RallyNorth.net

Late Karalis goal lifts Knights

Abbie Karalis missed a late penalty kick but North Andover's junior all-conference forward didn't pout. Five minutes later, she tallied the game winner in a 2-1 win over No. 4 Marblehead.

"She's one of the most composed athletes I've coached," said Knights coach Lisa Rasanen. "She's tough. She came right back. She never gives up whether there are four seconds left or 40 minutes left.

Thanks to that, the fourth-seeded Knights (16-2-2) advanced to Thursday's Division 2 North semifinals at 5 p.m. at Chelmsford High. They'll play the winner of Monday's Concord-Carlisle (11-4-3) vs. Dracut (9-6-5) game. 

Meg McCann's well-placed corner kick set up Karalis' game-winner with six minutes left in regulation.

Lethal Leah Chittick, the UMass lacrosse recruit, had given the Knights a 1-0 lead at the 21-minute mark of the first half. Meghan McCarthy netted the equalizer five minutes later for host Marblehead (16-2-3 final record).

Rasanen said the Knights, who have their most wins since the 2002 team posted 17 wins, dominated much of the action. They hit a post in the first half.

MVC All-Star keeper Meg Collins (6 saves) was there when needed.

"She played great again. She punched out a corner kick and caught one with her fingertips," said Rasanen.

The second-year coach said a key was the domininat midfield play of Amanda DeMaio, Karalis and All-MVC selection Chittick.

"Leah was winning ball after ball in the air," said Rasanen. "She's had some of the best games in her high school career the last four games."

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Merrimack field hockey thumped Southern New Hampshire 6-1 on Senior Day to improve to 9-7. The senior class now has a school record 57 career wins. Senior Gina Roskinski of Derry posted her first career win. Freshman Taylor Simpson netted four goals.

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Merrimack volleyball beat Pace 25-16, 25-23 and 25-19 to improve to 16-7.  Senior captain Corrine Gosselin of Lawrence had seven kills and zero errors. Stephanie Sheehan contributed 14 kills.