Soccer notebook: Danvers girls run roughshod over Northeastern Conference

Most teams don’t possess transcendent players like junior Arianna Bezanson and senior Livvi Anderson at the same time, who Danvers coach Jimmy Hinchion considers two of the best to ever come through the program.

And that’s just the starting point for the Falcons.

There’s little drop-off in talent after its two superstars, with gifted scorer Riley DiGilio and a handful of other highly skilled pieces giving Danvers firepower that few can match.

“If I’m comparing this team to past years, this team is as good as many of the great teams that we’ve had,” Hinchion said.

The sensational play from Bezanson has helped the Falcons win their first 10 games after Saturday’s 3-0 shutout of Beverly. Bezanson had all three goals.

The reigning Northeastern Conference MVP and All-New England midfielder, who is committed to Colgate along with Anderson, routinely showcased her goal-scoring prowess this year, including an early-season scoring tear in which she netted 11 tallies in just three games.

Bezanson also registered the only goal in the Falcons’ first road win over Beverly since 2014, which secured Hinchion’s 350th career victory in his 22 years at the helm of Danvers.

“She’s been great since freshman year,” Hinchion said. “She has just taken it to another level now and I didn’t know she could get to a level higher, but she has.”

Anderson serves as Danvers’ lockdown defender with Avery Scharffenberg and Gabby Chisholm helping to thwart opposing attacks. Anderson’s terrific defense plus a goal from Mia Jordan with 10 minutes left keyed a 1-0 win over previously unbeaten Masconomet Wednesday.

The Falcons have plenty else to offer as DiGilio is an offensive force and trails only Bezanson in the NEC in scoring. Hinchion referred to Jordan and Julia Vaillancourt, both midfielders, as “lynchpins” to the team’s success while Reese Pszenny’s dynamic skillset gives the offense another weapon.

“I just know around me I have someone that if I pass them the ball, they’re going to be able to do something positive with it,” said DiGilio, who will play soccer next year at St. Anselm’s. “It’s also a bunch of girls that we’ve played together forever, so we connect really well on the field.”

Danvers isn’t thriving on sheer talent alone, as Hinchion cites his team’s unselfishness in getting all the talented pieces to seamlessly fit together.

“They just want to be out there and play and set each other up,” Hinchion said. “It’s just nice to see them come in with that attitude.”

Viking chemists

Seven East Bridgewater players have earned South Shore League All-Star recognition, including Northeastern-bound forward Avery LeVangie garnering SSL Sullivan MVP honors.

The Vikings are talented, but there’s more.

“The cohesiveness and the chemistry of the team has been tremendous,” said EB coach Brendon Boates. “I noticed it the very first day of practice, just the genuine love the kids have for each other was sort of striking and I had a feeling they were going to do pretty well.”

While five of EB’s first seven wins came by at least five goals, the Vikings weren’t able to run away from Middleboro in their regular season finale last week. EB slugged out a 2-1 victory as twice LeVangie set up Emma Pero for goals. The Vikings edged Middleboro again on Monday, 1-0, in the second round of the double-elimination SSL Sullivan Tournament.

“Grinding is the best way to put it,” Boates said. “That’s definitely what we did.”

Streaking Crusaders

Bishop Fenwick coach Tony Enos was surprised at the way things unfolded following a 5-1 season-opening loss to Bishop Feehan.

Since that defeat over a month ago, Fenwick, which dealt with a handful of injuries, ripped off a 13-game unbeaten streak. Against Cardinal Spellman Monday, the Crusaders forced a 1-1 tie even with four starters out and five freshmen playing meaningful minutes to improve to 9-1-4.

“Mostly the way the team has come together and rallied around the missing players we’ve had,” said Enos on what impressed him the most during the streak. “We have quite a number of injuries, but players have really stepped it up.”

Goalie Liam Foley emerged as a difference-maker in Fenwick’s run while Aidan Dwyer and Keiron Murray turned in strong defensive play.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3lxGNnP