Girls Soccer
Taunton, 0 @ Attleboro, 1 – Final – Isabella Salviati scored the game’s lone goal in the first half off a Kara Thornton assist. Attleboro coach Steve Santos said that the seniors “played great” for the Bombardiers on senior night.
Foxboro @ North Attleboro – Postponed to Friday, 10/27 at 3:45
Oliver Ames @ Mansfield – Postponed to Saturday, 10/28 at 1:00.
Sharon @ Norwood – Postponed to Monday, 10/30 at 3:45.
Field Hockey
Stoughton, 0 @ Canton, 6 – Final – The Bulldogs clinched the Davenport division title outright behind a hat trick from senior Andrea McNeil.
Sharon, 0 @ Bellingham, 5 – Final
Volleyball
Attleboro, 3 vs. Norton, 1 – Final
Milford, 2 vs. Hopedale, 3 – Final
King Philip, 1 @ Canton, 2 – Final – Canton junior Griffin Roach scored a pair of goals to lead the Bulldogs to a big win over visiting King Philip. Roach scored the opening goal in the 17th minute after a shot from Avery Minkin was deflected. In the second half, Roach doubled the lead when his shot from just inside the area was deflected into the top corner. KP scored in the 73rd minute when sophomore Brian McCarthy’s cross was headed home at the far post by senior Jack Bush.
Franklin, 1 @ Foxboro, 2 – Final – Foxboro’s Ryan Kelley had a hand in both of the Warriors goals, recording a goal and an assist in the win. Kelley scored the opener inside the first five minutes, smashing home a rebound on a shot from Cam Cass. Early in the second half, Kelley played Nic Beigel in, who finished his chance to make it 2-0. Franklin responded within five minutes to cut the deficit in half but Foxboro held on for two points.
Mansfield, 2 @ Stoughton, 0 – Final – Mansfield netted a pair of second half goals and senior Nick Ferraz made six saves to record his second shutout of the season. Cullin Anastasia put the visitors on the board midway through the second half by converting a penalty kick. Sam Hyland doubled the Hornets’ lead five minutes later when he finished off a corner kick from Luke Savoie.
Taunton, 0 @ Milford, 1 – Final – The Scarlet Hawks netted the only goal of the game midway through the first half to earn their first win of the season. Junior Tiago Filadelfo nodded home a free kick service from sophomore Jordan Borges for his first career goal. Like Capobianco recorded the clean sheet in net for the Hawks. Milford head coach Brian Edwards said Leo Coelho had a strong game for the Hawks in midfield.
Oliver Ames, 1 @ North Attleboro, 1 – Final – North Attleboro got off to a great start, opening the scoring inside the first two minutes but Oliver Ames battled back to level the match before halftime, and that’s how it would finish. North Attleboro sophomore Dylan Corrigan scored his first career goal, finishing a pass from senior Josh Rodriguez. Head coach Geoff Burgess credited Joe Hilf with starting the counter attack that led to the goal. OA scored in the 33rd minute when senior Mason Galbato opened his 2017 account, finishing off a long throw with Nathaniel Cardoza assisting. OAHS head coach John Barata noted both Cam Vella and Chris Lawrence played great in the back for the Tigers.
Girls Soccer
Sharon, 1 @ Attleboro, 3 – Final – The Bombardiers made it two wins in a row with what head coach Steve Santos called, “a great team win.” Freshmen Briley Harnois and Isabella Salviati scored for Attleboro to open a 2-0 lead at halftime. Sharon got one back from Ally Filipkowski before Hannah Meier sealed the points with Attleboro’s third. Santos said that Kara Thornton did a great job marking Filipkowski and praised the defensive effort of his captains Jordyn Forte, Morgan Laplume, and Julia Hayes.
Canton, 0 @ King Philip, 3 – Final – Chloe Layne had a goal and an assist for the Warriors, who continue the unbeaten start to the season. Ally Stanton opened the scoring in the ninth minute and the score stayed 1-0 until eight minutes after the break when Avery Snead finished a Layne pass to double the lead. Ten minutes later, Layne got her goal from a Jenna Hitchen cross to wrap up the scoring. Emma Durant made two saves for KP and Warriors coach Gary Pichel said that the back line of Emma Corcoran, Olivia Berry, Lauren Anderson, and Kyliegh Remmis “were unbeatable today.”
