RallyNorth.net

Newburyport advances to semifinals with victory over St. Mary's

Tuesday, November, 06 By John Shimer
Staff writer

When it comes to playing St. Mary's of Lynn, Newburyport can relate to the way the Yankees used to feel about playing the Red Sox:

"How can there be a rivalry if we keep beating them?" The No. 2 Clippers sent the No. 7 Spartans packing in the EMass. Division 3 North tournament for a second straight year (last year 2-1 in OT in the North final) yesterday, doing so in style with a 4-0 victory in the quarterfinal round. However, it was some choice words from star St. Mary's forward Amanda Webster that provided a little extra motivation for the reigning North sectional champion Clippers.

"We were made aware a couple days ago that Webster had made some comments to The Lynn Item | something to the effect of Newburyport did not belong on the same field as St. Mary's last year in the North final and that they would return the favor this season," Newburyport coach Robb Gonnam said. "To say something like that is just not smart. These days with the internet everything is easily available. Also, not that my team needed the extra motivation, but she (Webster) provided it for a team that has only lost one game all season."

Newburyport was far and away the better team all game, scoring three second-half goals to put away a game that was never really much of a challenge.

In the second half, Newburyport moved the ball like clockwork, imposing its will, and making it look like there was only one team on the field.

The second Clipper strike came only 10 minutes into the half as Taylor Bresnahan stole the ball at half, glided through five Spartan defenders on a scintillating run on the left side, before making a perfect pass to Jillian Kinter at the six yard box in front of goal. Kinter only had to tap the ball to Maggie Mahoney standing unmarked for an easy pass into the far corner netting.

St. Mary's got one of its few good scoring chances minutes later, but Molly Carey's shot went begging right, not even testing Lindsey Tomasz's goal. The Clippers made the Spartans pay on their next possession, driving the ball right back up the field. Mahoney received the ball in the right corner, played a pass to Micaela Hogan in the box, and within an instant the score was 3-0.

The last goal, emphatically shutting the door on the Spartans, was just a picture of beauty. Laura Muise stole the ball from the Spartans after a goal kick, made a pass to Mahoney, who then did a cheeky chip over her defender returning the ball to Muise. She then ripped through two more defenders before hitting an absolute cracker of a shot giving St. Mary's keeper Megan Brickley no chance.

"This was a great feeling to knock off one of our rivals, especially after last year, which was our hardest game," said Maggie Mahoney, who was a part of every goal | scoring one and assisting on three. "Our objective as a team is to mainly play up top, and when we connect on passes together working together as a team we feel like we can accomplish anything."

Except for maybe two shots, the defense was just as assertive as its offense, demonstrating that it will take nearly a perfect afternoon for another team to beat these Clippers when they are clicking.

"We pride ourselves on our composure, and then we try to get in the attack by making runs to the corners," said Avery Cullinan, who Gonnam said was the player of the game. "We keep backing each other up, which keeps numbers behind the ball, and if by chance someone beats us we have supreme confidence in Lindsey (Tomasz) our unbelievable keeper."

Also instrumental in the win was the play central midfielder Colleen Coviello, who drew the assignment of marking Webster, the all-time leading scorer at St. Mary's and a 30-plus point scorer this season.

"That was the single best individual performance by any one player on our team this season, shutting down Webster not with nasty play, but by simply shadowing her for the entire game," said Gonnam of Coviello. "She completely eliminated Webster from the game and still contributed to our efforts on offense. That eliminated St. Mary's ability to play their game and allowed us to continue to play our game."