NEWBURYPORT — The Newburyport field hockey team knew that it was going to be a little different this time around.
A little more challenging.
Gone are the Division 3 days of consistently being a top-5 seed, and getting a mostly-overmatched opponent somewhere up in the 30s to begin playoff runs. The Clippers had won their first-round games by a combined score of 17-2 over the last three years, but were now entering uncharted waters.
This is Division 2: Bigger schools, better athletes.
But if Saturday morning was any indication, then the Clippers are still going to be in this tournament for the long haul.
Newburyport — seeded No. 8 — was definitely pushed harder in its playoff opener than in past years, but was still able to advance in the Division 2 state tournament with a 2-0 shutout of No. 25 Mansfield on James T. Stehlin Field. It’s a 12-person senior class that entered the postseason already with 66 career wins to their name, and now they can also say they’re a class that led the Clippers (15-3-1) to four straight Round of 16s in two divisions.
“We knew, moving up to Division 2, that it was going to be a different test for us,” said Newburyport coach Shannon Haley. “We’re facing teams that we’ve never faced before, and I think that we definitely came out a little slow. But we shook off the nerves, and as we just said to the girls in the locker room, we finished strong as a team. Our fourth quarter was the strongest quarter of the game I would say.”
While it was tougher, it was clear that Newburyport was prepared.
During the non-league portion of their schedule this year, the Clippers decided to play three Division 1 opponents in Central Catholic, Belmont and Andover. And as it turned out, Belmont (15-3-0) is the No. 6 seed in its tournament, while perennial-power Andover (No. 8, 15-1-2) is a five-time State Champion which has competed in the last four Div. 1 title games.
“Belmont, Andover and Central Catholic were our non-league games, and honestly, I think they really helped prepare us for the tournament,” said Haley. “They were great, great games, and the kids really stepped up.”
And a quality that Newburyport definitely showed on Saturday was toughness.
Mansfield (10-8-1) constantly threatened in what was an even matchup, but in the end, it was Cody Saboliauskas posting her ninth shutout of the year. Senior captains Olivia Kreuz and Rachel Casson once again led the defensive effort in front, with Reese Beauparlant also having a strong game alongside them.
Then late in the first quarter, two other captains connected.
Riley Lombard sent in a perfect backhand shot from midfield, which bounced over a defender’s stick and right to Olivia Wilson who finished to put the Clippers up 1-0. Then senior is closing in on an astounding 40 goals this year, and pressure from Kendall Martyn, Morgan Sweet, Lottie O’Brien, Ari DeRosa, Blaire Fox and Sadie Aiello helped the Clippers hold that lead into halftime.
Both Wilson and DeRosa suffered painful injuries to different fingers, with speculation that there might even be a break. But after missing the third to get treatment and tape it up, both returned to the game for the final quarter. Then with nine minutes left, O’Brien sent in a shot that was deflected into the air, and Meri Boelke displayed some excellent hand-eye coordination to bat it into the back of the cage to make it 2-0.
And that was plenty of support for an experienced Newburyport defense.
The Clippers will now host No. 9 Reading in the Division 2 Round of 16 on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The Rockets survived an upset scare in their first-round game also on Saturday, holding on to beat No. 24 Holliston, 3-2.
“We’re fortunate that our defensive line is experienced,” said Haley. “We have three seniors in the back and a sophomore. But we have 12 seniors in this group, and I think their leadership has showed itself in big ways. They’re great kids, and they don’t want this journey to end.”