IN THE HORNET'S NEST

ME Sports Teams Headed for the Finish Line

Posted

Don’t look now, but the fall season will be over for the Manchester Essex field hockey, football and soccer teams at the end of October. Let’s take a look at where these four (very successful) teams stand before the season ends, what their playoff prospects are and what has been working for them to this point.
Field Hockey
Record: 11-2-2 (Overall), 8-1-2 (CAL)
MIAA Div. 4 Power Ranking: 5
What Have They Done So Far? Even for a team known as one of the most consistently successful Div. 4 field hockey programs in the region, what Manchester Essex has done so far in 2024 should be considered an achievement. The Hornets are in first place in the Cape Ann League Baker Division and could win it for the third year in a row, they boast enviable chemistry and talent and they know how to win.
How Are They Doing It? According to ME field hockey coach Courtney Brown, depth, versatility and team chemistry have been crucial to winning double-digit games this fall. “Our team energy has been awesome,” explains Brown. “During both practices and games, the girls are really focused on improving skills, game tactics, and just having fun. They genuinely enjoy being with each other. I also attribute a lot of our success to our depth. We have players who could sub in at basically any position and our level of play wouldn’t change.”
Who Is Getting it Done?
Midfielders Abby Kent and Summer Demeo: The two midfielders are a prime example of team chemistry leading to victories. “Abby just committed to play Div. 1 field hockey at Holy Cross,” says Brown. “She and Summer work incredibly well together—they swap positions on the field seamlessly and are often generators of our offense. They are also unselfish—their stats show just as many assists as goals.”
Goalkeeper Brigid Carovilano: Goalkeeper Brigid Carovillano has been the ultimate cheat code for the team, making head’s up plays in tough situations. “Brigid, on the other hand, has been critical in us having so many games with shutouts,” says Brown. “She has a strong group of experienced defenders in front of her, but her aggressiveness in stepping to the ball and clearing out of the circle has saved us many times.”
What’s Next? Home games against Pentucket (Oct. 21) and Ipswich (Oct. 23), season finale against Hamilton-Wenham (Oct. 25) on the road. The Hornets have already qualified for the post season, and are now working on finishing strong to keep the momentum going and secure a high seed in the tournament. “We also just want to tidy up our skills all around,” adds Brown. “That includes having stronger tackles defensively, varying our shots on net, and some more of the set plays we’d use both on corners and on free hits.”
Girls Soccer
Record: 7-5-2 (Overall), 7-4-2 (CAL)
MIAA Div. 4 Power Ranking: 9
What Have They Done So Far? There were some unknowns due to transition coming into this season, but the girls’ soccer team has adapted and looked very impressive in 2024. The Hornets are third in the CAL Baker, boast a top-10 rating in Div. 4 power rankings and look very likely to get into postseason play and keep it going. “I’m so focused on the game-by-game framework I can’t get lost in the tournament status,” says ME girls soccer coach Scout Grifoni. “I believe we have to win all four games to be top 10, which is a goal for this team. We would have to have a catastrophic ending to this season to not qualify and I don’t want to think about that. One game at a time.”
How Are They Doing It?
Grifoni has stressed fundamentals, effort and toughness in her first year as head coach, and the Hornets have responded. “We’re trusting the process and continuing to work on the fundamentals with a lot of faith that little by little we get better every day,” explains Grifoni. “We have a growth mindset and are continuing to improve our game one step at a time. We’re looking at the big picture while also taking it game by game. Besides the technical and tactical approach, we take in games, our team wins when we play with grit, one of our founding values this season.”
Who Is Getting it Done?
Goalie Madi Cook has six shutouts, along with excellent support from Izzy Zagrobski (fullback) and Ella Arnsten (central defender) on the back line. In the midfield, Harper Brooks, Charlotte Crocker and Libby Lawler have a high soccer IQ and are essential to the Hornets’ transition game, and Ava Dickerson and Meg Hurd have provided scoring punch. “Our starting 11 plays significant minutes and every one of them have earned that time by the energy they bring every day,” says Grifoni. “When someone subs into the game, they bring that same level or energy or raise the bar even higher. We probably have one of the smallest rosters in CAL, but that doesn’t stop us from producing results. Everybody has bought into their role and is willing to do whatever is necessary to win.”
What’s Next? Home games against Triton (Oct. 22), Georgetown (Oct. 24) and the season finale against Ipswich (Oct. 29); an away game against Gloucester (Oct. 28). The Georgetown game, in particular, looms large. “Georgetown is one game ahead of us and in second place in CAL Baker, so that game is a must-win for not only our CAL standing and the tournament but for our team achieving the level of success they are capable of,” says Grifoni.
