Girls remain undefeated; boys get first win
The Marblehead High girls cross-country team remains undefeated at 3-0 after beating Beverly, 22-39 at home on Sept. 23.
Marblehead’s top tandem of Sarah Munroe and Eleanor Morgan battled it out with Beverly’s top runner Grace Corbett, but Corbett had just enough in the tank down the stretch to come in first.
“All three runners pushed each other to very fast finishing times,” said coach Will Herlihy. “Sarah ended up second, followed by Eleanor, who was right on her heels.”
Norah Walsh celebrated her birthday with a 55-second personal best on her home course to come in fourth.
After a Beverly runner finished fifth, the home team secured the next six places to secure the victory. “Nearly every one of our runners ran significant personal bests, which is a (good) sign for even more success in future meets,” said Herlihy.
The Marblehead boys also dominated Beverly, 19-42 to win their first meet of the season after two losses.
The boys were led by senior captain Filip Grubor’s first place finish. He was followed by junior captain Victor Pechhold, who came in third. Freshman T.J. Waters was right behind him in fourth. Sophomore Ivan Monin and senior captain Felix Regnault were credited with fifth and sixth place finishes.
“After two losses to start the season, it was great to see the boys come together and have their best performance so far,” said coach Brian Heenan.
Schedule heats up for girls soccer with three more games
In its three most recent games, the MHS girls soccer team (2-2-3) had a mixed bag of results. They first tied non-league North Andover, 1-1 on Sept. 19, before beating Salem on Sept. 23, 4-1, only to lose a heartbreaker to visiting Beverly, 1-0 the very next night at Piper.
Against the Scarlet Knights, these Magicians played with “intensity,” according to coach Lisa Wales. “We won the 50 / 50 balls, and made the right runs at the right time,” she said. “This was our best game so far this season. We only had one small lapse when North Andover tied it up with 16 minutes left in the game.”
The coach added that senior Hailey Gilmore continued to be “a steadying presence in net.” She came up with five saves against North Andover to help preserve the tie.
Junior Stella Smith was a standout at midfield, and sophomore Nina Badzak also turned in a fine game, said the coach.
Junior Phoebe Fontela-Tuttle accounted for the Marblehead goal, her second of the season. It was a solo effort. “Phoebe is working hard, and after being injured last season it’s terrific to see her return to form,” said Wales. “Overall, I’m really proud of the entire team’s effort. I would have naturally liked to get the win, but I know the effort, hustle and smart decision-making on the (pitch) were still there. We continue to get better in each game.”
The Marblehead girls started slowly versus Salem, but when senior captain Callie Gilmore took a pass from Fontela-Tuttle to account for a goal, the rest of the team started to rev it up. Gilmore also scored once more in this game.
“Fontela-Tuttle was involved in all four goals,” said Wales. “She scored once to go along with collecting three assists.”
Sophomore Izzie Gonzalez scored her first career varsity goal on a cross from Fontela-Tuttle. Senior captain Camryn O’Brien also had an assist on that marker.
“This was a good team win for us, with multiple players giving us some good minutes,” said Wales. “In particular, the likes of sophomore Maddie Terry, and juniors Laurel Kearney, Sophia Patterson, Grace Turner and Shae Callahan also contributed to the effort.”
The Beverly game was “hard-fought,” Wales said. “The Panthers have an excellent team,” she continued. “But senior captain Ainsley McDonald was spectacular on defense throughout the game to slow them down with her ability to tackle and win 50 / 50 balls.”
Sophomore Anna Cannuscio, who made a goal-saving clear early on in the game, and seniors Camryn O’Brien and Carys Moran were also singled out by the coach for their defensive prowess.
Wales also mentioned that Callie Gilmore always raises the level of her play against formidable competition, and it was no exception against Beverly.
Hailey Gilmore did her job once again in net to keep the game close with six clutch saves.
Despite outplaying two top D-1 teams, boys soccer falls short
The MHS boys soccer team (3-2) dropped a pair of 1-0 road games to non-league North Andover on Sept. 19 and Beverly six days later to fall from the unbeaten ranks.
“We turned in a masterpiece of a game against North Andover,” said coach Elmer Magana. “Each and every player on the team did their part in order to compete (equally) with one of the top Division 1 Merrimack Valley Conference teams. Although we outplayed the Scarlet Knights, we couldn’t find the back of the net. But in the last five minutes, they did with an outside shot. We played our best soccer to date, but just couldn’t pull off the win.”
It was pretty much more of the same against the Panthers.
“They say history repeats itself, and for us it did,” said Magana. “Almost a week after playing North Andover, we found ourselves in the same situation at Beverly. We once again outplayed the competition, only to lose it in the last 10 minutes.”
The Marblehead boys simply battled both Division 1 schools in games that could have gone either way. But as Magana lamented, “Mr. Goal, the guest of honor, failed to show up for us on both occasions.”
Volleyball bounces back against Beverly
After dropping its first match of the year to host Newburyport, 3-0 on Sept. 23, the MHS volleyball team (4-1) bounced right back to beat Beverly by the exact same score two days later at home.
Lila Moniz led these Magicians in kills with 10 to help secure the win. Sydney Faris and Piper Browning were the leaders from the service line with eight and five aces, respectively. Sydney Da Silva continued to dominate as the team’s setter with 23 more assists against the Panthers.
Field hockey splits the week
The MHS field hockey team (3-3-1) started last week by getting doubled up by non-league host Bishop Fenwick, 4-2 on Sept. 22. But they quickly regrouped to shutout Saugus at home, 2-0 two days later.
Both Marblehead goals were scored in the third quarter. Julia Mann netted the first one, before Ella O’Brien added that all-important insurance tally assisted by Layla Dulac.
“Our offense controlled most of the (action) with support from our midfielders,” said coach Alison Carey. “Going into this game, we set a goal to increase our shots on net, and we did just that.”
Forwards Zoe Dwyer, Lily Desgrosseilliers, Dulac and O’Brien, along with midfielders Shea Bickell, Keliane Salem, Carolyn Black, Molly Chamberlin and Mann helped keep the ball in the offensive zone, and they didn’t hold back on their scoring opportunities.
“The Sachems’ defense turned in a great effort,” said Carey, “but we kept our focus, and stayed together as a team. This is a great group, and I really enjoy coaching them.”
