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Masconomet falls in CAL showdown

Chris Splinter knocked a two-run shot over the wall in the final inning to close the Chieftains (13-3, 9-3 CAL) within one, but the Masco rally ended there as they fell to Wilmington 5-4. Wilmington got five runs on only three hits and the Chieftains didn't help their own cause by leaving eight men on base.

Dulleau pitches 14 innings in Triton victory

The Vikings (5-7 overall, 3-2 Cape Ann League) received timely hitting from Kerri Carleton, Caitlin Stevens, Lauren Sergeant, and Katie McCance. Marion Dulleau pitched all 14 innings, allowing eight hits and two walks. She recorded nine strikeouts.

Tigers improve to 5-1

Junior ace Kerry Desmond notched her fifth win on the mound and went 3 for 3 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Krista McKenzie went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and Emily Bouvier was 3 for 3 with three RBIs. The Tigers (5-1) pounded out 19 hits and led 11-0 after three innings.

Masco Splits Tri-Meet

The Chieftains (3-2) topped Pentucket 81<1/2>-53<1/2> and fell to Wilmington 98-56 in a Cape Ann League tri-meet. John Knight got wins in the triple jump, javelin and the high hurdles to pace Masco. Dan Powers won the 800, Mike Cardillo took the two-mile, Conor Brown won the shot put and Tom Brazil took the discus.

Freshman Sokol tallies seven points for Newburyport

Freshman Andrew Sokol tallied five goals and two assists for the Clippers in their opener. Kirk Dillon added two goals and an assist. Dan Durant and Ryan Cutter scored one goal each. Sam Melanson and Kevin Ryan had assists.

Triton boys relinquish CAL stranglehold with loss to Wilmington

The River Rival Region's outdoor track season began yesterday with coaches, athletes and spectators longing for the indoors.

The most surprising turn of events came in the boys tri-meet between Newburyport, Triton and Wilmington. Triton fell to Wilmington, 85<1/2> to 59<1/2>, signalling a shift in power in the Cape Ann League. The Triton boys have won four of the last five CAL titles and five of last six CAL Open titles.

Hot goalie cools off Peabody's playoff dreams

SALEM | Mike Cabral had a pretty good idea of what he'd be facing against the high octane Peabody High offense last night.

"They did everything I figured they would: storm the net, crash for rebounds, throw a ton of shots at me," Wilmington's all-league goaltender remarked. "They put constant pressure on me and kept me on my toes almost the entire game. I tip my hat to them."

Slow start handcuffs Peabody in North semifinal loss

SALEM | When you're in the state hockey tourney, you have to be on the attack from the beginning. Peabody didn't do that last night and it proved fatal to its chances in the Division 2 North semifinals.

Bishop Fenwick boys basketball bows in overtime

NORTH ANDOVER | This one is going to eat away at the Bishop Fenwick basketball team in the offseason. When you invest that much of your athletic life into a season and it comes down to the final seconds of overtime in the state tournament, of course it's going to hurt.

Danvers done in by Wilmington's stifling defense

STONEHAM | There was no crying afterwards, no slamming of sticks or moaning about what could've or should've been.

Instead, the Danvers High hockey team simply tipped their helmets to the boys in the other locker room wearing Wilmington sweaters for a job well done, knowing they themselves had given everything they had, yet came out on the losing end of a 2-1 battle in the Division 2 North quarterfinals last night at the Stoneham Arena.

Swampscott shakes off doldrums, knocks off Wilmington

SWAMPSCOTT | Call it rust. Call it nerves. You can even call it playoff inexperience if you'd like.

But whatever it was, Tara Nimkar, Allie Beaulieu and the rest of the Swampscott girls basketball team shook it off in time to run away from Wilmington, 69-55, in a Division 3 North quarterfinal matchup.

Wilmington hammers Knights to move into first

Prior to last night's battle for Cape Ann League supremacy, North Andover head coach Mike McVeigh noted containing Wilmington's offense would be vital.

Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights, the Wildcats erupted for 68 points through three quarters and whipped the visitors, 75-57.

North Andover rules CAL

The gap is closing just a bit, but North Andover continues to rule the Cape Ann League.

The Knights captured the CAL meet at Wilmington for the seventh straight time, and 10th time in the last 11 years by scoring 205 points. Masconomet was second (170) and Lynnfield/North Reading (138) came in third.

Hamilton-Wenham upsets Wilmington

Not too many people gave the Hamilton-Wenham boys basketball team a chance to beat Cape Ann League power Wilmington last night. However, the Generals believed in themselves and pulled off the upset.

Hamilton-Wenham trailed by 18 at halftime on the road but made a sensational comeback for a 60-57 win to improve to 6-4.

Newburyport's late surge falls short in overtime

Trailing 51-48 with 15.7 seconds to spare in last night's game against Wilmington, Newburyport found itself down three points with only one realistic possession to tie the score. Clippers co-captain Taylor Hickman brought the ball up the court under duress and found Lindsey Tomasz off the curl for an open look.

Wilmington humbles Triton

What looked to be billed as a game between potentially the two best teams in the Cape Ann League turned into be quite a one-sided affair with Wilmington routing Triton, 5-1.

Up 1-0 after an evenly played first period, Wilmington slammed the door on the Vikings by netting four goals in the second period. Cam Robinson scored the lone goal for the Vikes in the period, set up nicely by Brandon Middleton.

Lancers prevail for title; Holt shines

It was a great day for Lancers at the Haverhill Invitational yesterday.

And it was a particularly good day for the Lawrence Lancers, who captured their second straight Haverhill Invitational title, rolling up 199<1/2> points to edge the runner-up Londonderry Lancers (174<1/2>) for top honors.

Newburyport displays lack of discipline in loss

Things got ugly at the Graf Arena Saturday night where a combination of a 5-3 loss to the Wilmington Wildcats, a myriad of penalties and near rumble left Clippers coach Paul Yameen none too pleased.

Saying his team displayed "a total lack of sportsmanship," a fuming Yameen said, "I've never seen a display like this in the five years I've been here. The way we played, the way we acted."

Methuen wins opener

Methuen was paced by 17 points from Rashidat Agboola, downing Wilmington, 51-43. Senior Lea Freeman had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Rangers.

Wilmington topples Pentucket

WILMINGTON | This game was worthy of determining the Cape Ann League's best as the 1,500 in attendance would attest.

After a shocking upset of Masconomet last week opened the door, Pentucket struggled as fullback Nate Bunnell became a marked man as did second option Chris Modlish. The Sachems also suffered a pair of turnovers, but their defense did more than its share to keep things close.

North Andover playoff hopes take late hit

Desperation affects football teams in strange ways. Last night, it brought out the best in Wilmington, which was just minutes from being all but ousted from the Cape Ann League race.

Instead, the frenzied Wildcats escaped a 7-0 hole in the final minutes, pinning an excruciating 10-7 loss on North Andover High.

Ipswich still winless

Alex Lampropoulos caught a pair of touchdown passes from Zach Gorrell, but winless Ipswich (0-8) couldn't keep up with one of the Cape Ann League's best teams last night. "We moved the ball pretty well," said Ipswich coach Ted Flaherty. "We had a 91-yard touchdown drive and we saw some good things on offense. But, defensively, they were too much for us. They were quick and we had no answer for the things they did."

Sachs comes up huge for NA

Michael Sachs took a pass from Gareth Dudney in the ninth minute and scored the only goal of the game for North Andover in a 1-0 defeat of previously unbeaten Wilmington. Goalie Michael Levy reported four crucial saves.

Triton falls short vs. Wilmington

They say football is a game of inches, and last night one-win Triton was 36 inches away from knocking off one-loss Wilmington. A fourth quarter touchdown by the Wildcat's all-league running back Ernest Mellow, the only TD of the game, gave Wilmington a 7-3 victory.

