By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
NORTH READING — The Cape Ann League field hockey coaches recently had their All-Star meeting and four North Reading High players made the two postseason teams.
One Hornet made the CAL First-Team All-Stars while three others made the CAL Second-Team All-Stars. It is the first postseason honors for all four players.
Alyse Mutti was the Hornets’ lone First-Team All-Star. The junior midfielder had nine points as she had four goals and a team-high five assists
“She was a key component in the midfield for us this year,” said Hornets head coach Mikayla Allen, who just completed her first year at the helm. “She is very aggressive with great stick skills. She was one of our shooters off of corners.”
Makenna Lord was a Second-Team All-Star as the senior played center-back.
“She was a crucial part of our defensive unit,” stated Allen. “She created a lot of turnovers.”
Senior forward, Keely Hannon, was the second CAL Second-Team All-Star. The captain led the team in points this fall as she had 15. She scored 11 goals to go with four assists.
“She improved a lot from last year,” said Allen, who was the Hornets assistant coach last season. “Not only does she know how to score, she also created a lot of turnovers as well.”
The final Second-Team All-Star was Maddie Lambert. The junior midfielder and defenseman had one goal and a pair of assists.
“She fit a lot of roles for us playing the two positions,” explained Allen. “She is a hard worker and has good field knowledge.”
It was a great season for the team as the Hornets reached the MIAA Division 3 Round of 16 game this fall before losing, 4-1, at Dover-Sherborn on Nov. 6 to finish at 12-5-2 overall.
In the Cape Ann League, the Hornets finished at 11-4-2 as they came in 2nd place in the CAL Kinney Division behind Newburyport.
Newburyport lost to Watertown, 4-3, in the Division 3 state title game.
The Hornets had their end-of-season awards banquet recently at Prince Restaurant in Saugus. Allen gave out four awards that evening.
The team MVP Award went to Mutti while the Coaches Award was handed to senior forward Sabrinia Mini.
Midfielder Alana Driscoll received the Rising Sophomore Award while the Unsung Heroine Award went to Lord.
“I was extremely satisfied on how our season went,” said Allen. “I didn’t know what to expect going into the season but the girls made it easy.”
North Reading will lose four seniors, who were all starters, to graduation. Along with Mini and Lord, the two other 12th-graders are goalie Caroline Burton and Hannon.
All four players were this year’s captains.
“They all showed a lot of improvement from last year,” pointed out Allen. “We lost a strong senior class from last year but they picked up where they left off. They were great leaders both vocally and by example and I am going to miss them.”
Next season, the Hornets are slated to return 14 veterans including Mutti, Driscoll, and Lambert.
“Our bench has a lot of depth and we will have seven starters coming back,” said Allen.