GREEN TEAM. Members of the Hull Girls’ Lacrosse team pose with Senator Ed Markey (standing, at left), Representative Joan Meschino (far left) and Senator Patrick O’Connor (far right). [Skip Tull photo]
Imagine staring at a mouthwatering buffet, only to have to wait until your table number is called before you can join the feast. That sums up the plight of the Hull High School boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams, which have been staring at their beautiful new turf field for a year but have not yet had their turn to sample the goods.
After the coronavirus wiped out their season last spring, the lacrosse teams finally get their turn on the turf as the spring sports season finally arrives. The long-awaited debut of first-year head coach Ed Cameron happened yesterday as the boys’ team opened the season at home against Middleborough (results not available at press time).
Cameron takes over a program that has been one of the more successful teams in the area recently. “Our season goal is to make the playoffs and get more players excited to play lacrosse, which has been a growing sport in town,” says Cameron. “The players are excited to be part of the first lacrosse team to have a season on the new turf field. Although there are a lot of new faces on the lacrosse field, there are great athletes who are ready to learn.”
Hull will be led by talented co-captains Jimmy Polito and Ryan Healy, and look for impactful performances by returning starters Luka Prestia, Treston O’Hare, Billy Maxwell, Sean Marois, and Logan Chenette. Coach Cameron is also looking at a lineup of new players to have solid contributions: transfer students Nick White and Owen O’Connell, freshman goaltender Sean Walsh, Sean Reilly, Aiden Murphy, Ethan Campbell, Austin Bongo, Finn Carragher, and John Gianibas.
The girls’ lacrosse team is poised for a winning season, with several returning players, led by tri-captains Norah White, Anna Mahoney, and Grace Grosso. Oher experienced players include: Abby Schneiderhan, Kayla Chenette, Siobhan Burke, Faye Lofgren, Nina Tiani, and Haylee Londergan. “After last year was cancelled, we have some rebuilding challenges to get back to where we were two years ago,” says head coach Dan Dahill. “So, for us, in the midst of all this uncertainty, my goal will be to control what we can control: playing hard as a team every day, compete in every game, and believe in ourselves.”
Hull opens the season at home on Tuesday afternoon against North Quincy.
Diamond dandies take their positions
The varsity baseball team will also have to shake off the rust from a year of having been sidelined. The Pirates have been preparing for a tough South Shore League schedule that started yesterday at Middleborough.
Hull will be a young team, with just two returning starters in pitcher/centerfielder Max Iorio and pitcher/infielder Ben Oliveiri. The squad will be bolstered by returning varsity players Aiden Robey (pitcher/infielder) and Luke Richardson (pitcher/infielder).
“We are a young team. We have many freshman and sophomore players who would have benefited from a full varsity season last year but did not,” says head coach Mike O’Donnell.
The schedule has the Pirates playing the other SSL small schools twice, as well as non-league foe South Shore Christian for two tilts. The Pirates will also take on Rockland in a non-league contest.
The other diamond dandies will be the varsity softball team, which once again will team up with Cohasset to field a co-op squad. The senior co-captains have each played varsity since freshman year and will be key to the team turning around its 2-16 record from 2019. They are third-baseman and third-year captain Bella Hendrickson and left-fielder Emma Carney. The rest of the team will be underclassmen vying for starting positions.
“We are very young, but we show a lot of potential,” says head coach Anne Marie Dunn, who will be retiring following the season after 11 years of coaching in the program and seven as head coach. “We have speed and two strong pitchers as well as fantastic leadership. Our goal is to come together as a team of young players from two communities to make a powerhouse team in years to come,” she says.
Hull-Cohasset co-op on track
Another Hull-Cohasset co-op this spring are the boys’ and girls’ outdoor track and field teams. With Hull’s recent success outdoors during the Fall-2 winter season, head coach Brian Lanner has reason to be optimistic.
Captains Matt McCluskey and Maeve Donahue are key returners in three events each. McCluskey is a solid performer in the high jump, long jump, and sprints, while Donahue will be a force in the shot put, javelin, and disc. Distance runner Robert Hunter and long jumper/sprinter Nathan Simoly are also veteran returners to the team. Coach Lanner is also expecting key contributions from Tony Alibrandi, Devonte Lopes, Cliff Germain, Mattie Tuchmann, Veronica Fleming, Liz Luggelle, Elsie Harper, and Nadine Egan.
More Youth Soccer success
The girls’ grade 5/6 team evened its record at 1-1 with a 8-0 rout of Plymouth. The win was led by Jillian McDonough, Natalie Reilly, Lilyan Nunes, and Addison Littlefield.
The boys’ grade 7/8 team also had a lopsided win, dominating visiting Kingston 8-1 to stay unbeaten at 3-0. JT Gould and Elly Thomas had a pair of goals each, while other scoring strikes came from Joe Delgallo, Oliver Szabo, Dillon Simpson-Sliney, and Sam Tuchmann.
The boys’ grade 5/6 team won on the road at Scituate 7-3, also staying unbeaten at 2-0. Sam Szabo led the attack with four goals; Christian Truglia netted two tallies; and Tristan Lofgren added a second-half goal after an outstanding first half as Hull’s goalkeeper. Other strong efforts came from Finn Walsh, Pat Lancaster, Mason Delgallo, Jacob Lin, Cameron Her, and Patrick Hughes.
The boys’ grade 3/4 team put in a solid effort but could not break through against a strong host Pembroke team, dropping a 3-0 result. Hull had encouraging defensive efforts by PJ Rivieccio, Colby Lofgren, and goalkeeper Billy Littlefield, while creative offensive chances came from Luca Truglia, Dom Ramos, and Macklin Concannon.
It’s fun in the sun for Youth Lacrosse
Hull Youth Lacrosse continued its season this past Sunday at Thayer Academy in Braintree, playing a tripleheader on a sunny afternoon. Although scores were not kept for some of the games, the girls had plenty of fun in one of the few game days when the sun was shining down on them.
The Hull girls’ third- and fourth-graders played a competitive game against Braintree behind great defense from Abby Fleming by the net as goalie and Evelyn Concannon in the field pressuring the opposing players on the attack.
The fifth- and sixth-grade girls’ team benefited from strong goaltending by Bella Walsh and exceptional team defense by Lilly Nunes, Gianna Thorne, Jillian McDonough, and Riley Munn in another competitive game.
Hull seventh- and eighth-graders lost 10-7 to Braintree. Goals were scored by Marin Healey, Erin Walsh, Allison Leary, Maggie Mullen, and Matti Driscoll. Tallula Clancy played well on defense, allowing the score to be much closer than it should have been. Kaylee Blake, Colby McGowan, Emily Irby, and Elly Thomas each had an assist.
Next Sunday the girls will be spread out for their games, with the third- and fourth-graders traveling to Forge Pond in Hanover to play their third- and fourth-grade lacrosse team at 9.a.m. The fifth- and sixth-graders will play Braintree again, this time at home at Hull High School at 11.a.m. Then, the seventh- and eighth-grade girls will play Pembroke at Pembroke High School at 3 p.m.
Hull Times reporter Darvence Chery contributed to this column.
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