GIRLS SOCCER
The idea was to give the hard-working starters a small rest before what figured to be a tense finish.
Swampscott girls soccer coach Fred Day got a lot more than he bargained for though.
Freshman Kelly Birchmore came off the bench to score the only goal in Swampscott's exciting 1-0 win over local rival Bishop Fenwick yesterday afternoon.
"We had a lot of pressure on them (in the first half) and their defense held. It was like knocking heads together," Day said of the back-and-forth battle. "Our starters had pretty much played the whole game and we went with our young (forward) line to give them a break. A freshman and two sophomores ended up breaking through."
Junior midfielder Erin Langan set up Birchmore's goal in the 26th minute of the second half, and senior goalie Tara Nimkar stopped nine shots for her fifth shutout of the season. Swampscott, which also got solid play from Casey Connolly, Skylar Sabbag, Sarah Burnham and Mallory McDonough, improved to 9-3.
Fenwick (6-3-1) received great defensive play from Maura Doyle, Brittany Dolan, Alicia Villett and Rebecca Graves.
Masconomet 2, North Reading 1
Jamie White knocked in the game-winner in the second half when she finished a corner kick off the foot of Cara Connors just 30 seconds after North Reading had tied the game at 1-1. Cait Clark gave Masco a 1-0 advantage on a penalty kick at the 19-minute mark of the first half.
Masco, which moved to 10-0, was backboned by a strong defensive effort.
Pingree 2, Wheeler 1
Jaimie Cappucci netted the game-winner 21 minutes into the second half to propel Pingree (7-1) to the victory. Meaghan Souza scored on a feed from Emma Shorr in the first half for the Highlanders. Sweeper Michaela Colbert stood out as well as midfielders Ari Twomey, Holly Noyes and Caitlin Doherty.
Hamilton-Wenham 2, Pentucket 1
It was 1-0 at halftime but the Generals (2-8) blasted two second half goals for the win. Courtney Morse was assisted by Bianca Vecchiarello and Kristin Brao scored the game-winner. Net minder Taylor Smaldone tallied 20 saves in the win.
Newburyport 2, Ipswich 0
Two first half goals for Newburyport were enough to put Ipswich (3-6-1) away with Lizzy Fanning and Jackie Hurlbert playing well.
BOYS SOCCER
Pentucket 1, Hamilton-Wenham 0
Sweeper Chris Hinchey and forward Eric Kirlis played excellent games for the Generals, but a Pentucket goal in the final 10 minutes was the difference. Hamilton-Wenham slipped to 6-4.
North Shore Tech 2, Greater Lawrence 0
Tim Gil and Derrick Frazier each scored goals and Tyler Barras contributed an assist as the Bulldogs improved to 3-10. Defenders Steven Votta and Nick Damato were also standouts for North Shore.
Masconomet 3, North Reading 0
Kevin McAllister, Brad McDonald, and Matt Werner (first varsity goal), were the goal scorers for the Chieftains (11-0, 8-0 in CAL). The assists were awarded to John Miller, Curtis Staub and MacDonald. Senior captain Brian Connery dominated the middle of the field while goaltender Jon Doucette recorded another shutout.
Salem 1, Peabody 1
With 12 seconds left to play Peabody (9-0-2) got a game tying goal when Jared Shields threw the ball in to Sean McGlone who used his head to find the back of the net. Steve Bifsha scored Salem's' (7-2-2) goal on an assist from Brion Likaj. The Witches goaltender Michael Collins had eight saves and the defense played outstanding. Salem takes on Malden Catholic on Monday at 6:30. Keith Walsh, Greg Doonan and A.J. Grube all played phenomenal on defense for Peabody.
GOLF
Salem 481âÑ2, Revere 231âÑ2
The Witches ran the table behind Wes Koen (61âÑ2-21âÑ2), Peter Cavallaro (71âÑ2-11âÑ2), Scott Sadoway (5-4), Pat Little (8-1), David Karam (6-3), Cameron Darmody (5-4), Shane Ballou (5-4) and Kyle Sullivan (51âÑ2-31âÑ2). Salem is now 11-6 overall and 11-4 in the Northeastern Conference.
