Published in the May 17, 2018 edition
By DAN NUNN
NORTH READING – The Hornets jumped into a first place tie in the CAL Kinney Division after a gigantic 11-9 win over a very talented Masconomet Chieftains squad on May 7.
Junior Sean Fagen continued to tear it up with 2 goals and 6 assists. Senior captain Kevin Murphy had yet another hat trick with 3 goals and 1 assist and junior Mike Sheridan poured in 3 goals and 2 assists.
North Reading got off to a quick start. Both Murphy and freshman Jake DiNapoli scored an early goal to put the Hornets up 2-0 at the 6:35 mark of the first quarter. But Masconomet responded and controlled the rest of the first half. The Chieftains outscored NRHS 5-1 and took a 5-3 halftime lead.
The break seemed to reinvigorate the Hornets who turned things around in a big way in the third quarter. They rattled off five unanswered goals and turned the two goal deficit into an 8-5 lead at the end of three.
Once again though, Masconomet responded and fought back to tie the game at 8-8 with 5:09 left in the fourth. Fortunately, NRHS didn’t panic and took control the rest of the way. They closed the game with a 3-1 scoring run to escape with the impressive win.
Fall to Generals 10-8
The Hamilton-Wenham Generals improved to 10-1 as they snapped the Hornets eight-game winning streak with a tight 10-8 victory on Friday. The Generals are currently ranked No.19 in the Boston Globe Top 20 and sit atop the CAL Baker Division.
Kevin Murphy led the NRHS offense with 3 goals and 1 assist. Sean Fagen and Jake DiNapoli both chipped in with 2 goals and 1 assist. Mike Sheridan potted 2 assists and junior Travis Spencer added 1 goal.