FIELD HOCKEY
Gloucester 5, Saugus 1: The Fishermen (2-0) cruised on the road, with Fiona Black and Mia Rodolosi both coming up with a pair of goals and one assist. Emme Sabia scored another on a feed from Julia Palk, while Samantha Tucker facilitated well with two helpers. Gloucester’s forward line was terrific all game, with Sabia contributing with some great hustle all evening. The Fishermen will look to keep things rolling against Marblehead next Tuesday for their home opener.
BOYS SOCCER
Rockport 2, Ipswich 0: The Vikings (1-1) picked up their first win of the season on the road, with goals coming from Mario DeBenedictis and Flynn Blanchard. DeBenedictis dribbled past one defender and let a shot rip from about 35 yards out into the right corner for his brilliant score, while Blanchard added insurance following a great one-on-one battle from Liam Dewan, who found Blanchard on the back post for a tap in. Defensively, keeper Will Ranta secured both his first career win and first career shut out. Rockport is now off until Tuesday when it hosts Hamilton-Wenham for a 4 p.m. match.
Manchester Essex 5, Amesbury 3: The Hornets (2-0) utilized their depth and potent offensive attack to roll past their CAL foes on the road, with two of Amesbury’s goals coming via penalty kicks. Manchester had a whopping 21 shots on net overall, with senior Ronan McGilligan and freshman Luke Brown each scoring twice in the win. One of Brown’s goals was a rocket of a boot to the top left corner while his other came via a header off a textbook corner kick into the box from sophomore Nick Mouchantaf. Hobbs Brooks also scored his second goal in as many games, while Mouchantaf also assisted on McGilligan’s second tally. Ellis Rodi, Chase Spencer and Jeremy Cheever all contributed in big spots in the win as well.
“Just great soccer from everybody today,” said Hornets’ coach Robbie Bilsbury. “I really feel like our depth is helping us keep the work rate high; we’re able to keep the pace of play up and really sprint to the ball which has been great for us. We also mixed in a bunch of shots from distance today which was really good to see.
“They were a good team, and their keeper was really good,” continued the coach. “Soo good game for the boys; they played really well.”
GIRLS SOCCER
Manchester Essex 5, Amesbury 1: Ava Dickerson and Sophie Hano both scored twice and dished out an assist apiece as the Hornets (1-0-1) stayed hot offensively to snare their first win of the young season. Charlotte Franco also found the back of the net, with other assists going to Kyra Wollach, Stella Manzini and Rhys Goodchild. Defensively, keeper Emerald Jakes made two saves.
GOLF
Gloucester 45, Saugus 27: The Fishermen stayed hot at Bass Rocks Golf Club on Thursday, improving to 3-0 on the year. They’re now off until Tuesday when they host Swampscott for a 3:45 p.m. start.
Hamilton-Wenham 144, Rockport 134: The Vikings (3-2) dropped a close one despite a team-best 28 points from captain Landon Parco and 26 more from freshman Jack Rose, who dropped in a birdie. Nolan Bace added 25 points and Charlie Chmiel had 21. Generals’ standout Reid Faldi led all golfers with 32 points.
Amesbury 157, Manchester Essex 116: Graham Lewis led the Hornets with 29 big points, but it wasn’t enough against a deep Amesbury squad. Damian Etna added 20 points while Tucker Gibbs had his best round of the year with 19. Now 2-2 on the season, Manchester will look to bounce back at home at Essex County Club on Tuesday against Ipswich.
VOLLEYBALL
Danvers 3, Gloucester 0: The Fishermen (0-2) dropped a 14-25, 17-25, 15-25 decision against a strong Falcons team on Thursday. Senior outside hitter Sara Fernandes had three kills and six digs in the loss, while senior captain and fellow outside hitter Jocelyn Maddalena added three kills. In addition, senior libero Maddison Goodhue had eight digs, while sophomore middie Isabella Soundis hit six kills, served up an ace and had four blocks.