The Boston Globe - 17.10.2019

C6 Sports The Boston Globe THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019

Churchill,Danversaimforbanner

GlobeTop20

No. Rec. Last

Somerset Berkley 14-0 1

Westwood 14-0-2 2

Masconomet 11-0-2 3

Watertown 13-1 4

Acton-Boxborough 13-0 5

Walpole 12-0-1 7

Lexington 12-2-1 10

Belmont 10-2-1 8

Danvers 11-0-1 6

Winchester 10-3 11

Andover 9-2-2 15

Sandwich 10-0-1 9

Franklin 12-2 13

Bishop Fenwick 12-1 —

Notre Dame (Hingham) 9-0-2 16

Dover-Sherborn 10-1-2 —

Manchester Essex 8-2-2 17

Cohasset 9-3-1 14

Hanover 9-1-1 12

Norwell 8-3-3 18

CROSS-COUNTRY BOYS BAY STATE Brookline 17......................Weymouth 44Walpole 27.................................Milton 28 CAPE ANN Ipswich 21..................Ham.-Wenham 39 Lynnfield 24.....................Manchester 32 Newburyport 19..................Lynnfield 44 Newburyport 21.............Manchester 40 CATHOLIC CONFERENCE St. John’s Prep 15........Malden Cath. 48 Bancroft 18..................Lex. Christian 45EIL Beaver CD 22........................Bancroft 36 Beaver CD 16...............Lex. Christian 47 Concord Acad. 17.................Bancroft 45 Concord Acad. 19.............Beaver CD 39 Landmark 15..........................Berwick 50 Landmark 15...........................Pingree 43 Pingree 18..............................Berwick 42 Revere 16.................................Malden 46GREATER BOSTON HOCKOMOCK Franklin 19...........................Attleboro 38 NORTHEASTERN Marblehead 23......................Danvers 34 NONLEAGUE Landmark 19.......Portsmouth Abbey 43 Pingree 24...........Portsmouth Abbey 31 Portsmouth Abbey 20..........Berwick 39GIRLS BAY STATE Brookline 15......................Weymouth 47 Brookline 15......................Weymouth 47 Newton North 23.................Braintree 32 Walpole 27.................................Milton 28 CAPE ANN Ham.-Wenham 20..................Ipswich 47 Lynnfield 19.....................Manchester 42Newburyport 15..................Lynnfield 48 Newburyport 15.............Manchester 48 N. Reading 25................Masconomet 31 CATHOLIC CONFERENCE Ursuline 23...............Notre Dame (H) 32 EIL Pingree 19..............................Berwick 44 Pingree 20...........Portsmouth Abbey 43 Portsmouth Abbey 27..........Berwick 31GREATER BOSTON Revere 26.................................Malden 29 HOCKOMOCK Franklin 25...........................Attleboro 37 MERRIMACK VALLEY Andover 15................................Dracut 50 Central Cath. 24..............Chelmsford 32 Lowell 23................................Andover 37 Lowell ............................................DracutNORTHEASTERN Lynn Classical 15.............Gloucester 50 PATRIOT Hanover 20.........................Pembroke 35 FIELDHOCKEY CAPE & ISLANDS Dennis-Yarmouth 1...................Nauset 0 Sandwich 5..........................Barnstable 0Sturgis West 0..................Sturgis East 0 DUAL COUNTY Concord-Carlisle 2.................Wayland 2 Lincoln-Sudbury 5.................Westford 0 Wayland 2.................Concord-Carlisle 2 Weston 5...................................Bedford 0 ISL Rivers 2.......................................Thayer 0 Chelmsford 0...........................Andover 0MERRIMACK VALLEY Lowell 2.......................................Dracut 1 Methuen 4.............................Lawrence 0 Tewksbury 2...........................Haverhill 0 NORTHEASTERN Danvers 2...................................Beverly 0 PATRIOT Hanover 5...................Plymouth South 0 Hingham 3......................Whit.-Hanson 0Plymouth North 4...................Duxbury 1 Scituate 2..............................Pembroke 1 SOUTH COAST Digh.-Rehoboth 2.........OldRochester 1 Seekonk 5.......................................Case 1 Somerset Berkley 7..................Bourne 0 SOUTHEAST Durfee 5..................................Brockton 3 Ashland 1.................................Dedham 1TRI-VALLEY Holliston 4...........................Bellingham 0 Medway 2................................Medfield 1 Westwood 2...............Dover-Sherborn 2 NONLEAGUE Falmouth 1.................Notre Dame (H) 0 Lawrence Acad. 5....Worcester Acad. 4 Pingree 3.............................Governor’s 1 Burncoat 3...........................Beaver CD 0 GOLF BOYS Northeast 142.....................Gr. Lowell 49 CAPE & ISLANDS Cape Cod Acad. 66............Monomoy 63 CAPEANN Manchester 106........Ham.-Wenham 94 BC High 217............Cath. Memorial 238CATHOLIC CONFERENCE Xaverian 223............St. John’s Prep 230 DUAL COUNTY Weston 88.............................Waltham 45 EASTERN ATHLETIC Bp. Stang 240.................Bp. Feehan 242 NORTHEASTERN Lynn Classical 45..........Lynn English 27 Hingham 235.......................Duxbury 252PATRIOT TRI-VALLEY Hopkinton 226.................Westwood 242 NONLEAGUE Lynn Classical 40....................Revere 32 Malden Cath. 255.................Saugus 267 St. Marys 141..................Gloucester 105 Bp. Feehan 252.......Digh.-Rehoboth 269 SOCCER BOYS Berkshire 3...............................Pomfret 0 Wilb. & Monson 1..........Marianapolis 0 Worcester Acad. 5...............Hotchkiss 0 BAY STATE Newton North 2..........................Natick 1 CAPE & ISLANDS Nauset 5................................Nantucket 1CAPE ANN Manchester 2.........................Lynnfield 1 Masconomet 3.................Georgetown 0 Newburyport 1............Ham.-Wenham 0 N. Reading 1...........................Rockport 0 Pentucket 3..........................Amesbury 1 Triton 2......................................Ipswich 0 CATHOLIC CENTRAL Austin Prep 3........................St. Marys 2Bp. Fenwick 4..............Arlington Cath. 1 CATHOLIC CONFERENCE St. John’s Prep 0......................BC High 0

