights 2023
6-13
The hornets completed a tough season, but many players contributed in a big way. Troy Flood led the team in avg, doubles, and HR’s. Mike Deoreo led the team with 19 RBI’s, 10 stolen bases, and 20 runs scored. Zak Porat led the team with on base percentage and walks. Matt Mckenna was out a few weeks but had a .450 avg and key RBI’s Jacoby Catazaro was a strong DH driving in 12 runs. Henry Otterbein had played an all-star CF before getting hurt and had 14 runs scored and 9 stolen bases.
The pitching staff had a tough start but showed signs of improvement. Satchel Rubin, Nick Brown, Matteo Sarmanian, and Troy Flood. Our highlight of the year was beating Georgetown last Tuesday 6-4 and Georgetown is ranked 1 in the state for D 5.
Girls Tennis:
Hornets Girls Tennis finished up their regular season on the highest note possible, defeating a very solid North Reading team 5-0 while prevailing in several tight matches. Vanessa Gregory won at first singles 6-3 7-6, Grayson Crocker again wore an opponent down at third singles and won 7-6 6-1 after falling down 5-2 in the first set, and the first doubles team of Emery Weber-Provost and Sophie Zalosh overcame a 4-2 deficit in the 3rd set to win a very competitive match. Calista Lai dominated at second singles and Sienna Crocker / Grace Scarbrough won comfortably at second doubles to wrap up the contest.
Overall, the Hornets have had a great regular season, finishing up at 12-5 with all 5 losses coming to the reigning champs from D2, D3, and D4. We've earned the #2 seed in the state tournament and enjoy home court advantage throughout. All of the girls have shown real improvement throughout the year, building their skill sets and gaining confidence through winning big matches. Memorable moments include Vanessa Gregory's second set tiebreaker to win against North Reading, Calista Lai's nail biting 3rd set tiebreaker to clinch the huge 4-1 against Lynnfield, Grayson Crocker's multiple comebacks from first set deficits, Emery Weber-Provost and Sophie Zalosh's three setters against Newburyport and Hamilton-Wenham along with a dominant win against Lynnfield, and Sienna Crocker and Grace Scarbrough's victories against top tier opponents from both Masconomet and Lynnfield. Great season with high hopes heading into the playoffs!
Softball:
The Hornets entered the last two weeks of the season in the playoff hunt. Trailing the Hamilton Wenham Generals 10-3, the Hornets erupted for an 11 run fourth inning and went on to win 24-11. Penelope Riggs was 3 for 5 with 5 RBIS, and Anna Gardner was 3 for 5 with 4 RBIS. Kyra Levasseur was 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs. Katie Crompton also drove in two. Abby Aiello did a great job in relief throwing five innings picking up the win.
The Hornets had a tough game losing to Lynnfield 18-5. Abby Taron was 2 for 2 with 2 RBIs in the defeat. The Hornets won a huge game against Ipswich on senior night 10-7 highlighted by a 6 run fourth inning. Anna Gardner was 2 for 4 with 4 RBIs including a double and triple. Penelope Riggs with a 2-run homerun in that fourth inning. Abby Aiello pitched the final 3 1/3 innings for the win in relief of Anna Gardner who did a great job starting.
The Hornets lost a tough one the following day to Swampscott 9-8 after coming back from an 8-5 deficit to tie it. Celia Mann was 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs and Penelope Riggs picked up 2 more RBIs in the defeat.
The Hornets lost to Georgetown the following day by a score of 18-4. Kyra Levasseur, Aby Taron, Katie Crompton, and Abby Aiello delivered hits on the day. Penelope Riggs would have had a monster hit but was robbed by the centerfielder for Georgetown in deep center who traveled a long distance to make the catch.
