Area athletes make plans to play college sports, sign letters of intent

If you flashed back about two and half years ago, you could see this day coming.

That’s when, as freshmen, Allie Connerty and Izzy Pithie submitted monster tournament performances during the Norwell girls lacrosse team’s run to the 2018 Division 2 state title, with Connerty scoring the game-winning goals in both the sectional final and state championship game, and Pithie setting a school record with 15 saves in the state semis.

Wednesday morning, the Clipper stars each signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Div. I programs in a virtual ceremony as Connerty is headed to New Hampshire and Pithie to Notre Dame.

“We are very, very close and being able to share the accomplishment of both being committed athletes is so special and it’s just that much better to be able do it together,” said Pithie.

Connerty and Pithie each expressed how quickly they fell in love with their respective destinations upon visiting the campus and interacting with current players. Both will be joining former MIAA standouts on their new teams — Madison Ahern (NDA) and Lily Callahan (Needham) at Notre Dame and Emily Curtis (Walpole) at UNH.

Pithie said she welcomed the idea of sharing time in net with Callahan, having begun her Norwell career in a platoon before emerging as the Clippers go-to goalie in the tournament. Connerty, on the other hand, made an impact immediately in her freshman campaign, setting the school mark with 101 points in her debut and adding 87 more as a sophomore for 188 (131 goals and 57 assists) through her two seasons.

Norwell coach Kara Connerty, who is Allie’s aunt, knew that she had Div. 1 talent on her hands early on, especially having sent a number of players from the powerhouse Clipper program to the college ranks in recent years.

“When you show that composure and that level of maturity as freshmen, the possibilities are endless,” said Kara Connerty. “And I think it’s a real credit to both Izzy and Allie for their devotion to the sport. They work tirelessly outside of practice and I think that is a big takeaway for Division 1.”

In the two years with Connerty and Pithie on the squad, Norwell has compiled a 39-9 record. But their last loss, a heartbreaking 14-13 setback to Cohasset in the sectional semis in 2019, has had to sit with them for quite a while with the 2020 season wiped out by COVID-19.

They are eager for the opportunity to get back on the field for a final chapter to their Clipper career.

“My best memories are made through lacrosse and this is like a new team and I’m excited to make more new memories,” said Connerty. “We didn’t get the results we wanted sophomore season and we didn’t have a junior season, so it just makes you want to have a great season and to win, hopefully.”

“I think it will be more special because we are not taking anything for granted,” said Pithie. “We are going to take every second that we are allowed to play and just run with it. And for Allie and I, as close friends as we are, this last season is special to me and I know it special to her to finally round it out on hopefully the best note.”

Elsewhere, Dana Hall senior Kate Bossert signed her NLI to play soccer at the University of Vermont. Bossert led her team in scoring as a freshman (19 goals, one assist), sophomore (16 goals, two assists) and junior (23 goals), earning all-Eastern Independent League honors in each season.

“Kate accomplished all of this without playing any games during her senior season, which was unfortunately limited by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Rebecca Kimball, director of Athletics, Health and Wellness at Dana Hall. “She has persevered as a team captain, player and leader throughout her time at Dana Hall, and it has been a privilege getting to watch her adjust and grow through this challenging time. Kate leaves huge a legacy here at Dana Hall.”

Winchester had three girls’ soccer players commit to Ivy League schools. Hannah Curtin will play at Dartmouth, Ellie Rappole to Yale and Ally Murphy to Princeton.

East Bridgewater standout Avery LeVangie is heading to Northeastern on a soccer scholarship, while Central Catholic’s Syndey Wnek is off to Saint Anselm.

Girls soccer wasn’t the only item on the docket for Winchester athletic director Marc Arria. Three members of the school’s state championship golf team are off to Div. 1 schools: Trevor Lopez (UConn), Owen Egan (Holy Cross) and Christine Mandile (Richmond).

Makayla Paige has been one of the more storied track and field stars since arriving at Tewksbury as a freshman. Earlier in the day, Paige inked her NLI to run at the University of North Carolina.

North Attleboro baseball ace Dennis Colleran signed his NLI to play Northeastern. Central Catholic catcher/outfielder Matt Maloney is heading to Dayton, while Franklin catcher Jake Fitzgibbons will play at Hartford.

Cushing Academy honored Lexi Browell, who signed a NLI to play field hockey at Stonehill. In addition to Browell, Kloe Martin committed to play lacrosse at Barton College.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/36yyvpM