DUAL VALLEY Nipmuc 4................................Hopedale 1 EIL Beaver CD 3............................Bancroft 0 HOCKOMOCK Attleboro 1............................Mansfield 1 Franklin 0.............................King Philip 0 Oliver Ames 1..........................Taunton 0 ISL Belmont Hill 1......................Middlesex 0 Brooks 2.............................St. George’s 0 BB&N 5..........................................Tabor 2 Milton Acad. 4......................St. Mark’s 0 Nobles 4......................................Groton 2 Rivers 5.......................................Thayer 2 Roxbury Latin 5..................Governor’s 1 St. Sebastian’s 2.......Lawrence Acad. 1 MIDDLESEX Arlington 2............................Lexington 0 Belmont 2...........................Winchester 0 Reading 3..................................Woburn 1 Watertown 1............................Melrose 0 SOUTH COAST Case 3.........................................Bourne 0 Fairhaven 2..............................Seekonk 2 Gr. New Bedford 4.......Old Rochester 1 Somerset Berkley 3.........Apponequet 1 SOUTH SHORE Hull 3.......................................Mashpee 3 Norwell 5......................E. Bridgewater 1 Randolph 4.............................Rockland 2 NONLEAGUE Saugus 3...........................Tech Boston 1 Coyle & Cassidy 3.........Southeastern 2 Blue Hills 4.....................................Avon 1 Diman 2..................................Westport 1 Tri-County 3......................South Shore 2 W. Bridgewater 1..............Middleboro 1 GIRLS Dexter Southfield 8..............Montrose 1 BOSTON CITY E.Boston3........................BostonInt'l. 1 OBryant 3...............................Snowden 0 CAPE ANN Amesbury 2..........................Pentucket 1 Ham.-Wenham 2............Newburyport 1 Lynnfield 1.........................Manchester 1 Masconomet 8.................Georgetown 0 N. Reading 4...........................Rockport 0 Triton 0......................................Ipswich 0 CATHOLIC CENTRAL Abp. Williams 2..........Card. Spellman 1 Arlington Cath. 1..................Matignon 0 Austin Prep 2........................St. Marys 2 CATHOLIC CONFERENCE Ursuline 5.............................Fontbonne 0 COMMONWEALTH Whittier 3............................Minuteman 1 DUAL VALLEY Nipmuc 2................................Hopedale 0 EIL Beaver CD 5............................Bancroft 0 Pingree 6...................................Berwick 1 GREATER BOSTON Revere 5...................................Medford 2 Somerville 4..............................Malden 0 HOCKOMOCK King Philip 2.............................Franklin 0 MAYFLOWER Upper Cape 3..................Bristol Aggie 0 MIDDLESEX Lexington 0............................Arlington 0 Melrose 5............................Watertown 0 Stoneham 5..........................Burlington 0 Wilmington 3........................Wakefield 1 Winchester 6...........................Belmont 2 Woburn 1..................................Reading 0 PATRIOT Hingham 3......................Whit.-Hanson 0 SOUTH COAST Case 5.........................................Bourne 1 Seekonk 2..............................Fairhaven 0 Somerset Berkley 3.........Apponequet 0 SOUTH SHORE Hull 2.......................................Mashpee 1 Norwell 3......................E. Bridgewater 1 SOUTHEAST Dartmouth 7...............................Durfee 0 NONLEAGUE Phillips Andover 3..............Governor’s 1 Tri-County 1...........................Bay Path 1 Lawrence Acad. 3.....................Winsor 0 Blue Hills 2.....................................Avon 0 Diman 1..................................Westport 0 Middleboro 7..............W. Bridgewater 2 VOLLEYBALL GIRLS Marianapolis 3................Ethel Walker 0 BOSTON CITY E. Boston 3........................Boston Int'l. 0 OBryant 3...............................Snowden 0 CAPE ANN Ipswich 3...............................Pentucket 0 Lynnfield 3.......................Masconomet 0 Newburyport 3.................Georgetown 0 N. Reading 3................Ham.-Wenham 1 EIL Beaver CD 3............................Bancroft 0 GREATER BOSTON Malden 3..............................Somerville 1 Medford 3...................................Revere 0 ISL Lawrence Acad. 3...........Milton Acad. 2 MAYFLOWER Holbrook 3..................W. Bridgewater 2 Old Colony 3......................Upper Cape 0 South Shore 3.................Bristol Aggie 0 Southeastern 3......................Blue Hills 0 MERRIMACK VALLEY Central Cath. 3........................Andover 1 Haverhill 3...........................Tewksbury 0 Lawrence 3.................................Dracut 0 Lowell 3.....................................Billerica 0 N. Andover 3......................Chelmsford 1 SOUTH COAST Apponequet 3.........Somerset Berkley 1 Case 3.........................................Bourne 1 Fairhaven 3..............................Seekonk 0 Old Rochester 3.......Gr. New Bedford 1 SOUTH SHORE Abington 3.............................Randolph 0 Rockland 3................................Norwell 0 SOUTHEAST Brockton 3.......................New Bedford 0 Durfee 3....................Bridge.-Raynham 0 TRI-VALLEY Ashland 3................................Holliston 1 Hopkinton 3............................Norwood 1 Medfield 3............................Westwood 1 Medway 3...........................Bellingham 1 Norton 3...................................Dedham 1 NONLEAGUE Wellesley 3..............................Wayland 1 Gr. Lowell 3..............................Assabet 1 Triton 3.......................................Everett 0 Notre Dame (H) 3...................Scituate 0

