RallyNorth.net

Osborne leads the Hornets on and off the field

Wednesday, April, 09 By Richard Slate
Staff writer

The team always comes first for Manchester Essex senior lacrosse standout Molly Osborne. Nothing can illustrate that fact more than what happened to her last week.

Representing Manchester Essex High School, Osborne was nominated for the Salem News Student Athlete Award. Each nominee from the 14 local high schools had to be interviewed last Thursday before the dinner and ceremony that night at the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem. The problem for Osborne was that the interviews were occurring at the same time as her team's season opener against Masconomet.

But it actually turned out to be a no-brainer, being a tri-captain, she had to go to the game.

 "It was hard because we were supposed to do interviews during the day and the only time was between 3-4 p.m. when we had the Masco game so I didn't even get a chance to interview," said Osborne. "It kinda felt pointless," she said about going to the ceremony, knowing that she was simply a spectator and not a possible winner.

The Hornets lost to the Chieftains, 20-6, but that's beside the point. Osborne, a Cape Ann League All-Star her sophomore year and All-League performer last season, is trying to help build Manchester Essex's relatively new girls lacrosse program into a North Shore power. They went 9-5 last season and lost in the Division 2 North first round, 13-8, to Pentucket.  

"That was the first time we played Masco since the CAL was broken up into divisions," Osborne said. "We weren't really prepared for that. Our team has been around for six or seven years, it started a couple years before I was in high school."

A four-year player, Molly started playing lacrosse in seventh grade when she joined the Beverly youth lacrosse program. A few other current teammates took the same route while others attended Shore Country Day or Brookwood in middle school, so they played there. However, the majority of the players on Manchester Essex's JV team have never played lacrosse before high school so they're just learning the basics.

According to her head coach Sarah Holch, the younger players can look up to Osborne's leadership both on and off the field.

"She's our most versatile player, she can play attack and defense," Holch said. "She's really fast and has a good shot. She's wonderful, she never complains and she's always positive."

Manchester Essex's other tri-captains, defender Sarah Merullo and attack Anneliese Brosch, both marvel at their teammate's ability.

"She's really intense, Molly does this certain move when she's going to goal, you can see it but you can't stop it," Brosch explained. "Our coaches call her the 'scrappiest player' on the team which means she gets all the groundballs."

 Merullo added praise for Osborne.

"She passes and catches really well," said Merullo. "She's so reliable, you know when she has the ball, it's safe. She's very strong on defense and attack. She loves to shoot low and she has a tight cradle too."

Besides lacrosse, Osborne played soccer in the fall. Even more impressive than her athletic prowess though is her academic profile.

Osborne carries a 5.18 GPA and participates on the debate team, science league and in peer leadership. Her SAT scores are amazing: 730 in reading, 780 in math and 750 in writing.

For her dedication and outstanding achievement in the classroom, Osborne was rewarded with an acceptance letter from the University of Virginia. She also got wait-listed at Brown University but she's leaning towards attending UVA, where her older brother went.    

It's already clear that Osborne has left her mark at Manchester Essex high school.

"She's a really modest person," said Holch. "When she needs to be, she's vocal. She's a really subtle player, not a show-off. She just does her job. It's a pleasure to work with her."