For a final tune-up for the upcoming Division 3 state tournament, the defending champion Newburyport High girls lacrosse team couldn’t have asked for a better challenge.
On Thursday, the Clippers welcomed in N.H. powerhouse Bishop Guertin, which had won four straight NHIAA championships in a row before Bedford snapped the streak last year. Still, the Cardinals feature a handful of Division 1 collegiate recruits, and will be a championship contender once again when their own state tournament begins this week.
Talk about iron sharpening iron.
Newburyport, however, was able to wrap up its regular season on high note, thanks in part to a career milestone being hit.
Senior Furman commit Lilly Pons finished the day with 3 goals and 3 assists, in the process eclipsing the 200-goal mark for her career, while also leading Newburyport to a nailbitting win over Bishop Guertin, 11-10. The Clippers (16-2) led 6-5 at halftime and 9-8 heading into the fourth quarter, so the whole time it was really anyone’s game.
Reese Bromby had a team-high four goals along with an assist, and Olivia McDonald scored three times and had a helper. Rita Cahalane was behind the final goal for the Clippers, and freshman Amelia Price had an assist.
Kyla was the Story for Triton softball
The Triton softball team slugged its way to a 14-9 win over Wilmington on Friday, and Kyla Story was the main reason why. The senior crushed a pair of home runs well over the fence, and went 3-for-4 on the day with six RBI.
Mallory Johnson added a 4-for-5 day with a pair of RBI for the Vikings (15-4), and Maddie January continued her torrid hitting pace with a 3-for-4 performance. Finally, senior catcher Skylar Colburn lined two doubles and went 2-for-4 with four RBI.
Kreuz, Clippers win big on Senior Night
From start to finish, Friday night was a celebration for the Newburyport boys lacrosse team.
The Clippers led wire-to-wire in a 19-4 victory over Amesbury, and got all of the seniors into the game on their Senior Night. One of those seniors, Assumption commit Owen Kreuz, would lead the team in scoring with four goals and an assist, while another senior in Duncan Coir was right behind with a pair of goals and assists each.
The trio of Eli Sirota, Will Portalla and Davis Pons scored twice for Newburyport (11-5), and Colin Fuller, Beckett Sava, Carter Scott, Luke MacIsaac, Henry Waddell, Kian Markos and Tyler Jay all had a goal. The Clippers were at No. 4 in the latest Division 3 rankings sent out before Friday’s game, and should be at home until the tournament moves to nuetral sites for the semifinals.
For Amesbury, Ollie Peters scored twice, Grady Hagan and Braden Delisle had goals and both Chase Linsey (2) and Ben Richard had assists.
Grant (10 Ks), Georgetown head into playoffs on high note
The Georgetown softball team will enter the Division 5 state tournament on a high note after wrapping up its regular season with a 10-3 victory over Manchester-Essex on Friday. Sophomore pitcher Maddie Grant struck out 10 in the circle for the Royals (11-6), while also going 1-for-4 at the plate with a run scored.
Offensively, though, Gillien Figueroa led the way going 2-for-4 with four RBI. Mackenzie Riley was also 2-for-4 with three RBI, and Ava Fair went a perfect 3-for-3 while driving in a run.
Vikings clipped by Ipswich
The Triton boys lacrosse team led 9-7 heading into the fourth quarter on Friday, but couldn’t hold on in an eventual 11-10 loss to Ipswich. Seamus Cahill had 4 goals with 2 assists for the Vikings, and sophomore Michael Taylor netted a hat-trick.
Elsewhere, Alex Pasquini scored twice, and Cam McDonald was behind the final goal while also having two assists along with Paxton Laky. The Vikings (4-11) were clinging at No. 31 in Division 4 before Friday’s loss, and will be sweating it out until the pairings get released on Wednesday.