Foxboro, 0 @ Franklin, 1 – Final – In an even game, in which both teams had good scoring opportunities, the Panthers earned all two points thanks to a goal in the final minute by Calen Frongillo, assisted by Anna Balkus. A minute before the Franklin goal, the Warriors had a scoring chance of their own but were denied by a diving Cat Robbins save.
Stoughton, 0 @ Mansfield, 6 – Final – Cassidy McMahon continued her strong start to the season with two goals and two assists to lead the Hornets to their third win of the season. Stephanie Kemp added a brace for Mansfield, which also got goals from Allison and Melissa Reef.
Milford, 2 @ Taunton, 1 – Final – Milford picked up its first win of the season behind goals from Juliana France (assisted by Maddy Boyle) and Hannah Martin (assisted by Kristina Chiarelli). Samantha Tichelaar scored the lone goal for the Tigers and Grace Pimenta made 10 saves.
Field Hockey
Franklin, 1 @ Oliver Ames, 2 – Final – Oliver Ames took a 2-1 lead before the halftime break and that was enough, with goalie Tigers’ Caitlin Grant recording eight saves in the win. Meaghan Rockey and Sarah Stevens each found the back of the net, both on assists from Cristina Boudreau. Franklin junior Ashley Reutlinger’s first goal of the season, on an assist from Cassi Ronan, tied the game in the first half before OA retook the lead. OA head coach Abby Tepper said Grant “played amazing in net” and also praised the defensive play of Sarah Tetrault.
Volleyball
Attleboro, 1 @ Sharon, 3 – Final
King Philip, 3 @ Canton, 0 – Final – King Philip earned a sweep on the road, beating Canton 25-18, 25-13, 25-13. Reigning Hockomock League MVP Sydney Phillips led the Warriors’ charge with 18 kills while Michaela Palumbo added nine kills and Grace Ely chipped in with seven kills. Elise Pereira (seven digs) and Julianne Rando (six digs) paced KP’s defense. For Canton, Sophia Connor had a strong all-around game, hitting .429 with 10 digs and 2 aces. Taylor Harris added four aces, two kills and two blocks for the Bulldogs.
Franklin, 3 @ Foxboro, 0 – Final – Franklin picked up its second straight sweep, this time on the road at Foxboro. Riley Marino had 11 serve receptions, seven digs and three aces for the Panthers while FHS head coach Kate Horsmann said Lauren Lockhart had another smart hitting match, finishing with eight kills. Maggie Doyle added four kills, two blocks and an ace in the win.
Mansfield, 0 @ Stoughton, 3 – Final – Stoughton defended its home court with a big win over Mansfield, recording a 25-3, 25-9, 28-26 sweep of the Hornets. Junior Molly Turner had a great all around game for the Knights with 13 assists, four blocks and 25 service points. Senior Val Whalen led the Stoughton offense with 15 kills. “We started strong and kept up a great defensive game to hold off the Hornets in the third set,” said SHS head coach Erica Batchelder.
Taunton, 3 @ Milford, 0 – Final – Taunton notched its first win of the season, holding off the Hawks in the third set to earn a 25-18, 25-19, 28-26 sweep. Sam Reaume led Taunton with 10 digs, seven kills, two blocks and an ace while Kayli Fagan finished with 20 assists, three kills, two assists and a block. THS head coach Toby Chaperon said Rawan Hamie and Sam Martin provided a spark up front and at the service line, and praised the defensive play of McKenzie Lucie, Jaime Brown and Elaine Bodemer.
Oliver Ames, 0 @ North Attleboro, 3 – Final – North Attleboro earned its third win of the season, and first sweep, fending off Oliver Ames with a 25-15, 25-22, 26-24 win. Amelia Murphy had a strong game for the Rocketeers with nine kills and four aces while Kezie De La Cru added eight kills and two aces. OA sophomore Jordyn Vella had four kills, two blocks and three aces for the Tigers.
Golf
Taunton, 191 @ Franklin, 164 – Final
Foxboro, 225 @ Sharon, 227 – Final
Canton, 152 @ Stoughton, 185 – Final – Canton’s Joey Vaughan and Danny Powers shared match medalist honors, each carding a low-round of 37 to lead the Bulldogs to their second win in as many days. Jack Goyetch and Chris Lavoie each chipped in with rounds of 39. Stoughton’s Brendan Campbell had a team-low round of 42.
