Peabody Field Hockey Opens With Two Wins Under New Coach

A new era of Peabody High field hockey is off to a fine start under coach Pam Grant, who served as junior varsity coach last fall and took over this season for the retired Lorraine Benoit. The Tanners toppled Gloucester Monday, 4-1, and followed that with a 2-0 shutout of Salem Wednesday.

Against Gloucester, the Tanners featured balanced scoring as Joanne Frangias, Kristin Lafratta, Tristina Buckley and Callie Soumas accounted for the goals. Senior captain Alaina Warren contributed three assists and senior captain Gina Casey provided solid play in the midfield.

Against Salem, the teams combined for 12 first-half corners without result before Lafratta staked the Tanners to a 1-0 lead, assisted by Frangias. Peabody doubled the margin on a Frangias goal, set up Warren’s fourth helper in two games. Sabrina Rizzo turned in a strong defensive effort.

BOYS' SOCCER dropped a tough 1-0 decision to Acton-Boxboro in its season opener last Saturday, the Tanners’ lone game to date. AB notched the only goal on a penalty kick in the game’s 15th minute. The Tanners controlled play throughout and owned a 17-9 edge in shots.

 “I thought we had a little edge in the first half, then definitely controlled the second half. We just couldn’t finish. I’m very positive about our effort. I thought we moved the ball very well,” said coach Stan McKeen.

Stopper Shawn Bernardo and midfielders Tommy Drover, John Ramsay, Colin Mahoney and Alec Cequeira spearheaded a stout defensive effort. The Tanners are scheduled to play at Revere this afternoon (4 p.m.).

The CROSS-COUNTRY teams turned in strong performances at last Saturday’s 13th annual Clipper Relays at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport. Teams consisted of three runners, each running a two-mile leg.

On the boys' side, the defending champion Tanners’ top team placed a respectable fourth as the grouping of TJ D’Amato, Ben Braz and Nick Christensen had a cumulative time of 31:07, maintaining a 5:12 pace to finish 19 seconds behind champion Lowell. The Tanners’ second team of Drew Fossa, Cody Picardy and Anthony Teduscucci placed 24th in 33:10.

For the girls, Catarina Rocha set a blistering pace and teamed with Lauren Barrett and Sam Allen to lead the first Tanners’ team to a second-place finish in 36:40, 1:12 behind champion Weston. A second Peabody unit of Cindy May, Gabby D’Avolio and Sarah May placed 32nd.

“Nick closed strong, bringing us from seventh to fourth. According to some of the other coaches there, Catarina ran the unofficial fastest first leg in race history. It’s a great event and I’m very happy how we did. It was a very productive weekend,” said Peabody coach Jose Rocha, Catarina's dad.

The Tanners then kicked off their NEC schedule Tuesday in convincing style as both the boys and girls teams swept past Salem, 15-50.

The GIRLS' SOCCER team jumped out to a 2-0 start with non-league wins against Acton-Boxboro (2-1) last Saturday and Brookline (4-0) on Tuesday.

Against Acton-Boxboro, Hayley Dowd and Victoria Digiacomo both scored goals and keeper Caitlin Lodi had nine saves. Madison Doherty contributed an assist.

Against Brookline, the Boston College-bound Dowd struck for a hat trick and an assist. Digiacomo had a goal and an assist while Doherty also had a helper. The Tanners led at the half, 2-0.

The Lady Tanners then settled for a draw at one apiece with Chelmsford on Thursday, putting their record at 2-0-1. A controversial call by a referee gave the tying goal to the Lions even though it appeared to miss the mark. Dowd put Peabody on the scoreboard.

VOLLEYBALL took a second straight shutout on Wednesday, 3-0, against a Lynnfield team with the home advantage. The Pioneers took sets: 25-11, 25-10 and 25-14. Peabody, now 1-2 after defeating Lowell and losing to Masconomet (before Wednesday's match), next plays at North Andover Tuesday at 4 p.m.

The Tanners' GOLF team hasn't fared well in terms of weather with it postponing all four games scheduled last week and this week against Beverly, Danvers, Salem and Gloucester. The Tanners are scheduled to play at Marblehead on Tuesday.

Bishop Fenwick

The Crusaders’ FIELD HOCKEY team opened the season with a pair of shutouts, outscoring Notre Dame of Hingham and Malden by a combined 7-0 count.

Senior Hannah Bethune deposited junior Jen Jordan’s cross into the cage for the lone goal in a 1-0 win against Notre Dame. Coach Marybeth Mahoney lauded the solid all-around play of senior forward Colleen Sears and midfielders Grace Celona, a junior, and Amalia Crawford, a senior.

Fenwick flattened Malden on Tuesday, 6-0, behind hat tricks by Bethune and Sears. Jordan had three assists.

The boys and girls CROSS-COUNTRY teams both bounced back from season-opening losses to Arlington Catholic with strong efforts against St. Mary’s. The boys ran to a 17-44 win while the girls swept the top five spots en route to a 15-45 shutout.

For the boys, Brian Mendes (18:30) led the way against St. Mary’s, followed by mates Dan Deschenes (2nd), Eric Loehle (3rd) and RJ Silva (4th). Mendes also won in a 22-33 loss to Arlington Catholic and Deschenes finished fourth.

On the girls side, first-place Arianna Maida paced the sweep of St. Mary’s followed by Faye Haley, Taylor Black and Hannah Smith. Maida also ran first in the 23-34 loss to AC with Haley checking in fourth.

The Crusaders’ VOLLEYBALL team stands at 3-1 (2-1 Catholic Central) with 3-0 wins against Matignon, Arlington Catholic and Salem. Fenwick’s lone loss came to Cardinal Spellman by a 3-0 count.

Team leaders to date are: Kills, sophomore Jenn Crovo (23) and sophomore Kate Lipka (21); Assists, sophomore Tessa McLaughlin (33) and senior Christine Smaltz (32); Digs, senior Abby Curran (31).

The Crusaders’ young FOOTBALL team played defending Division 4A Super Bowl champion Northeast Regional on even terms through three periods before succumbing to a couple of late scores, 34-14, in last Friday’s season-opener. Fenwick freshman Rufus Rushins scored on a 68-yard run and sophomore QB Nick Bona fired a 29-yard TD pass to Mike Dainis. Bona also kicked a pair of extra points.

BOYS' SOCCER kicked things off with Austin Prep and Malden last week, recording two wins, and travels to Beverly today (4 p.m.). Meanwhile, GIRLS' SOCCER hosted Austin Prep for a win then traveled to . The Lady Crusaders host Masconomet today (4 p.m.).

On the green, Fenwick's GOLF team hosted Saint Mary's on Tuesday and then traveled to Austin Prep on Thursday, seeing losses in both outings.