WENHAM — Some teams would be comfortable with a three-goal lead in the state tournament. Championship sides, on the other hand, never grow complacent.
Undefeated Hamilton-Wenham approached the second half with vigor and blitzed rival Ipswich with three quick goals on their way to a 7-0 triumph in the Division 4 second round Saturday afternoon at Gordon College’s Brigham Athletic Complex.
“We felt like if (Ipswich) put one in there to start the second half, it would totally switch the vibe of the game,” said H-W senior captain Annie Moynihan. “We needed to come out strong and keep going with what we had.”
It’s the fourth consecutive trip to the Division 4 Elite Eight round for the No. 2 seed Generals (16-0-4). They’ll host No. 7 South Hadley (14-4-2), which reached the state final last season, for a spot in the state semifinals later this week (date, site and time to be announced).
Both halves started similarly for the Generals, with the 18th seeded Tigers (7-11-2) fouling in the box in the early going both times. Georgia Wilson was taken down just five minutes in and Moynihan converted the penalty kick for what wound up being the game-winner. In the second half, H-W’s Dusty Romiza was fouled and senior captain Tessa Hunt made the PK for her second goal of the day.
“Those were both really good offensive attacks where they kind of had nothing else to but take us down,” Hamilton-Wenham coach Nancy Waddell noted. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of there.”
Hunt’s PK came two minutes after a rocket of a free kick by junior Lilly Giovannucci that made it 4-0. Just one minute later, senior Georgia Wilson (the Cape Ann League Baker Player of the Year) made it 6-0 with her 17th goal of the season, and the Generals were in complete control.
“We could sense the energy shift when we started putting some goals in, and that helped us get into our routine in the second half,” said senior captain Sadie Gamber. “We want to keep things the same when we’re having success and make sure we do the little things right.”
Gamber and the Generals’ defense posted their fourth consecutive shutout, which was shared by Sasha Makogonov (50 minutes), Piper Shepherd (25 minutes) and Layla Yankee (5 minutes) with a combined four saves. Hamilton-Wenham has allowed just one goal in its last 10 games (with nine of those being shutouts) and has conceded just nine goals total in 20 contests this fall.
“The communication is key for us,” said Gamber. “The defense doesn’t always come natural, but we try to stay strong and translate that into our game. The focus is make sure the strong players are locked down, marked up and preventing those fast breaks.”
Ipswich didn’t get much in the way of fast breaks. Captain Lily Harper had the Tigers’ best shot at net, but Gamber had a great game in the back end and sophomore Emmy Pitkin helped neutralize Ipswich’s speed. Evie Bernard and Giovannucci were also solid in the defensive third.
“These seniors have just been here. They know what they’re doing and they know what it takes,” said Waddell. “Ipswich plays and they’ve got some speed. They held us off and caused us some problems, but starting in the second half we connected much better.”
Junior Margot Bryce Morris touched Kate Cassidy’s long pass by Ipswich keeper Elin Roberts (15 saves) with 12:49 left in the first half to make it 2-0. Hunt unleashed a wicked shot to the upper right corner of the cage in the 36th minute to account for the 3-0 first half advantage, one Hamilton-Wenham was happy to earn against a rival that they’d already topped twice this fall.
“We kept hearing that it’s hard to beat a team three times, so we were careful not to let that get into our heads,” said Moynihan. “We kept it clean out there and I think knowing where Ipswich’s strengths were helped.”
First-year head coach Hannah Weagle (who played for Waddell when she was Ipswich High coach in the late 2000’s) and the Tigers end a solid season after winning a state playoff game for the fourth straight year. They have just three seniors (Harper, Roberts and Lucy Thompson) graduating, and on Saturday got strong play from Lyla Greenleaf, Asuka Keough, Una Whyte plus a defensive save from Katherine Rafferty.
For the Generals, Madeline Ciaramitaro netted the “extra point” with her team’s seventh goal with 9:21 left to play. Assists went to Caroline Monahan, Cassidy and Moynihan.