King Philip, 161 @ North Attleboro, 156 – Final – Dylan Kane and Marcus Costa each carded rounds under 40 to lad the Rocketeers to a close win over KP. Kane shot a 36 while Costa carded a round of 38 in the win.
Mansfield and Oliver Ames shared the Kelley-Rex division title last season and both expect to be in the mix again this fall. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
2016 Record: 2-15-1 2016 Finish: Missed playoffs Coach: Steve Santos
Goal scoring has been the biggest issue for the Bombardiers in the past few seasons, including a league-low eight in 2016, but head coach Steve Santos is confident that this year’s squad has the speed and experience to take advantage of counter attacks and he expects Attleboro to create a lot more scoring chances this fall.
While goal scoring is a focus of the preseason work, it is at the back that Attleboro boasts the most experience with the entire back line returning. Senior Jordyn Forte is the leader at the back, using her “good soccer IQ,” according to Santos, to keep things calm and making the right plays. She is joined in the defense by fellow seniors Morgan Laplume and Graycen Cassidy. In goal, Madison Brown returns to give Attleboro a solid presence to control the penalty box.
Turning that defense into attack will be the responsibility of senior midfielder Julia Hayes, who will be a key player in the center of the pitch. Junior Ashley Lauzier and senior Kara Thornton will be hoping to take advantage of the opportunities that are created. Santos is also excited about the youth coming into the program with three freshman on the varsity roster to start, including Riley Harnois, who will help out in the attack.
“We have a little more speed this year,” said Santos, “and we’ve been generating a little more in the transition. This year I can rest [the starters], bring people off the bench and the pace doesn’t drop off. They’re great kids, they work hard, and they fight for the team every day.”
2015 Record: 10-3-5 2015 Finish: Reached D1 South First Round Coach: Tom Geysen
After six straight league titles, Franklin had an atypical season in 2016. The Panthers only lost three times all season, but drew five times, struggling to find consistent goal scoring that would turn a tie into a win. Franklin only allowed nine goals, but only scored 36, which was 20 goals fewer than league champ Mansfield. This year, head coach Tom Geysen is working on a new formation to get the best out of his attacking options with the goal of returning to the top of the league standings.
The Panthers return leading scorer Miranda Smith and the senior takes advantage of her size to create scoring opportunities in the box. Junior Halle Atkinson is back for her third year on the varsity and gives Franklin speed on the wings and is an accurate crosser of the ball to give Smith plenty of chances. Molly Duncan and Ellie Teixeira are also back and will give the Panthers a consistent presence in the center of midfield, while Emily Mastaj is another option on the wing.
The key to Franklin’s defense this season will be senior goalie Cat Robbins. Stepping in between the posts last year, Robbins turned in an impressive year and quickly became one of the top goalies in the league. This year, there will be several new faces and younger players that will be counted on to step up on the defensive side of the ball, including senior Molly O’Reilly and juniors Grace Gallo and Madison Stewart.
Geysen noted that there are several underclassmen that could step in during the season to add to the Panthers’ depth. He added, “We need to find the right mix. If we can patch things together and they can gain experience over the course of the season I’m confident that we will get better.”
2016 Record: 12-8-2 2016 Finish: Reached D1 South Quarterfinal Coach: Gary Pichel
It was a great turnaround for King Philip from 2015 to 2016. The Warriors were snakebitten by injuries the year before, losing almost an entire starting 11 many of them to long-term injuries, but last year a large and talented freshman class stepped in to supplement the players who were back healthy helping the program jump from just two wins to 12 last fall.
Expectations are even higher for the Warriors this year, as that freshman group gained a year of experience playing in the Hock. The sophomores are led by Avery Snead, last year’s Underclassman of the Year, who excelled up front or in the midfield and sealed the team’s playoff victory over Mansfield with an overtime headed winner. Chloe Layne showed off silky skills and finishing ability in the box and Olivia Berry stepped right into the heart of the defense and showed that she belonged.
It is not all about the underclassmen. Senior Emma Corcoran is back for another year at the heart of the defense and as the primary dead ball specialist, being named an Eastern Mass. All-Star in 2016. Senior Emma Durant has grown into the role of starting keeper and was a solid and steady presence between the posts last season. Senior Julian Massarone is a three-year varsity player and will be one of the primary playmakers in the center of the pitch.
