In this era of the MIAA statewide tournaments, every goal matters.
You look at the last time that the Newburyport boys were on the pitch, and at face value you’d see a rather unassuming 2-2 draw against rival Amesbury. But with the way the algorithm works now, it was anything but a harmless result. The Clippers were pushing towards a top-10 ranking in Division 2 prior to the game, but saw themselves plummet to No. 19 following that final against a Redhawks team that won’t make the playoffs in Division 4.
And after a draw!
Which is a pretty major development. Because if that ranking were to hold — or not go above 16 — between now and when the official playoff brackets get released next Thursday (11/5), then Newburyport would have to travel for its first round game. Crazy when just a few days ago, it looked like the Clippers could potentially climb inside of the top-8 to ensure two home playoff games.
But their next time out on the pitch, they took no prisoners.
On Tuesday afternoon, Newburyport was in complete command from start to finish during a 5-0 shutout of visiting Georgetown. It was the 11th clean sheet of the year for junior goalie Tyler Lisauskas and a defense of Noah Mercer, Max Coffin and Josh Sucheki, as the Clippers (12-0-3) remain unbeaten in officially clinching the CAL Kinney title.
Then offensively, it was familiar names like Danny Lopez, Shea Cook, Quentin Miller, Timmy DeGraves, Wesley Young, Oliver Fagan and Mike Savastra leading the charge. Newburyport will host Triton on Thursday, before ending its regular season with a pair of non-league road tests at Masconomet on Friday and Central Catholic on Monday.
PENTUCKET: Good fight, but Panthers swept by Ipswich
You’d have to go back to the first game of the season to find the last time that the Pentucket boys let an opponent score two or more goals.
That’s how good their defense has been.
But on Tuesday afternoon, visiting Ipswich was able to come into West Newbury and break that nearly two-month streak with a 2-1 victory over Pentucket. Senior captain Senan Lucey scored the lone goal for the home team, while fellow senior captain Sam Escobar had the assist on it.
But despite this one particular result, it’s still been a terrific year for a back line of Will Cacciapuoti, Christian Perry, Rowan Weinberg, Brendan O’Connor and Sam Tangorra — along with goalie Cam Sands. The Panthers (10-3-3) are still only allowing 0.79 goals per game with eight shutouts this year, and will enter Thursday’s game at Lynnfield ranked No. 26 in Division 3.
Meanwhile, the Pentucket girls are going to battle to the finish.
The Panthers couldn’t get back into the win column on Tuesday following a 4-0 loss to Ipswich, and most likely won’t be making the Division 3 playoffs. But with only four seniors on the roster, this season was mainly about setting the foundation for the future. The Panthers (2-11-3) have developed a bunch of young talent this fall, with athletes like Kate Sweeney, Tenning Seymour, Sophia Marquis, Caroline Buschur and Maisie Costello — among many others — all slated to return next year.
But there’s still two more opportunities left for competition.
And the Panthers will try to get those four seniors — Frankie Peltier, Bella Martins, Caroline Tedeschi and Lexi Thompson — a win their next time out on Thursday against Lynnfield.
AMESBURY: Tall task against talented Lynnfield
The Amesbury girls still have two games left to try and send their four seniors off with a victory.
But a 14-win, top-12-ranked Lynnfield squad proved too talented on Tuesday afternoon, and walked out of Landry Memorial Stadium with a 6-0 triumph. However, it’s still been a positive campaign for the Redhawks (2-13-1), who have more than doubled their amount of wins this season than last year.
For seniors Ava Tuneburg, Lauren Talbot, Lexi Desmond, Ellison Talbot and the rest of the team, they’ll next try to take down Ipswich on Thursday. Then on Monday, they’ll end the season with a road trip over to Salem.
Then in the boys’ game between these two schools, Lynnfield was able to earn the 5-1 win over Amesbury.
But it’s a similar story for the Redhawks (1-10-5), who are a young team this year with only four seniors in Julian Sherwood, Matt Way, Brooks Linsey and Ethan Tenney. Which means that key names like Ben Pifalo, Teddy Hildt, Mason Kobel, Declan Garvey, Derrick Turcios, Anthony Peixoto and Muhammadu Jalloh — among others — should all be back next season.
And those underclassmen will try to get their seniors a win at Ipswich on Thursday.