Eagle-Tribune Blogs: River Rival Report

Jillian Kinter’s pursuit of the Newburyport High career goals record is ongoing. She was held without a shot in the team’s 2-1 loss to Masconomet last night. She remains tied with Kristin Mahoney for the career goals record (76).

To give you an idea of Kinter’s impact on the program, the team is 49-4-2 over the last three seasons, including a Division 3 state tournament win last fall. The weight of breaking Mahoney’s goals record has to be a lot to bear for Kinter, who has one goal in her last four games.

Expect that record to fall tomorrow when the Clippers (8-1-1) play at North Andover (7-2-1). The Clippers will be motivated on the heels of their first loss of the season and a 1-1-1 record over the last three games.

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A couple pieces of information for football fans in the area:
First, we’ve re-established our membership with Rally North, so all of our local results — football and otherwise — will be posted on www.rallynorth.net on the evening of the particular games. So visit that site tonight, tomorrow and every day moving forward for the latest scores and stories.
Second, parents of Newburyport football players are starting a new tradition — pre-game tailgates. All Clipper fans are invited to the inaugural tailgate this evening (5:30-6:30 p.m.) in the side parking lot outside World War Memorial Stadium. Hot dogs are chili will be sold, but feel free to bring your own food. Alcohol is prohibited.
Many of the Newburyport football players shaved their heads as they gathered to watch Monday Night Football on television earlier this week. So if you think the Clipper fans and players are depleted by the team’s 0-4 start, think again.
Onto the picks:

Tonight’s games
Pentucket at Newburyport, 7

Newburyport (0-4) can take a few positives from its 15-13 overtime loss to North Andover last weekend. For one, the Clippers defense allowed seven points in regulation after allowing 72 points the previous two weeks. So the coaching staff appears to have remedied that problem. Also, Dave Freeman had his first evening with a heavy workload out of the Newburyport backfield, and he passed the test. With 22 carries for 117 yards, he showed the Clippers are capable of moving the ball on the ground. Now the Clippers need to find a way to play solid offense and defense on the same night.
Pentucket (2-1) flexed its collective muscle last week with a 14-0 victory over Hamilton-Wenham in the rain and mud. The Sachems are a tough team with a strong offensive and defensive line. Eventually, they may be able to connect on a few passing plays, and they’ll really be dangerous.
The pick: Pentucket 19, Newburyport 13

Lawrence at Amesbury, 7

There are two types of football coaches. The first does his best work in practice, designing schemes and implementing scouting reports. The second is the in-game manager. This coach seems to see things during the course of a game that others don’t. After Amesbury tailback Kevin Johnston exploded for four 50-plus yard touchdowns in Amesbury’s 44-14 win last week over East Boston, Indians coach Thom Connors tried to explain the strategy. In the first quarter, he noticed one of East Boston’s defensive ends had to leave the field due to an injury. From that point forward, he directed his team’s running attack toward that side of the defensive line, targeting the second-string defensive end. My point? Connors is an in-game coach. He should get credit for turning a team that went 18-36 over his first five seasons into a defending Cape Ann League Small champ that’s currently sitting pretty at 3-0.
The pick: Amesbury 35, Lawrence 21

Triton at Ipswich, 7

The common sentiment regarding Jim O’Leary in his first year as the Triton football coach is that his team is well prepared, and his players give maximum effort. Not a bad first impression to make among CAL coaches and spectators. O’Leary had two weeks to prepare for an Ipswich team that hasn’t won since 2006. The bye week came after O’Leary had a chance to dissect his team’s first two games and fix the problem areas. Give Triton the edge.
The pick: Triton 13, Ipswich 0

Tomorrow’s games
Marblehead at Georgetown, 2

Does anyone else think it’s weird that Georgetown only played two games in September? Two bye weeks in the opening month? Anyway, it’s tough to get a read on the Royals because they may be a little rusty due to the inactivity. Or they could be used to it. Tough to say. Regardless, all I can tell you is Marblehead beat Ipswich 28-15 in Week 1. I think Georgetown is capable of beating Ipswich by three touchdowns, so I’ll take Joe Esposito’s bunch.
The pick: Georgetown 27, Marblehead 14

The Governor’s Academy at Roxbury Latin, 3:45 p.m.

In two games this season, the Govs (1-1) have scored 16 points and allowed seven. How about some offense this week? They may have a chance because Roxbury (1-1) has scored 27 and allowed 50. Look for the Govs to double their season point total by halftime. And look for the Byfield Boys to return with a winning record.
The pick: Govs 28, Roxbury Latin 0

Last week’s record: 3-0
Season record: 9-5

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Wilmington 3, Newburyport 1
Tom Svirsky scored the lone Newburyport goal. The Clippers (3-2-1) plays at Rockport Wednesday night.