“Overall, we made great strides in improving our game last year,” said KP coach Gary Pichel. “We want to continue to become more advanced in all three phases of our game. Last year, we turned a corner. This year, we want to move full speed ahead and compete hard against all of our opponents in the Hock!”
2016 Record: 14-1-4 (Kelley-Rex Division Champions) 2016 Finish: Reached D1 South First Round Coach: Kevin Smith
Mansfield is coming off the program’s best ever season. The Hornets set records for wins, points, goals scored and claimed their first ever league title, finishing the regular season unbeaten. An overtime loss in the first round of the playoffs to league rival KP was a tough finish to 2016 and trying to replace the production of HockomockSports.com Player of the Year Hannah Reiter will be a challenge, but the Hornets return a ton of talent to make a run at another title.
Juniors Melissa Reef (an Eastern Mass. All-Star last season) and Bryn Anderson will be back in the midfield this fall, breaking up opponents’ attacks and pushing Mansfield into the attack. Their ability to cover a lot of ground in the center of the pitch and pick out the right pass to start the transition will be key. Classmate Stephanie Kemp will be back at the top of the attack, after scoring nine goals as a sophomore. Junior Emily Vigeant will lead an experienced defensive unit and also gives the Hornets a dangerous weapon from set pieces.
Mansfield coach Kevin Smith likes has a lot of players that he can call on this season. In the attack, Kemp will be joined by Sydney Mulkern, Allee Bezeau, Amanda Mangano, Cassidy MacMahon, and Emma Oldow. Defensively, the Hornets will turn to Mikaela Maughn, Kerina Geminiani, Erin Daniel and goalkeeper Lauren Whitman.
Smith said, “We will be hoping to spread out the offense amongst multiple attackers and relying on the experience of 13 juniors and three seniors who were on varsity last year to fill the roles of the five starters who graduated.”
Last fall, Oliver Ames made the switch from the Davenport to the Kelley-Rex division, but it had little effect on the success of the program. The Tigers shared the league title with Mansfield, the fourth title in a row for OA and seventh since 2007. That run of success may be tough to keep going this year, as the Tigers graduated 10 seniors and are battling injuries to start 2017.
Losing players like Francesca Calabraro (who was injured midway through last season) and Kiana Lozzi is tough enough, but the Tigers lost almost an entire starting 11. To make matters worse, the strong central defensive pairing of Emily Freeman (knee) and Zoe Chazan (academy) are both missing to start the season. Senior goalie Regan Benton is back and will give the Tigers one of the best goalies in the league and in Eastern Mass. to backstop the rebuilt defense.
Offensively, the Tigers have been known for pace and strength, particularly on set pieces, and this year will count on three senior to try and provide consistent scoring opportunities. The pacy group of Abby Reardon, Jackie Mills, Annabella Walsh will be the primary focus of the attack. There will be a lot of new faces on the pitch this season, trying to keep the legacy of OA success going for another fall.
“We have quite a few players who had limited minutes last year,” said OA coach Britt Sellmayer, “but they practiced against some good players every day. If we can stay healthy I feel confident.”
It has been a roller coaster ride for the Tigers over the past few seasons under head coach Edith Dixon. In 2015, Taunton reached the postseason for the first time in program history and made it count by beating Wellesley on the road in the opening round and gave top seed Bishop Feehan a tough game in the second round. But, after losing a number of players to graduation, Taunton won only three games last season and are looking to bounce back behind a young roster in 2017.
The key for the Tigers is senior Samantha Tichelaar, who is coming off a league all-star and HockomockSports.com Best XI season, and gives Taunton speed, control, and leadership either as a forward or dropping deep into the midfield. Her versatility opens opportunities for her teammates. Classmate Kayla Felix will be the leader at the back for the Tigers, adding aggressiveness to the defense from her sweeper position.
Numbers are good for the program overall and Dixon expects that the younger players, including a strong crop of freshman and even eighth graders could make an impact on the varsity as the season goes along. She said that many of the younger players are “ahead of their age performance-wise.”
Dixon added, “Some of our younger players are going to step up and change how we play, but our upperclassman and seniors will remain the core of our team. I believe that their leadership and team-first mentality will push us to do well this year and set the program up for long-term success as the underclassmen mature.”