Boys Soccer
Record: 10-3-1 (Overall), 10-2-1 (CAL)
MIAA Div. 4 Power Ranking: 8
What Have They Done So Far? The ME boys’ soccer team is in first place in the Cape Ann League and already have clinched a postseason berth. According to coach Rob Bilsbury, everything seemed to click this season, and his team is playing with a cohesiveness that leads to wins. “You could see at the end of last year during the tournament, during the play-in game and the game against a top seed,” says Bilsbury. “We have the talent, it’s just a willingness to play for each other.”
How Are They Doing It?
When at their best, the Hornets essentially play keep-away with the opposition, with Bilsbury stating that his team being able to possess the ball and keep it from the other team has been, “the cornerstone of our season.” To do that, a team needs good chemistry, experience and a willingness
to operate as parts of a greater whole. “It’s not, ‘Look at me and how good I am,’ it’s, ‘Let’s make the team play.’ When we do that repeatedly, we do extremely well. It’s been a nice change from last season to this season to see them really playing as a team.”
Who Is Getting it Done?
Team captains Sammy Bothwell, Finn Birkeland and Hayden Spencer have been instrumental in making this thing work to this point of the season, and reinforcements are officially here in time for the postseason: fellow captain Ali Erdogan for the team’s 1-0 win over Essex Tech on Oct. 17, his first game action after sitting out with an injury for much of the fall. “The boys are really dialed in, and we’ve got a great group of senior captains doing a phenomenal job,” explains Bilsbury. “Ali Erdogan has been phenomenal on the sideline, and now he’s able to get out there. He gets us playing the way we should be playing, which is an awesome extra.”
What’s Next? The boys’ soccer team finishes up its regular season on the road – at Triton (Oct. 22), Georgetown (Oct. 25) and Winthrop (Oct. 28). The Triton game should be a good example of what to expect when it comes to the jump in postseason competition, and a scrimmage against Marblehead is scheduled for Nov. 1 to help keep the team fresh as they await tournament brackets. “We qualified a little while ago, and right now we’re just kind of trying to get to a number where we are not having to play top seeds,” says Bilsbury. “But I feel we can play with anybody. I know we can give anybody a great match.”
Football
Record: 5-1-0 (Overall), 2-1-0 (CAL)
MIAA Div. 7 Power Ranking: 7
What Have They Done So Far? The return to the Cape Ann League has gone quite well for the ME football team, with the Hornets just behind first-place Amesbury in the CAL. Manchester Essex has looked really impressive lately, beating their last three opponents by a combined score of 115-15, including a 40-7 win over Hamilton-Wenham on Oct. 18. “This one was actually a lot closer than it looks,” ME football coach Joe Grimes says of the win. “Hamilton did a good job on defense in the first half and we were knotted up at halftime. We came out of the locker room a different team and played great on both sides of the ball to keep them off the board in the second half.”
How Are They Doing It?
It all comes down to a hard-nosed rushing attack and a defense that gets better every week. “We’ve been able to improve on
defense as the season goes on,” says Grimes. “Our consistency has improved and that is a great trend to see as we get into the tail of the regular season and into playoff season.”
Who Is Getting it Done?
While the defense has been buoyed by strong performances from players like Walker Valeo and Joe Glass, the offensive line – which includes Tony Brown, Nate Powers, Glass and Valeo – has been beastly in springing quarterback Zach Hurd and the rest of the Hornet skill players for eye-popping stats. “Zach Hurd has been our leader on the field and on the stat sheet which is easy to see,” explains Grimes. “He was able to get 238 yards on only 15 carries [against the Generals]. He’ll be the first to tell you his line and his backs blocking in front of him should get a lot of credit, too.”
What’s Next?
How the Hornets do in their final two regular season games before the playoffs – a home game against Lynnfield on Oct. 25 and an away game against Amesbury on Nov. 1 – will help determine their playoff fates. The final regular season game will be against Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical on Thanksgiving Day. “There’s two weeks left in the regular season and we’ve got two great CAL games against two highly-rated teams,” says Grimes. The new ratings come out Tuesday morning, but I expect us to be right in the middle of the pack in Div. 7, which hopefully should put us in a good position. If we win our last two, we should be in the hunt for a home playoff game, but if we go 0-2, we will probably end up in the bottom half of the bracket. I’m happy to be where we are right now with our playoff destiny in our own hands with some good matchups to finish the season.”