There is no debate that Colleen Gibbs' Georgetown Royals would like to match the stretch Robb Gonnam's Newburyport Clippers had from 2006 to 2008 in Division 3. In that time the Clippers won three North sectional crowns and back-to-back state championships.
Two questions linger: How well do the 2009 Royals stack up to the 2006 Clippers and can the Royals continue to make strides and build off their terrific campaign like 2007 and 2008 Clippers?
From a numbers standpoint alone, the 2009 Royals were not as dominant in many areas as the 2006 Clippers, but more dominant in a few.
Record wise, Georgetown finished 17-5-1, while Newburyport finished 21-2 — advantage Newburyport.
Georgetown out scored its opponents by an outstanding 51-goal margin (72 goals for, 21 goals against), but again the 2006 Clippers were a little better with a ridiculous 64-goal margin (78 goals for, 14 goals against) — advantage Port.
Shutouts: Again, 2006 Port holds the edge over 2009 Georgetown, 13-9.
However, the Royals were much more domineering in the state tournament where they seemed to hit full stride vs. the 2006 Clippers, outscoring their opponents 23-5 (23-4 in the North section), while the 2006 Clippers outscored their opponents 11-3.
Ultimately in the two categories that matter most, both the 2009 Royals and 2006 Clippers finished third in their respective conference standings, won the Division 3 North title and had their seasons come to an end in the state semifinals in Quincy at Veteran's Memorial Stadium.
As for the seasons to come, Georgetown's future success should not be measured in state championship trophies because setting the bar that high and anything less sets the program up for failure. The more realistic goals for the Royals — winning the CAL Small in 2010 and 2011 and returning to the scene of their exodus — should prove lofty enough.
Can Georgetown squeak in a state championship somewhere in the not too distant future? Perhaps.
The 2006 Clippers lost four seniors, with Leanne Paparella and Eileen Ryan both significant losses. However, Newburyport had many players waiting in the wings to step up with more than 20 underclassmen waiting to return for 2007, and had the key nucleus of Jillian Kinter, Taylor Bresnahan, Laura Muise and Maggie Mahoney.
The 2009 Royals lose the heart of their midfield in center midfielders Emma Cannon and Casey Decareau as well as one of their key role players in forward Emily Bitchell. In that threesome nearly 20 goals and 20 assists of production is lost.
Like those 2006 Clippers, the Royals have a terrific return of talent coming back next season.
Twenty-goal scorer Nicoline Holland heads the Royal attack.
Nicole DiMaio, who showed her versatility switching to outside mid at the end of the season, Kelly Chickering, a spark plug shutdown defender with great offensive ability, and Ashley Mueskes, a terrific crosser and passer of the ball, could all be viable replacements for Cannon and Decareau at the all-important center mid positions.
The entire defense returns, and with any luck, if the Royals can find another goalie in their system they would be able to free up both their terrific '09 freshmen in Kristin Hogan and Jamie Block to play more in the field where they have more of an impact.
The 2010 Georgetown diagnosis: With a clean bill of health — a tricky thing to predict as any coach would say after so many teams were ravaged by the swine flu this past season — and a bit of luck — the 2007 Clippers, as dominant as they were, needed to score two goals in the final eight minutes to win their first state title — this soccer reporter sees the Royals being crowned queens of the pitch a little over a year from now somewhere in the Worcester area.