NFL

Kansas City at Denver......................8:20THURSDAY’S GAME SUNDAY’S GAMES LA Rams at Atlanta................................1 San Francisco at Washington..............1 Arizona at NY Giants..............................1 Houston at Indianapolis........................1 Oakland at Green Bay............................1Minnesota at Detroit..............................1 Jacksonville at Cincinnati......................1 Miami at Buffalo.....................................1 LA Chargers at Tennessee..............4:05 New Orleans at Chicago..................4:25 Baltimore at Seattle..........................4:25 Philadelphia at Dallas.......................8:20MONDAY’S GAME New England at NY Jets...................8:15

Transactions BASEBALL Usa Baseball :Named Scott Brosius Team USA manager. Graterol for assignment. Claimed PCincinnati (NL):Designated C Juan Josh D. Smith off waivers from Miami. Los Angeles (AL):Named Joe Mad- don manager and signed him on a three-year contract.BASKETBALL LA Clippers (NBA):Signed G B.J. Tay- lor to a one-year contract. Memphis (NBA):Waived G Ahmad Caver. Signed F Jarrod Uthoff. Anderson and Jemerrio Jones and GWashington (NBA):Waived Fs Justin Phil Booth. Signed F Jalen Jones and C Anzejs Pasecniks. FOOTBALL Matt Wile. Signed OL John Wetzel.Atlanta (NFC):Waived/injured P Signed TE Carson Meier to practice squad. Carolina (NFC):Signed WR Greg Dortch. Crawford on IR. Signed DT Justin Ham-Dallas (NFC):Placed DL Tyrone ilton. Detroit (NFC):Signed WR Tom Ken- nedy to practice squad. Carson. Released TE Ethan Wolf fromGreen Bay (NFC):Released RB Tra practice squad. Signed WR Ryan Grant. Signed RB Damarea Crockett and CB Tremon Smith to practice squad. Notebook and S John Johnson on IR.Los Angeles (NFC):Placed OL Joe Miami (AFC):Claimed CB Ryan Lew- is off waivers from Philadelphia. Minnesota (NFC):Waived DE Tashawn Bower. Bell. Signed DE Kendall Donnerson toOakland (AFC):Released DE Quinton practice squad. Seattle (NFC):Released LB Malik Carney and CB Parry Nickerson from practice squad. Signed CB Brian Allen,S Adrian Colbert, TE Tyrone Swoopes and OT Chad Wheeler to practice squad. Tampa Bay (NFC):Waived LB De- vante Bond and WR Bobo Wilson. Re-leased RB Darius Jackson and LB De- mone Harris from practice squad. Washington (NFC):Signed RB Josh Ferguson to practice squad.

Latestline American League At New York.......-127 ................Houston National Hockey League Thursday Favorite...........Line Underdog........LineAt New Jersey-118 NY Rangers...+108 At BOSTON.....-105 Tampa Bay.....-105 At Montreal....-156 Minnesota.....+146 At Winnipeg...-118 NY Islanders.+108 AtAt Calgary......-227 Detroit............+207St. Louis.....-178Vancouver.....+16 6 At Vegas.........-267 Ottawa...........+237 At Arizona.......OFF Nashville..........OFF At Los Angles.OFF Buffalo.............OFF College Football Thursday Favorite................Pts. .............Underdog La.