Cross Country:
Both the girls’ and boys’ cross-country teams had great races Wednesday. The boys swept the top 5 spots to win 15-40. Scorers were Finn O’Hara 1st, Charlie Lations 2nd, Lyall Cunningham 3rd, Henry Stevens 4th, and Aidan Woods 5th. Aidan, Robert Silverstein and Jonas Coletta all had big improvements from last week.
The girls won 21-35. Sabine Cooper won the girl’s race in 20:55 followed by Faith Castellucci 2nd, River Silva 4th, Libby McKinnon 5th and Whitney Turner 9th. Hayden Remington contributed to the score by displacing Ipswich’s fifth runner. Libby, Sadie Rich and Caroline Chrzanowski had great improvements. It was fun to watch Maddy O’Grady and Caroline Eliassen beat an Ipswich girl by one second in a sprint to the finish.
Next meet for the Hornets is the Frank Kelly Invitational at Wrentham on Saturday, September 30.
Football:
Gritty performance from our Hornets last night. First night on the new turf and first home game of the year. Stephen Martin (Sr. RB/LB) led the way with 179 total yards plus a great defensive performance at LB. Zach Hurd did a great job stepping into the QB role in his Sophomore year with some great runs and great plays with his arm.
We’ve got Nashoba Valley Tech next (Friday 6:00 pm @NVT) who we didn’t play last year in the 3-tier CAC schedule but we’re looking forward to playing them again this year in the 2-tier CAC league setup. League games in the CAC are always hard-fought, just like last night, and we know we have a big week of prep and film study ahead of us to compete with those guys.
Golf:
The Hornets won a close match at home over Essex Tech by a score of 120-109. Jack McCavanagh led all scorers with 22 points.
On Thursday, the Hornets fell to a solid Lynnfield squad, 160-109. Jake Zschau led all scorers with an individual season high of 23 points.
This week the Hornets travel to Georgetown for a big match against the Royals! The team continues to improve as we make a push for postseason play! Go Hornets!
Cheer:
The cheerleaders have been hard at work this past week learning the half time dance for the first home game. We also had the junior hornet cheerleaders at practice. We worked on cheers and stunts for the first quarter of the football game.
Field Hockey:
Field hockey had another successful week with wins against Ipswich and Amesbury. You’ll notice a trend with our three goal scorers! These girls are working exceptionally hard and their efforts are paying off.
Ipswich (3-0) Greta Gado, Ella Chafe, Laila Mears
Amesbury (4-0) Greta Gado x2, Ella Chafe, Laila Mears
These wins propel us to 5-1-1. We are looking forward to a competitive match against Lynnfield on Wednesday and then traveling to Hamilton-Wenham on Saturday.
Girls Soccer:
The Manchester Essex Hornets fell to North Reading at home (0-4 loss). The game started brightly for the home team, and they had several chances to score in the opening 10 minutes. They failed to convert, however and it was one of North Reading’s first attacking moves that opened the scoring. The momentum truly shifted when they doubled their lead a few minutes later. Manchester Essex tried to rally at halftime and chase the game in the 2nd half, but were unable to break down a well organize defensive. North Reading added two goals to cap off a great performance and a 0-4 win. Charlotte Crocker had an excellent match in central midfield despite the loss and was certainly the standout player for the Hornets.
The Manchester Essex Hornets take down Rockport away (0-3 win). A lackluster first half saw the game still level at 0-0 30 minutes in. Finally, some great build up play involving goalkeeper Madi Cook and defenders Ella Arntsen and Mackay Brooks released Meg Hurd down the wing. Her excellent run and pinpoint cross found Mechi O’Neil for a cool finish and her 5th goal of the season. It was clear from the start of the 2nd half that Manchester Essex was not happy with a 1 goal lead. Chance after chance went begging before a quick throw in from Grace Scarborough and some great link up play between Izzy Zagrobski and Mechi O’Neil found Liv Kent just inside the box for a neat finish and her 1st goal of the season. In the final minutes the Hornets got their 3rd. Pippa Spingler latched onto a long ball into the box and managed to redirect
it to find Mechi O’Neil. Her header was initially saved, but she followed the rebound and, despite Rockport’s best efforts, forced the ball over the line to wrap up an excellent 2nd half team performance.
Mechi O’Neil claims her 2nd ‘Player of the Match’ award of the season with 2 goals and an assist.
Stoneham held Manchester Essex to a draw. The Hornets started brightly and scored within 10 minutes with a great shot from the top of the box from Lily Stefanovich. Stoneham rallied after going behind, gained momentum, and scored just minutes later. It was the Hornets turn to fight back, and they did, certainly dominating possession for the rest of the half but being frustrated in front of goal. It was more of the same in the 2nd half, with Charlotte Crocker, Lily Stefanovich, Libby Lawler and Liv Kent dominating the midfield battle. Stoneham looked to break on the counterattack when they could, but their
efforts were stifled by a strong defensive display by the Hornets, led mostly by Tori Moulton. Madi Cook also left her line for one fine breakaway save. Despite dominating possession and having their chances to score, the Hornets could not find a game winner. Libby Lawler came closest with an unstoppable long shot that seemed destined for the top corner, only for it to clatter off the crossbar instead. Final score 1-1.
Player of the Match: Liv Kent for an electric display in central midfield.
