THE SENIORS led the 2021 NRHS boys’ soccer team to the D3 Round of 16 and an overall record of 10-5-3. Pictured from left to right is Landon Phillips, Quinn Riesenberg, Kiernan Schulz, Zachary Heintz, Sebastian Gonzales, Dean Rooney, Alex Carpenter, Jacob Mikulski, Tyran Tyrrell and Cody Cannalonga. (File Photo)
By DAN NUNN
NEWBURYPORT — After splitting their first two matchups of the season by identical 1-0 scores, Newburyport and North Reading met for the third time in the Division 3 State Tournament Round of 16 on November 10. After another dog fight, the Clippers advanced with a 1-0 victory.
Despite such a tough defeat, head coach Mark Bisognano was proud of his team.
“We had a lot of guys play their hearts out tonight, but we couldn’t solve the Newburyport defense,” said Bisognano. “A lot of credit deserves to go to our opponents tonight. They played a great game.”
“A big thank you goes out to the 10 seniors on this team,” said Bisognano. “They gave us great leadership throughout the season and they were just tremendous young men on and off the field. I am very proud of this team and very happy with the direction that the program is heading.”
The Clippers came out strong with three sterling scoring chances in the opening 15 minutes but junior keeper Kieran Gorgenyi was up to the task with strong saves.
The Hornets spent much of the first half stuck in their own end but were able to get a couple dangerous chances on the counter attack from senior Alex Carpenter and junior Josh Stanieich. Neither chance was converted though, and the half ended 0-0.
Just a few minutes into the second half, a Newburyport forward shook free from his defender on the right wing and raced all the way to the goal line. Unfortunately, his hard low cross deflected off an NRHS defender and into the goal.
“It’s unfortunate that the ball went in off of one of our guys, but if it didn’t there were a couple of Newburyport players ready to put it away.”
After a couple of adjustments and a timeout, the Hornets put together their best soccer of the game. Kiernan Schulz and Carpenter took advantage of the space available because of the entourage chasing Stanieich around the field. Both got the ball in the penalty area but couldn’t get enough space to get a shot past the keeper.
A last gasp effort came from junior Jason Emerson who found space on the right wing and got a cross into freshman Matthew Fleury. But Fleury was closed down quickly by the ‘Port defense and the game ended shortly thereafter.
The Hornets ended their strong season with an overall record of 10-5-3.
