It doesn’t matter that this is its first year up in Division 2, Newburyport can compete with anybody.
And the reason why is pretty simple: The Clippers just don’t let anyone score.
With the release of the official MIAA playoff soccer brackets on Saturday afternoon, Newburyport found itself earning the No. 9 seed in the Division 2 tournament. Now, you figure any team inside of the top-10 has at least a solid chance of making a deep run. But the reason why the Clippers (14-1-3) are truly championship-calibur, is a defense of Skylar Ikemoto, Sasha Berlind, Sienna LeClair, Emily Homer, Elise Kennedy, Delaney Duncan and Cameron Todd have held opponents to just five goals all year.
Yup: 5.
Senior goalie Chloe Raby has posted 14 shutouts, and Newburyport can really score it, too, between strikers Aoife Tykulsky, Sevilla Coffin, Phoebe Whitcomb, Grace Parsons and Audrey Roebuck. A date and time has not yet been set, but the Clippers will host either No. 41 Chelsea or No. 24 Danvers in the first round — a potential chance for revenge, as the Falcons knocked the Clippers out of last year’s tournament in the Round of 16.
Moving on, Pentucket has held on to its spot in the Division 3 playoffs.
A great and worthy accomplishment for seniors Sofia Bellacqua, Kaitlin Borci, Regan Breen, Dani Costello, Allie Gagnon, Gwen Goodwin, Paige Rosario and Grace Sudbay, ending their careers making it back to the state tournament after missing out a year ago. In fact, the No. 31 Panthers (6-9-2) have already tripled their win total from last year, and will have a chance to improve on that — and extend their season — on Monday night when they host No. 34 Salem in the preliminary round at 6:30 p.m.
Finally, Georgetown will still be a player despite moving up to Division 4.
This is a senior class of Jenna Johnson, Katie Davies, Maddie Cirone, Liana Nakatsugawa, Alyssa Ziolkowski, Keelin O’Malley, Jamisen Tanzilli, Cora Robinson, Lilah Arabian-Randall and Emma Sadler that have already won 43 games during their careers. Now, they’ll get a chance to keep adding to that total when their No. 15 Royals (7-6-5) host a first round game on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
They’ll play either No. 18 Advanced Math & Science or No. 47 Westfield Tech.
Here are the complete brackets for each division including a local team.
Division 2
Seeding: 1. Duxbury (13-2-3); 2. Longmeadow (13-2-4); 3. Mansfield (13-2-2); 4. Masconomet (14-3-1); 5. Hingham (13-4-2); 6. Milton (5-6-7); 7. Oliver Ames (9-5-2); 8. East Longmeadow (8-4-4); 9. NEWBURYPORT (14-1-3); 10. Marblehead (12-1-5); 11. King Philip (7-6-5); 12. Notre Dame of Hingham (10-4-3); 13. Westwood (12-4-2); 14. Northampton (11-4-3); 15. Canton (9-6-3); 16. Minnechaug (6-7-5); 17. Melrose (11-5-2); 18. North Quincy (13-4-3); 19. Somerset Berkley (15-2-1); 20. Whitman-Hanson (8-8-2); 21. Sharon (6-5-5);