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The Newburyport girls’ soccer team beat Wilmington, 4-1. Veronica Poirier notched a hat trick, giving her nine goals for the season.

I’ll get you a Newburyport boys’ team score as soon as I have it. The game started at 7 p.m.

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Boys Soccer
Hamilton-Wenham 1, Georgetown 0
Evan Weagle made nine saves in goal, and Cam Moyer marked the Generals’ top playmaker, Jon Britton, but the Royals (2-2-2) could not find the back of the net.

Masconomet 4, Triton 0
Against Cape Ann Large leader Masconomet (6-0), Triton (2-1-3) struggled to gain possession. As a result, the Vikings found themselves chasing Chieftain players.

North Andover 2, Pentucket 0
Pentucket (2-3-1) matched shots with North Andover (5-1) with each team placing nine shots on net.
“We had a couple chances with break-aways, but we didn’t get good shots off,” Pentucket coach Christian Langlois said.

Girls Soccer
North Andover 2, Pentucket 0
Pentucket (2-4) played North Andover (4-2-1) tight until the Scarlet Knights deposited the second goal with 10 minutes remaining. Coach Greg Scruton said captains Julia Quattrini and Heather Thomas were very good leaders on the field.

Georgetown 3, Hamilton-Wenham 1
Nicoline Holland had two goals and an assist for Georgetown (5-1-1). Casey Decareau added a goal and an assist. Nicole DiMaio had an assist. Pauline Reilly made 12 saves.

Masco 5, Triton 1
Rachelle Bourque scored the Triton (0-6) goal roughly 10 minutes before halftime. Triton coach Dan Boyle credited Sara Roy and Meredith McWeeney for their defense.

Golf
Triton 145, Newburyport 122
Mike Zappala and Sam Velonis led the way for the Vikings with 29 points apiece as Triton (7-0) earned its 21st consecutive league win
Graydon Lockard had the next highest Viking score at 24. For the Clippers Sam Jordan had the highest score at 24 followed by Ben Tyler’s 23 points.

Pentucket 142, Manchester Essex 133
Jason Steele led Pentucket (4-3) with 32 points. Ryan Swanson (29), Vito Martello (25), and Cam Plummer (22) also contributed at Essex Country Club.

Field Hockey
Rockport 2, Amesbury 1
Senior captain Maggie Santosuosso scored the Amesbury (4-3) goal to give her team a 1-0 halftime lead.

Pentucket 4, North Reading 0
Bernadette Corrado had two goals and an assist for Pentucket (3-3-1). Freshman Shannon Beaton and Emily Hartmann added a goal and an assist each.
“This was the team effort we’ve been looking for,” Pentucket coach Ruth Beaton said.

Triton 3, Hamilton-Wenham 1
Nicole Label notched a goal and an assist for Triton (1-3-2). Kelsey Rock and Erin Curley also scored goals. Caitlin Short had an assist.

Lynnfield 3, Newburyport 1
The Clippers (3-2-2) had more offensive corners than host Lynnfield, but in the end, the Pioneers were too quick and precise in their shots. Cassandra Davis had Newburyport’s lone goal, Haley Morris had six saves on 11 shots on goal, and Leah Svoboda, who is coming back from an injury, made three saves on three shots.
“They just had some very good shooters,” said Clippers coach Lauren Hefferan. “They had 14 shots on goal to our four. It just wasn’t a good shooting day for us, and our defense left too many holes for their offense to fill.”

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Lawrence 37, Newburyport 23
Amesbury 37, North Andover 20

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Friday’s games
Lawrence at Newburyport, 7 p.m.
Which is the real Newburyport team? The one that fell short in a defensive struggle with Triton in Week 1, or the one that ran out of time in a shootout with Saugus in Week 2? I think last week’s shootout with Saugus is an accurate representation of what we can expect from the Clippers (0-2) this season. Newburyport is going to score a lot of points. The team has too many weapons at the skill positions to find itself in low-scoring games. So the question is: Can the defense get a stop when it absolutely needs one? Last week, it couldn’t. Saugus had zero punts en route to a 35-32 victory.
So it’s clear Newburyport coach Ed Gaudiano and offensive coordinator Ryan McCarthy have fixed the offensive issues. Can the Newburyport staff make the same adjustments on defense tonight? I think the Newburyport coaches will have another week to remedy the defense because Lawrence can’t score as many points as the Clippers.
The pick: Newburyport 29, Lawrence 21