Pingree wins a pair
The Highlanders swept (6-0) both Landmark and Bancroft to improve to 5-2. Sam Craig was the medalist with a 1-over par 37 at Myopia. Jack Whelan, Nevin Pathak, Sam Batchelder, Jon Ahern and Derek Mitkus also won matches for Pingree.
FIELD HOCKEY
Bishop Fenwick 2, Andover 2
The Crusaders trailed 2-0 at halftime, but stormed back for the tie. Lauren McHugh scored on a pass from Liz Sears 30 seconds into the second half, and Kara Gray finished a feed from Kara Charochak with eight minutes left. Jackie Felteau played well defensively, while Gray was a standout at midfield for the Crusaders (9-2-1).
Swampscott 5, Revere 2
The Big Blue (8-2-3) qualified for the state tournament with this victory behind strong play from Alex Wilson (two goals, one assist). Other goal scorers were Suzanne Murphy (senior captain defense, first varsity goal), Julie Licio and Shelby Belleza. Assists went to Courtney Fletcher, Kristin Santanello and Frankie DiGiammarino.
Ipswich 4, Lynnfield 4
In a back and forth-goal for goal match, senior captain Jess Mayo buried three goals for the Tigers (4-5-4) to spoil Lynnfield's state tournament hopes. Kelly Gallanar notched the other Ipswich goal.
Danvers 1, Marblehead 1
Marblehead's (3-5-5) Maggie McMullen scored on the helper from Gretchen Rowe, to tie it up in the second half, and that is the way it stayed. Casey Shan made a diving save from her defense position to keep it that way. Stephanie Robinson hit the back of the cage for Danvers with an assist from Taylor Cross.
Masconomet 3, Wilmington 1
Wilmington added a goal late, but this was all Chieftains (9-2-3) as Sienna Epps scored twice and Brittany Fraser once. The assists came from Sydney Godett (2) and Pam Herter (1).
VOLLEYBALL
Beverly 3, Nashoba Tech 2
The Panthers got a standout performance from Kirsten Goyette in a marathon win, 10-25, 25-23, 26-24, 16-25, 15-12. Adela Malicbegovic also played well at the net for Beverly (5-7).
Presentation of Mary 3, North Shore Tech 0
The Bulldogs fell 25-12, 25-14, 25-20 but fought the entire game. Junior Alyssa Nelson added eight service points to put North Shore Tech at 2-11.
Wilmington 3, Hamilton-Wenham 0
The Generals fell to Wilmington 17-25, 16-25, 17-25 to make them 6-8.
Peabody 3, Lynnfield 0
Danielle Pierce added seven kills while Jannele Rodriguez and Brianna Waldrop each had eight blocks for the Tanners (8-6). The scores went 25-18, 25-14, 25-20 due in part to the defense of Jillian Rubin.
Bishop Fenwick 3, Pope John 0
With Sam Bouchard running all over the place, the Crusaders (7-3) were able to win 25-22, 25-15, 27-25. Cara McLaughlin had a terrific game offensively.
Salem 3, Everett 1
Taylor Duncan had 12 and Kelly McCarthy had 11 service points for the Witches (5-8). The Scores were 25-13, 25-9, 12-25, 25-20 due to the defensive play of Abbey Buttner and Sarah Mullarkey.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Pingree 25, Wheeler 30
In a tight race all the way to the end, Holmi Minaya (18:38) was victorious on the 3.1-mile course at Pingree (3-4), In third place was Peter Kritkos (20:39), and Arthur Piantedosi (20:51) followed him up.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Pingree 25, Wheeler 30
Julie McDonough (23:57) was the winner of this meet at Pingree (3-3). Sara Vrago (24:25) and Mary-Kate Surette (25:55) came in behind her to secure the victory.
