Update post publication:
#14 North Reading defeats #19 Oakmont 3-1
Fall to #3 Dover-Sherborn 4-1 in the Round of 16.
For more game details, visit www.miaa.net.
Published November 2, 2023
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
NEWBURYPORT — For their final game of the regular season, the North Reading High field hockey team had to visit mighty Newburyport.
The Clippers showed why they are the Cape Ann League Kinney Division champions again as they won, 6-1, to improve to 17-1 overall and 14-1 in the CAL.
That loss snapped the Hornets’ nine-game winning streak as they lost to the Clippers, 5-0, back on Sept. 25 before going on that winning streak.
With the defeat, the Hornets ended the regular season at 11-4-2 overall and 9-4-2 in the Cape Ann League as they finished in 2nd place in the CAL Kinney Division.
“It was a lot closer than the final score indicted,” pointed out Hornets head coach Mikayla Allen, whose team only trailed, 3-1, after the third quarter. “Once they got that third goal, we crumbled.”
Delaney Woekel scored the first three goals for the Clippers.
“She is a great player and she is very strong,” said Allen, about the senior forward.
Her first goal came just 1:33 into the game off a corner. The Hornets tied it less than two minutes later as Josie Lambert scored unassisted.
Woekel then made it 2-1 with 8:33 remaining in the first.
The score stayed that way until Woekel completed her hat trick with 1:22 left in the third.
From there the wheels fell off for the locals. The Clippers scored their next two goals off corners. Morgan Valeri scored with 12:28 left in the fourth. Then, with 7:17 remaining, Olivia Wilson made it 5-1.
The final tally was not off a corner as Lauren Brennan scored with 3:26 left in the game.
North Reading goalie, Caroline Burton, was busy making 12 saves as her record dipped to 11-4-2.
The Hornets ended up with the 14th seed in the MIAA Division 3 power rankings. They will be hosting Oakmont in the first round of the tournament.
That game will take place on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 5 p.m.
Oakmont Regional, a school out in the central part of the state, is the 19th seed and enters the game with a record of 7-9-1.
The winner will meet the winner of No. 3 Dover-Sherborn vs. No. 30 Tewksbury in the Round of 16.