22. Burlington (10-6-2); 23. Walpole (4-8-6); 24. Danvers (10-6-2); 25. Grafton (7-7-4); 26. Nashoba Regional (5-10-3); 27. Marshfield (8-8-3); 28. Holliston (8-9-1); 29. West Springfield (8-8-2); 30. Milford (8-10-0); 31. Silver Lake (4-11-3); 32. Bedford (8-5-4); 33. Shepherd Hill (9-3-6); 34. Bishop Stang (10-7-1); 35. Billerica (5-5-6); 36. Somerville (13-5-0); 37. Leominster (8-4-5); 38. Middleborough (10-6-2); 39. Bristol-Plymouth (14-3-1); 40. Malden (11-5-2); 41. Chelsea (9-6-3); 42. Putnam Vo-Tech (7-6-0)
Local First Round Games
TBD
No. 41 Chelsea at No. 24 Danvers winner at No. 9 Newburyport, TBD
Division 3
Seeding: 1. Medfield (17-1-0); 2. Nipmuc Regional (17-0-1); 3. Norwell (14-2-2); 4. Pope Francis (8-2-8); 5. Hanover (13-3-2); 6. Lynnfield (13-2-3); 7. Cardinal Spellman (12-3-3); 8. Belchertown (8-7-4); 9. North Reading (12-2-4); 10. Dover-Sherborn (8-8-2); 11. Auburn (10-7-1); 12. Wilmington (11-3-4); 13. Apponequet (16-1-1); 14. Medway (10-7-1); 15. Ludlow (10-4-4); 16. Bishop Fenwick (11-5-2); 17. St. Mary’s (9-6-2); 18. Foxborough (7-8-3); 19. Norton (7-10-1); 20. Dedham (9-6-3); 21. Scituate (9-7-2);
22. Weston (4-6-8); 23. North Middlesex (13-2-3); 24. Martha’s Vineyard (13-4-1); 25. Tewksbury (8-5-5); 26. Swampscott (8-5-5); 27. Old Rochester (14-5-1); 28. East Bridgewater (11-8-1); 29. Dracut (12-5-1); 30. Dighton-Rehoboth (8-6-1); 31. PENTUCKET (6-9-2); 32. Ursuline Academy (9-6-3); 33. Boston Latin Academy (10-4-3); 34. Salem (9-7-2); 35. Fitchburg (13-2-3); 36. Notre Dame of Worcester (10-5-3); 37. Greater Lowell (9-5-3); 38. Pittsfield (8-7-3); 39. Quabbin Regional (11-5-1); 40. Chicopee (10-4-4); 41. Montachusett RVT (12-5-0); 42. East Boston (8-6-1)
Local Preliminary Round Games
Monday, Nov. 3rd
No. 34 Salem at No. 31 Pentucket, 6 p.m.
Division 4
Seeding: 1. Sutton (14-4-0); 2. Douglas (14-3-1); 3. South Hadley (11-7-1); 4. Hamilton-Wenham (13-0-5); 5. Cohasset (14-3-0); 6. Littleton (12-4-1); 7. Hampshire (9-2-7); 8. Lunenburg (13-2-3); 9. Northbridge (14-2-2); 10. Southwick (12-3-3); 11. Tahanto (8-8-2); 12. Sandwich (11-5-3); 13. Mount Greylock (15-2-1); 14. Leicester (13-3-2); 15. GEORGETOWN (7-6-5); 16. Rockland (8-7-3); 17. Manchester Essex (7-7-4); 18. Advanced Math & Science (14-4-0); 19. Uxbridge (11-5-2); 20. Tyngsborough (6-8-4); 21. Millis (6-11-1);
22. Frontier (7-7-4); 23. Wahconah (11-5-2); 24. Bromfield School (5-6-7); 25. Seekonk (11-5-1); 26. West Bridgewater (8-10-0); 27. Ipswich (5-10-3); 28. Mystic Valley (12-3-1); 29. Clinton (10-5-3); 30. Maynard (4-11-3); 31. Quaboag (10-6-2); 32. Blue Hills (12-3-3); 33. Sturgis Charter West (11-5-0); 34. Blackstone-Millville (12-5-1); 35. Tri-County RVT (12-3-3); 36. Easthampton (9-7-2); 37. Gardner (6-6-4); 38. St. Bernard’s (12-3-1); 39. O’Bryant (10-6-2); 40. Westport (10-7-1); 41. Greater Lawrence (13-2-0); 42. Sturgis Charter East (10-8-0)
Local First Round Games
Thursday, Nov. 6th
No. 18 Advanced Math & Science Charter at No. 47 Westfield Tech winner at No. 15 Georgetown, 6:30 p.m.