North Andover at Amesbury, 7 p.m.
I’m not sure if it’s good news for Amesbury fans that I’m picking their team. I don’t think I’ve picked an Amesbury game correctly in two seasons. Regardless, Kevin Johnston is going to be a legitimate force out of the Amesbury backfield this season. Barring injury, I’m predicting a 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown output. Again, I’m not sure if that prediction is good news for the Amesbury faithful.
The pick: Amesbury 28, North Andover 22

Saturday’s games
Triton at Hamilton-Wenham, 1 p.m.
Triton is going to be a tough team to predict this season. The Vikings are going to pull off a few upsets, and then they’re going to go through some growing pains in their ascent to CAL Large contender status. One player who deserves all the success that comes to the Triton program this season is Brendan O’Neil. He was Triton’s workhorse tailback last season in a year when the team didn’t have a lot of other options. So despite his toughness, he struggled to generate much offense with defenses stacking the line of scrimmage. It’s nice to see him second among all local running backs in yardage.
The pick: Hamilton-Wenham 20, Triton 12

Georgetown at Lynnfield, 11 a.m.
Here’s a nice CAL tuneup for a Georgetown team in its first season in the league. The tests will get harder, Royals. Enjoy this one.
The pick: Georgetown 28, Lynnfield 6

Pentucket at Greater Lowell, 1:30 p.m.
Pentucket has had two weeks to recover from an opening day loss to North Reading. I’ll say this: Pentucket quarterback Jordan Silva didn’t become a three-sport standout athlete by letting one disappointing performance affect his future performances. So his 1-for-8 passing performance in the North Reading loss will not be repeated against Greater Lowell.
The pick: Pentucket 31, Greater Lowell 10

The Governor’s Academy at Middlesex School, 2:30 p.m.
The Govs always seem to start out the season with about four wins before the schedule gets a little more difficult. In case you’re wondering, the Middlesex School is in Concord, and the current student population represents 22 states and 11 countries. The largest denomination of graduates from the last four years attend Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Tufts and Trinity.
The pick: Govs 20, Middlesex 0

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The season is young, I know and understand that. But, seriously where is the goal-scoring these days on the boys side of things.

Pentucket thus far has suffered a serious power outage having only scored two goals, and have not been able to find the team’s true play-maker Jake Buzzell enough in the final third of the field.

At Georgetown, despite not allowing a goal behind a suffocating defense and stellar goal keeping in Evan Weagle, the Royals have only put home four goals. And not one player on the team has more than one goal. It has not come back to haunt the team yet, who currently sit atop the CAL Small leaderboard at 2-0-2, but it is a problem that could lift its ugly head when it matters most later in the season.

One person that has been finding the back of the net like it has been going out of business is Triton’s Justin Paquette. The speedy junior forward has five goals to his name in four games, but none of his Viking teammates have joined in the fray, not one. Paquette remains the only Viking to score. Again it has not burned Triton thus far, who remain unbeaten at 1-0-3, but how long can you play with fire before you suffer the consequences.

On the girl’s side there have been a few surprises.

Amesbury’s Rebecca Crochiere with six goals and an assist, and Georgetown freshman Nicoline Holland six goals and four assists, both flew under the radar to start the year, but no more. Each has been critical to their team’s success and have had a stellar opening four games.

One name that needs no introduction is Newburyport’s Jillian Kinter. Needing only 12 goals to break the Clipper goal-scoring mark of Kristin Mahoney’s 76, Kinter stands knocking at the door needing only four more only four games into the year. The senior striker, who will play at Division 1 Colgate next year, has scored two hat tricks and will most likely look to break the record against Wilmington next Monday.

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With the defending state champion Newburyport girls’ soccer team off to a 3-0 start, it begs the question — How does this team match up with last year’s squad?

One can argue the Clippers’ core returned this year in the form of Jillian Kinter, Taylor Bresnahan and Laura Muise. One could also argue that the loss of Maggie Mahoney may play a factor in the state tournament, when last year’s top senior scored several pivotal goals.

Can the Clippers go undefeated this season? Tough to predict when you factor road games at Central Catholic (Sept. 30) and Bishop-Fenwick (Oct. 30).

How are the Clippers able to stay on top despite the loss of key seniors? And do you think they can repeat this season?

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Okay Clipper faithful. What’s going on with your beloved Newburyport football team?

If anyone went to the game yesterday it was clear to see that any offensive problems they may have had were resolved, but where was the defense?

Saugus didn’t give up possession once. Yeesh.

Newburyport had five touchdowns and only one two point conversion to show for their efforts? Double yeesh.

Let’s here your thoughts, worries, advice.

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