-Lafyt................6½ ...At Arkansas St. At Stanford...........6½ .....................UCLA Friday At FAU...................5½ ...............Marshall Pittsburgh.............3½ .........At SyracuseOhio St.................28 .......At N'western At Fresno St........16 .....................UNLV Saturday At Virginia.............3 ......................Duke AtMiami.............18½...............Ga.Tech Clemson..............23½ .........At LouisvilleArmy......................6 ......At Georgia St Buffalo.................17 ...............At Akron Indiana...................5 ........At Maryland Houston...............22 ..............At UConn At Wake Forest....1½ .............Florida StAt Georgia So.......6½ ...........Coast. Car. C. Michigan.........11 ...At Bowl. Green At UCF..................33 ...........E. Carolina At Cincinnati......17½ .....................TulsaN.C. State..............3½ ....................At BC AtIowa................17 ..................Purdue At Ohio..................7½ ................Kent St. W. Michigan.........8½ ....At E. Michigan At Texas..............21½Wisconsin...........30½ ..............At Illinois..................Kansas At Utah St...........21 .................Nevada Boise St..................7 ..................At BYU At Wyoming.......18½ .............New Mex. At Utah................13 ...........Arizona St.At Ball St...............1 ..................Toledo NIllinois................2½.......AtMiami(O) At California.......11 ...........Oregon St. Oregon...................2½ ....At WashingtonAt USC...................9½ .................Arizona At Wash. St.........12 ..............Colorado Florida...................4½ ......At S. Carolina At Georgia...........25 ..............Kentucky TCU........................3½ ......At Kansas St.LSU.......................18½ ..........At Miss. St. At Alabama.........34 ...........Tennessee So. Miss.................1 ..........At La. Tech At UAB.................16 ......Old Dominion At Oklahoma......33½ ...........W. VirginiaAt Okla. St............3½ ...................Baylor Auburn.................18½ .........At Arkansas Texas A&M...........6 .....At Mississippi At Memphis..........4 ...................TulaneN. Carolina............3½ ..........At Va. Tech Minnesota...........28 ...........At Rutgers Iowa St...................7 .....At Texas Tech At Navy...............14½ ..............S. Florida At Applchn. St....14 ..........La.-MonroeMissouri..............20½ .......At Vanderbilt San Diego St.........7½ ....At San Jose St. At W. Kentucky....9½ ..............Charlotte At N. Texas...........8½ .......Middle Tenn. Rice.........................At SMU..................7½ .................Temple4 ................At UTSA At FIU...................24 .....................UTEP At Penn St.............9 ..............Michigan Air Force...............2½ .............At Hawaii NFL Thursday Favorite................Pts. .............Underdog Kansas City...........3 .............At Denver Sunday At NY Giants.........3 .................Arizona At Indianapolis..PK ................Houston At Buffalo............17 .......Minnesota.............1 .............At Detroit............Miami At Green Bay........5½ ................Oakland Jacksonville..........3½ .......At Cincinnati LA Rams................3 ............At Atlanta San Francisco.....10 ....At WashingtonAt Tennessee........2 .........La Chargers At Seattle..............3½ .............Baltimore At Chicago............3 .......New Orleans At Dallas................3 .....................Phila. Monday NEW ENGLAND....9½ ............At NY Jets

