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Bishop Fenwick co-captain Colleen Corcoran had three goals and one assist in a win over Gloucester in the first round of the Division 2 North tournament on Tuesday.
By MIKE ALONGI
PEABODY — The Bishop Fenwick girls lacrosse team had its offense clicking on Tuesday afternoon, and the Crusaders defeated Gloucester, 19-5, at home in the first round of the Division 2 North tournament.
Senior captain Merry Harrington led the way for Fenwick (16-3) with five goals and an assist, while senior captain Colleen Corcoran had three goals and an assist and senior Tori Hernandez scored two goals. Junior Molly Camelo, junior Hannah Durkin, sophomore Brigid Waldron, junior Maddie Bethune, senior captain Ellen Fantozzi, senior Teagan Ahern, junior Sarah Morgan, sophomore Francesca Carpinella and junior Ally Charette each scored one goal. Senior goalie Meghan Woodworth had five saves.
“I thought we came out strong today and had really good intensity,” said Fenwick coach Karen Guillemette. “We just wanted to try to do the things we did well out there, and it worked out for us today.”
For Gloucester (6-12), junior Rachel Alexander led the way with three goals and one assist. Junior Maggie Destino and sophomore Emily Kenyon each scored one goal, while junior Callie O’Leary had one assist. Junior goalie Lily Kuhns had four saves in the loss.
The Crusaders jumped all over Gloucester early, with Harrington and Corcoran teaming up to score five goals in the first five minutes of action. The key for Fenwick was great ball movement, which Guillemette says the team has been working on.
“It’s something we’ve been trying to build on all season,” said Guillemette. “We always want to get out quick in transition, and we did a great job of that today.”
Fenwick stretched the lead out to 14-0 before Destino put Gloucester on the board on an assist from O’Leary with 3:45 remaining in the first half. Fenwick added one more goal to go up 15-1 at halftime.
Gloucester came out much stronger in the second half, scoring four goals and only giving up four to the Crusaders. Alexander completed her hat trick with 8:45 remaining and then assisted on Kenyon’s goal to make it 19-5 with just under five minutes to go.
With the win, Fenwick moves on to face No. 5 Newburyport (13-3) in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon at Bishop Fenwick. Guillemette knows that Newburyport, who defeated St. Mary’s in the first round, will be a tough test for her team.
“That’s going to be a very tough game for us, we know they’re a very good team,” said Guillemette. “Fortunately we’ll be at home, and we just need to keep working on everything and keep up this level of play.”