GOLF
Marblehead 38.5, Gloucester 33.5: The Fishermen lost a tight one, getting outscored 6.5-1.5 on the decisive ninth hole. Trevor D’Annolfo and Adam Conigliari both played well at the top of the lineup against two talented Marblehead; Conigliari fired a 37 to halve his match while D’Annolfo won by two. Kam Francis also won, as did Will Linn, who carded a 38.
Gloucester (now 2-1) will look to get back to its winning ways Wednesday when they take on powerhouse St. John’s Prep at 3 p.m.
Manchester Essex 161, Hamilton-Wenham 149: The Hornets (1-1) topped their Cape Ann League foes behind strong performances at the top of the lineup from Gray West and Matt DeOreo, who each had 36 points. Jake Zschau was also strong with 25 points, while Jack McCavanagh put up a solid 23 to factor into the scoring as well.
GIRLS SOCCER
Manchester Essex 8, Rockport 0: The Hornets (1-0) scored five first half goals to run away from their Cape Ann foes in Tuesday’s season opener at Hyland Field. Melina Binieris and Harper Brooks each potted two goals in the win to lead the offense while Ava Dickerson was everywhere, scoring once and dishing out three assists to boot.
Sophie Hano, Kyra Wollach and Aurora Lenehan also found the back of the net, with the later scoring off an interception. Izzy Zagrobski and Annie Kent tallied one assist apiece.
The Hornets will look to keep the ball rolling when they return to the pitch on Thursday at Amesbury for a 4 p.m. start.
Bishop Fenwick 3, Gloucester 0: The Fishermen fought hard in their season opener against a seasoned Fenwick squad, but were ultimately unable to find the back of the net. Both Gloucester goalkeepers, senior Jessica Harvey and junior Abigail Desmond “pulled off a number of remarkable saves to keep the outcome close until late in the game,” said coach John Stevenson.
Senior Hope Castellucci was solid at the back in her role as sweeper, while freshman Betsy Telep was stellar at fullback. Junior Meadow Anderson “covered every blade of (artificial) grass in central midfield while helping out both the defense and offense,” added Stevnson.
Gloucester will look to find the win column on Thursday afternoon when they head to Salem for an NEC matchup.
BOYS SOCCER
Bishop Fenwick 4, Gloucester 2: The Fishermen went down 2-0 early before sophomore Shane Widtfeldt beat the goalie and scored on a broken play to slice the deficit in half. They scored another goal in the second half off a corner kick taken by Raul Alejandro that teammate Finn Costa re-directed for a header into the back of the net. Alejandro had another good bid on a cross from a teammate later in action that would’ve cut it to a 4-3 game, but Fenwick’s goalie made a great save and that was ultimately all she wrote.
Sophomore goalie Treyton Bushfield had a “very good first game as a varsity goalie,” according to coach Armando Marnoto. Gloucester will look to bounce back on Thursday at home against Salem (4:30 p.m. start).
Rockport 2, Manchester Essex 1: In what was a competitive game throughout, the Vikings (1-0) struck first on a goal from Tim Patrick that was served in from Mario DeBenedictis to take an early lead. After Manchester netted the equalizer on a shot from Chase Spencer (assist to Ronan McGilligan), Rockport found the back of the net once more midway through the second half to pull ahead for good. That game winner was sent home by senior forward Charlie Donato, who “capitalized on a misplayed ball by (Manchester) and was able to go in on a breakaway and tuck it away,” according to first year Rockport head coach Conor Douglass.
Rockport played terrific defense from box-to-wire, with Flynn Blanchard coming up with a clutch kick save in front of the net towards the end of the regulation.
“They brought everybody forward and almost tucked one away, but Flynn came out of nowhere and blocked the empty net,” added Douglass.
Goalkeeper Zakarya Bouafi also made some huge saves, with the entire back line in front of him coming up big as well. That defensive unit included Jack Trupiano — who hadn’t played any preseason games due to injury and came back without missing a beat — as well as DeBenedictis, MJ Silver and Rowan Bers.
Rockport will look to make it two straight to open the year when they host Ipswich under the lights Thursday night at 6 p.m. Manchester, meanwhile, competed hard all evening and will have their chance at revenge later this season.
“It was a battle; great energy on both sides,” said Hornets’ longtime head coach Robbie Bilsbury. “Rockport is a big, physical and fast team and they moved the ball really well. I think they’re going to have a solid season.”
The Hornets’ next contest comes on Thursday at home against Amesbury (4 p.m.).
FIELD HOCKEY
Rockport 7, Greater Lowell Tech 0: The Vikings got things started on a high note, cruising in their season opener on the road. Abby Horne, Lucy Mae Whelsky and Maggie Reed all scored their first career goals in the win, with the freshman Reed being one of five Rockport athletes making their varsity debuts. The others were Emma Englis, Nashaia Weaver, Maureen Robertson and Livia Altieri (all freshmen).
Also finding the back of the net was Cecelia Chadbourne, Dakota Graham and Summer Warren. Rockport is right back at it on Wednesday for a marquee matchup at Cape Ann power Manchester Essex at 4 p.m.