Soccer

MLS PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19 NEW ENGLAND at Atlanta.....................1 Dallas at Seattle................................3:30 D.C. at Toronto........................................6 Portland at Salt Lake...........................10 NY Red Bulls at Philadelphia................3SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 LA Galaxy at Minnesota...................8:30

Scoreboard

YYY

THU 10/17

FRI 10/18

SAT 10/19

SUN 10/20

MON 10/21

TUE 10/22

WED 10/23 NYJ 8:15 ESPN, Ch. 5

TB 7:00 NESN

TOR 7:00 NESN

PHI 7:30 ESPN, NBCSB

ATL 1:00 NBCSB

Home games shaded For updated scores: bostonglobe.com/sports On the radio, unless noted: WBZ-FM 98.5

ON THE AIR BASEBALL 8:08 p.m. ALCS: Houston at NY Yankees FS1 PRO BASKETBALL 8 p.m. Exhibition: Atlanta vs. Chicago NBA 10:30 p.m. Exhibition: Dallas vs. LA Clippers NBA COLLEGE FOOTBALL 7:30 p.m. Louisiana Lafayette at Arkansas State ESPNU 9 p.m. UCLA at Stanford ESPN PRO FOOTBALL 8:20 p.m. Kansas City at Denver Fox, NFL GOLF 6 a.m. European PGA: Open de France Golf 10 p.m. PGA: CJ Cup at Nine Bridges Golf PRO HOCKEY 7 p.m. NY Rangers at New Jersey NBCSN 7 p.m. Tampa Bay at Boston NESN MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY 7 p.m. Merrimack at Holy Cross NESN+ HORSE RACING 1 p.m. Belmont Live FS2 MIXED MARTIAL ARTS 8 p.m. PFL playoffs ESPN2

Schools

BC’sGroselearnedhisdue

By Julian Benbow
GLOBE STAFF
Chemistry-building starts in the off-
season when players have time in abun-
dance. Boston College wide receiver
Kobay White wanted to take advantage
of every moment he had. When he
worked on his timing, it made sense to
run routes with Anthony Brown, the
Eagles’ projected starting quarterback.
But when he just wanted to catch foot-
balls, run drills, and hone skills, some-
times he needed to go to another op-
tion.
That’s when backup quarterback
Dennis Grosel became his go-to. White
didn’t have to worry about whether
Grosel would be available.
“He had to come,” White joked. “He
didn’t have a choice.”
Grosel was ready whenever White
called. Even during the dog days of pre-
season training when walkthroughs
would run late into the night. Practice
would finally end, players would show-
er and leave to get ready for the next
day, Grosel would get back to his room,
and a ping from White would come as
late as 9 p.m.
“I really did mean to tell him right
after walkthrough,” White said, trying
to muffle his laughter. “As soon as he’d
get back to the room, I was like, ‘I’ve got
to catch some passes. I didn’t catch
enough in practice today.’ ”
But in those extra hours and
through those extra reps, Grosel built a
level of rapport and trust with his team-
mates. It now permeates the Eagles’
locker room after Grosel stepped in
two weeks ago when Brown suffered a
season-ending left knee injury at Louis-
ville.
“This spring I would say is when he

kind of really won us over,” White said. “Before, we knew he had ability, but we also saw he had the ability to lead, I would say, in the spring.” The loss of Brown midway through the season threw a monkey wrench in an already challenging season for the Eagles. Now the keys to the offense will fall into the hands of a redshirt sophomore out of Cleveland’s St. Ignatius High School. Grosel came to BC as a walk-on in