Hamilton-Weham football slowed by injuries

HAMILTON | No one has to tell coach Andrew Morency and his Hamilton-Wenham football team that this is the most arduous part of the season.

The Generals were feeling it physically and mentally here Saturday after Cape Ann League power Wilmington dominated them in every phase of the game in a 31-7 thumping.

Galligan, Beaton pace Pentucket

Sarah Galligan and Lyndsay Beaton each notched a goal and an assist to lead Pentucket over Wilmington 2-1. Kathleen Chenery and Kelly Murphy played well on defense for the Sachems.

Masconomet defense delivers in win over Wilmington football

TOPSFIELD -- Masconomet football coach Jim Pugh didn't have a pep talk prepared for halftime. Even if he did, his team never would have allowed him the time to deliver it.

The Chieftains took it upon themselves to turn things around after getting overpowered by Wilmington in the first half last night. Masco took control in the trenches, and erased a seven-point halftime deficit for a 17-14 win.

Amesbury drops its third straight

An Amesbury football team that opened the season just over two weeks ago with high hopes now finds itself in desperate need of a victory.

The Indians dropped to 0-3 last night with a 34-13 loss to Wilmington. Wildcats quarterback Kyle Moon was 8 for 11 for 252 yards and two touchdowns. Ernie Mello returned after his seven-touchdown effort against Lawrence last week and added two more and 93 yards on the ground. He now had 16 touchdowns on the season.

O'Leary stars for North Reading in scoreless draw

Kevin O'Leary made eight saves to record his second-straight clean sheet as North Reading played Wilmington to a scoreless tie. The draw brought the Hornets to 2-1-4 on the year.

North Reading earns first win

Hilary O'Brien's goal in the first half was enough for North Reading, which rode a 10-save performance from Kiara Zani to its first win of the year, 1-0 over Wilmington. The win lifted the Hornets to 1-9.

Georgetown downs Wilmingon

Kelly Burke scored twice and added an assist to lead Georgetown to a 3-0 win over Wilmington. Sarah LeBlanc chipped in with a goal and Karen O'Hare had eight saves for the Royals.

Ipswich shuts out Wilmington

Ipswich defeated Wilmington 3-0. Amanda Marshall, Alicia Didio, and Kelly Gallanar scored for the Tigers. Gallanar also had an assist in the game.

Wilmington's Mello runs over Newburyport

NEWBURYPORT | From the very first drive, Wilmington's ground and pound operation had Newburyport's defense staring at the back of Ernest Mello's blue and white No. 21 jersey for much of the game.

It wasn't a good look for Newburyport as Mello compiled 205 yards on 21 carries, sparking a 27-17 Wilmington victory at World War Memorial Stadium.

Hillies Lose 3 - 2

The Wildcats won the non-league matchup, 3-2. Peter Maranto tallied both Hillie goals.

Masco downs Wilmington

Ashley McKenelley notched a goal and an assist as Masconomet downed Wilmington 3-1. Danielle Staub and Lucy Gildein also scored for the Chieftains, and Annie Burns made four saves in the win.

Pentucket blanks Wilmington

Pentucket blanked Wilmington 3-0. Anne Cleary, Kelsey Dunn and Brianna Dunn each scored for the Sachems.

Diamond propels Masco to victory

Janey Diamond's hat trick paced Masconomet over Wilmington, 6-1. Kelly Gibson added a goal and three assists for the Chieftains (1-0-0), who also saw tallies from Kayla Nazas and Heather Fraser.

Wildcats pounce on Amesbury

AMESBURY | Marion Wilder's 59-yard touchdown jaunt provided Amesbury with a strong opening statement on its first drive of the game at Landry Field, but Wilmington quickly silenced Wilder and knocked the rest of Amesbury's offensive unit off script as well as the Wildcats shredded Amesbury, 30-13.