Yes, it's a dynasty

By John Shimer
Staff writer

November 16, 2008 10:41 pm

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LOWELL — Newburyport certainly has a flare for the dramatic.

After yesterday's thrilling 2-1 victory over Bedford in overtime, the Clippers have now won three of their last four overtime games. Those games include the 2-1 win over Norwell last year in the state semifinals, avenging the previous year's loss in the same round in overtime, and also in 2006 when the Clippers knocked off St. Mary's 2-1 in overtime. Many of the same faces have been around for each of the tournament runs.

Next up on the docket is Cohasset, a team Newburyport scrimmaged in a preseason jamboree and who also knocked off Norwell in the South finals to take a spot in the Eastern Mass final Tuesday night at 5 p.m. at the Manning Bowl in Lynn.

But taking a look at Newburyport's most recent accomplishment. If three titles is enough to call a team like the Patriots of this decade a dynasty, then you could certainly throw out that term about the Clippers of the last three years, who have dominated the Northern section en route to three straight titles.

Said Newburyport coach Robb Gonnam of the last three years in which his teams have gone a combined 60-5-3 and still have one more game and possibly two to go, "Call it what you want. It's certainly an achievement given the quality of teams and so many more great players that we have had to play in that time frame. It's a huge accomplishment."

Names like Leanne Paparella, Shannon Fitzgerald, Maggie Mahoney and Collen Coviello all ring loud and clear as past superstars to go through the program.

Veronica Poirier looks to be the guiding light when this year's group of talented seniors eventually move on.

But the trifecta of Laura Muise, Taylor Bresnahan and Jillian Kinter have been there for each of the three championships, and it is really no surprise that they are pining for a second straight state championship.

Each have won distinguished honors, all three have been Daily News player of the year and all have scored big goals over the years in the most pressure-packed moments. Last year Muise and Bresnahan scored the tying and eventual game-winning goals in the last 10 minutes of the state final when the team was trailing 2-1.

This time Kinter took center stage under the bright lights, scoring both the teams goals against Bedford — one off a corner in the second half on a volley after several other close misses on corners, and then in overtime with an absolute stroke of brilliance as three girls tried to stop the super striker but could do nothing but observe as the captain blasted a shot from 30 yards out up over the opposing keeper into the top-left side netting to send Newburyport once again into pure ecstasy.

"I knew it was a golden goal, whoever scores wins, so I picked my head up right when I got the ball," said Kinter of her hammer-stroke of a game winner. "I realized I wasn't too far out to shoot, and I shot kind of where I thought the wind was going to be going. It curled that way and I got lucky."

"That was a magnificent shot," commended Gonnam, while joking he has had to endure too many of the nail-biters lately close to the end of his days as a high school coach. "The first one was a volley where she had all the time to see the ball; it was just a question of getting her foot on the ball. But that other one, she had pressure on her — one player on the left, one coming at her, and one coming in from the right, so she only had one crack at it."

Of course, Kinter's heroics were only made possible by another dramatic moment, one in which there was nearly an entirely different result. Bedford nearly tucked away the game-winner when goalie Lindsey Tomasz attempted to come off her line and slide out to make a save, but the opposing forward beat her to the ball, sending in a sliding shot that appeared to surely be going into the vacant net.

However, Veronica Poirier — who was only playing on defense because Taylor Whitehill had to finally take a rest on the bench after playing all of regulation and the rest of the past week with pneumonia — never gave up on the play, and came bolting in from the far right side of defense to slide and clear the ball out within inches of the goal line.

"I just saw the ball rolling and just sprinted as fast as I could," said Poirier, who also helped jump-start the Clippers in the second half when Gonnam moved her from defense up to forward. "I did not want to let the ball in, so I just slid in and tried to get it out, and I just did. I think I had about a yard until it was about to go in.I was just hoping it would stay out, and I got lucky."

Good poker players will tell you they make their own luck. Newburyport seems to be one of those teams that makes its own luck. With potentially two more games to go toward a second straight Division 3 state title, stay tuned for more high entertaining theater.