With plenty of depth at the posi-
tion, Grosel wasn’t even listed on the
depth chart last season.
“Going from as low as I was on the
chart, and as low as the situation was to
this position, it’s eye-opening,” Grosel
said. “It’s humbling to know I was in
that position and still make that con-
nection to be fortunate where I am.”
He didn’t see the field last season
but showed traits in the spring worthy
of a scholarship.
“We put him on scholarship because
I thought he had tremendous intangi-
bles,” coach Steve Addazio said. “He’s
tough, he’s a leader, he earned the re-
spect of everybody on this football
team.”
Grosel’s infectious work ethic built
equity with his teammates.
“He kind of motivated a lot of the
people to go hard — myself included,”
said running back AJ Dillon. “There’s
times where I’d kind of coast and every-
body doesn’t always want to go every
day, but he’d try to get the best out of
everybody, and that’s something people
respected. Every day, he came out there
with some type of intensity to bring
others up, and he’s still doing that now.”
Part of what allows Grosel to push
his teammates is the fact that he

doesn’t take any of his opportunities — practice or game day — for granted. “I think the root of it is how I got here, and how I came to this position and just really going out and being thankful for where I am, and how I got here and bringing that energy every day,” Grosel said. Grosel was thrown into the fire against Louisville and impressed not only with his poise but also the three touchdown passes he threw. The week leading into the Louisville game, Grosel took fewer than 10 practice reps with the first team. But he didn’t let the moment overwhelm him. “That’s difficult to do,” Addazio said. “You’re not getting all the game plan looks. That just speaks to a guy’s men- tal toughness... I think what’s hard for a guy to come in, whether he has the ability or not, is you just don’t get the reps. “I think what matters is it tells you the grit of a guy, the competitiveness of a guy that has the desire to be great, the desire not to let his team down. I think those things all factor into why players follow guys and believe in guys.” The circumstances are different, the stakes are higher, but Grosel’s as ready as he was when he answered White’s calls in the offseason. “I’m a lucky guy to be in this situa- tionandplaywiththeseguysandrun out of that tunnel every Saturday,’’ Gro- sel said. “There’s no better feeling. Re- minding myself of that is the biggest thing [I do]. It brings my energy level up and I try to be as contagious as possible.”

Julian Benbow can be reached at [email protected].

HIGHSCHOOLFIELDHOCKEYNOTES

By Jenna Ciccotelli
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
Like the rest of teammates on the
Danvers field hockey team,Brigid
Churchilldreamed of winning a North-
eastern Conference title since she first
picked up a stick.
In the gym at Danvers High, blue
and white banners hanging from the
ceiling display the years the Falcons
captured an NEC title. One banner cel-
ebrates the number of field hockey ti-
tles — 28, the highest number at the
school.
Her mother,Jenny, and sister,Bryn,
made their contributions to that ban-
ner, and Churchill wanted nothing
more than to play a role in raising
more white numbers to the rafters.
In 2015, as a seventh-grader play-
ing goalie for the first time in the mid-
dle school program, she watched the
Falcons take their second conference ti-
tle in two seasons. As a freshman, she
made the varsity.
Then, playing in goal in another
sport, that dream came to a screeching
halt.
At lacrosse practice — a sport she
was trying for the first time as a fresh-
man — Churchill was struck in the
head by a ball and suffered a severe
concussion that lingered for eight
months. It ended her lacrosse career.
When her symptoms persisted, field
hockey was put on hold, too.
“We really had to think, is it smart
for me to play?” recalled Churchill,
now a junior. “I slowly realized [it was
not]. I decided not to play.”
Danvers coachJillMcGinnitysup-
ported Churchill, no matter the deci-
sion. “I said, ‘Brigid, this is your life.
You don’t need to play high school field
hockey. We love you, you’re a great
goalie, and we need you, but let’s talk.’”
Last fall, Churchill watched from
the sideline as teammates stepped up
in her absence, rallying to pull together
a 6-3 start with talent and heart. Then,
when she could no longer bear to be a
spectator on the sidelines, Churchill re-