North Attleboro celebrates the opening goal by Emily Schromm in the annual Blue-Red Cup game with Attleboro at Kelly Field. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)
NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Last year, Attleboro was able to hold off the Rocketeers with a strong defensive performance and claimed the annual Blue-Red Cup by a single goal. On Saturday afternoon at William T. Kelly Field, North Attleboro came out strong right from the opening kick-off intent on reclaiming the trophy and avoiding the upset.
Emily Schromm scored early in the first half to break the deadlock, Haley Guertin had a pair of assists and sisters Ashlyn and Emma Gaulin each had goals, as North rolled to a 4-0 victory to close out the regular season.
“We took care of business,” said North coach Bill Wallace, who took over the team when Glenn Pasquel resigned midway through the season. “I told the kids before we played Foxboro that these games count just as much as the first game of the year, as league title games. It’s as important to get as many points as we can and we’ll worry about everyone else later.”
In both last year’s cup game and the first meeting between these two teams two weeks ago, Attleboro stymied the Rocketeers early, but the Bombardiers could not manage that this time around.
Guertin, a University of Rhode Island-commit, flipped a ball over the top of the Attleboro defense towards Schromm, who was making a run from midfield. Attleboro keeper Madison Brown hesitated, struggling to read the ball off the uneven Kelly Field pitch, and that slight delay allowed Schromm the time to run onto it and line up a shot through the five-hole to make it 1-0.
“Last time we played them, their goalie stood on her head and we didn’t score until about 20 minutes left,” said Wallace. “As the game goes on and you start to feel the pressure, the net gets smaller and smaller. So, it was important [to score early].”
North was relentless in the midfield with Britta Anderson, Grace McGoldrick, and Juliana Direnzo taking turns to control the middle of the pitch, as Wallace subbed regularly and at times sent in 10 players at a time.
Schromm had a second chance saved by Brown at the near post later in the first half and Guertin had a try from the edge of the box but it was easy for the keeper. The lone Attleboro chance was a long shot from Hannah Meier that Emma Noreck caught after a bounce.
There was nothing easy about the second goal however. Guertin, under pressure from Attleboro defender Jordyn Forte, rolled the ball out to the right for Emma Gaulin to run onto and the sophomore rocketed a shot into the top corner to double the North lead.
“The first half we were our own worst enemy,” said Attleboro coach Steve Santos. “My goalie hesitated on the first one and the second one the halfback didn’t follow her mark in and she finished it nicely and made us pay for it.”
With the confidence of a two-goal cushion, North started the second half brightly. Guertin had an early chance that went just wide of the far post and just out of the reach of Gaulin sliding in at the far post.
The best chance for Attleboro came shortly after when Kara Thornton turned on the edge of the North box and had a shot but it was straight at the keeper. Aine Mendonca nearly curled in a free kick for North’s third but moments later the Rocketeers added another and put the game away.
The chance came from the wings with Felicity Monfils making the run from outside to in behind the left back and she got to a through ball Haley Ferrin and just managed to get a toe on it before Brown could smother it. The ball rolled to Ashlyn Gaulin and she tapped it into the empty net.
Wallace said, “We tried to use the width today. Some stuff we saw on film was that we had more success going wide and crossing through. Part of that is you get away from [Forte] in the middle.”
Santos was urging his team to push forward more at halftime, but the Bombardiers struggled to get into the attack. He explained, “We haven’t had a good offensive year and sometimes when a team scores early, 2-0 at halftime is like being down 4-0. They don’t want to make a mistake and give up that third goal and we get trapped back here and teams come at us even more.”
North wrapped up the scoring in the closing minutes when Leah Jette capped a solid all-around game by getting free for a breakaway and cooly finishing past Brown.
While North celebrated with the Blue-Red Cup and gets ready for the state tournament pairings this week, Santos reflected on the season gone by for the Bombardiers (2-15-1).
He said, “My captains (Rebekah Entwistle and Chloe Vieira) are the heart and soul of this team. They’ve never quit and they’ve played through some injuries and adversity and my whole team fed off of them and their no-quit attitude.”
North Attleboro(13-3-2), which won the program’s first ever league title in its first season in the Davenport division, will await the pairings for the Div. 1 South tournament.
