The “rivalry,” if there really is one, now officially belongs to Newburyport.
… For now.
But over the past five years, a new annual tradition has provided the area with some high-level lacrosse during April vacation. You go back to 2022, and that’s when the Newburyport boys lacrosse program started to challenge itself against the best from its “Neighbors to the North” in Maine powerhouse Cape Elizabeth. We all know of the successful statewide teams that the Clippers have fielded this decade, while on the other hand the Capers are 23-time champions of The Pine Tree State.
And over the opening four years of the now-annual game, it was an even split.
But that all changed on Monday afternoon.
Newburyport welcomed in Cape Elizabeth to James T. Stehlin Field, and took control early before dominating to the 12-4 victory. The Clippers have now won two straight in the rivalry following last year’s triumph up in Maine, and lead the series 3-2.
It was only a one-goal game after the first quarter, but Newburyport (7-2) found an extra gear and pulled away in the second to take an 8-3 lead into halftime. The run was once again fueled by the defense of the Clippers, led by seniors Jack Miller and Kian Markos, juniors Hayden Scott and Owen Mongeau, sophomore Tyler Bergeron and freshman Wes Young.
Then offensively, seniors Carter Scott (2a) and Davis Pons each scored four goals for the Clippers, while junior Luke MacIsaac had a hat-trick to go along with one assist. Conor Kreuz had the final tally for the winners, and Ryder Bonner had a helper.
“It was our most complete effort of the season,” said Newburyport coach Josh Wedge.
And it was also the team’s sixth straight win.
That’s because late last week, Newburyport cruised to a 17-3 road win at rival Triton. As you would expect it was a pretty balanced scoring game overall, with MacIsaac (4g, 3a), Scott (3g, 2a) and Pons (3g, 1a) each having big games. Both Bonner and Nolan Donovan scored twice, Cole Dickinson (1a), Kreuz (1a) and Miller had the final goals, and goalie Ben Buchmayr made eight saves. Then not to be overlooked, the trio of Matt Page, Sam Hargreaves and Theo Refour went a combined 13-of-24 in the faceoff circle.
Up next, Newburyport will get a chance at redemption when it welcomes in rival Pentucket on Monday. The Panthers are the lone blemish on the Clippers’ record as of now.
Good test for Newburyport girls lacrosse
These are the types of non-league games that elite teams schedule.
So the Newburyport girls will get better from this.
But on Monday morning, the Clippers made the trip down to Lexington and battled hard before falling by a 10-7 final. The Minutemen won an impressive 20 games up in Division 1 a year ago, and following this latest victory over the Clippers, they now move to 7-1 this spring.
Leading the way for the visitors was Blaire Fox with five goals, while Amelia Price and Amanda Linteris each found the back of the net as well. Senior goalie Cody Saboliausas made double-digit saves for Newburyport (5-2), which is now off for the rest of April vacation before traveling over to Pentucket on Monday.