turned to the field in a 2-0 loss to league rival Beverly on Oct. 3, 2018. And she kept going, leading Danvers to an 11-6-1 regular season and a tour- nanment berth that ended in a first- round exit. “She was ready to go, and I said ‘All right, let’s do it, but let’s be prepared to take every precaution possible,’ ” McGinnity said. “There are definitely precautions you can take to try to help prevent [another concussion]. She was very educated about it. As coaches we are very, very educated about it.” Churchill’s dream was back in mo- tion. Back in net for her first full season since 2017, Churchill has surrendered just seven goals this season. One of those goals allowed wasagainst a conference opponent, putting the Falcons in good shape to earn the coveted NEC title. “It’s all my team,” Churchill said. “I feel bad taking credit for anything. Our team is amazing this year. It’s something really special. My defense is so good, and they don’t allow me to get shots.” The defensive core of juniorsJanes- saMarchegiani,CaitlinHess, andAsh- leyClarkhas been solid in front of Churchill, according to McGinnity. Churchill has stopped 62 shots and posted nine shutouts in 12 games. “She’s had some amazing, amazing games this year,” senior captainMad- dieButlersaid of Churchill. “Watching her save shots from up at the forward line, there’s not much we can do except that it doesn’t go in, and she’ll make an amazing save. “It’s so nice to watch and be a part of her team.” The tournament looms ahead for the No. 9 Falcons, who improved to 13- 0-1 with Wednesday’s 2-0 win at Bever- ly, but there’s something else to focus on — a blue-and-white banner hanging in the rafters of Danvers High’s gym. “We’ve worked so hard for it,” Churchill said. “It would be so special to add to it.”

Freehits RFor the first time in 31 years, Re- vere qualified for the MIAA tournament with a 2-1 win over Greater Bos- ton League rival Malden on Thursday. Goals from seniorsGiuliaCincinnato andKatieO’Donnellhelped the Patri- ots overcome a 1-0 deficit. “They did something that so many people could not do,” said coachBrianaScata. RAfter a 1-1 tie with Dennis-Yar- mouth on Monday put the first blemish on Sandwich’s record (10-0-1), only two teams still boast perfect records as the season winds down — Acton-Box- borough (13-0) and Somerset-Berkley (14-0). There are six other unbeaten teams: Westwood (14-0-2), Masconom- et (11-0-2), Walpole (12-0-1), Danvers (13-0-1), Sandwich (11-0-1), and West- port (9-0-1).

Jenna Ciccotelli can be reached at [email protected].

Top performances from EMass field hockey players this week: Anna Bono, North Andover —The senior mid- fielder scored twice as the Scarlet Knights played to a 3-3 tie against Danvers, then added a goal and an assist in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Westford. Sara Collette, Bishop Feehan —After scoring in a 3-2 win over Bridgewater-Raynham on Monday, the senior helped the Shamrocks rally from a 1-0 deficit, scoring one in a 2-1 win over Bishop Stang on Tuesday. Claudia Crowe, Methuen —The senior picked up 10 points in two games to help the Rang- ers improve to 9-1-3 overall and secure a postseason bid. After scoring four goals and assisting on three others in an 8-3 league win over Dracut last Wednesday, Crowe added a hat trick in a 4-2 win over Bedford on Tues- day. Cailyn Wesley, Bishop Fenwick— The senior scored four goals, including her 25th of the season, in a 6-0 win over Malden on Tuesday after picking up two goals and an assist in a 4-0 win over Marblehead on Friday. Caroline Whelan, Walpole —Whelan played a role in all seven goals (five goals, two assists) as the Porkers rolled to a 7-2 victory over Chelmsford on Monday. The sophomore also had two goals in a 7-0 Bay State Conference victory over Framingham on Thursday. JENNA CICCOTELLI

Playersoftheweek

JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF Senior Brigid Churchill has been solid in net this season for the Danvers field hockey team, recording 62 saves and nine shutouts in 12 games.

The Boston Globe - 17.10.2019

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