Girls Soccer Wins CAL Title, Awaits Tournament Seeding

The girls soccer team at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School captured the Cape Ann League Large title with a 5-0 win over Pentucket Regional High School on Thursday.

The team finishes the regular season at 13-1-2 and will until Tuesday to hear its seeding and opponent in the postseason tournament.

"From now until then, Hamilton-Wenham will regroup and begin a disciplined training session that will lead the team to the first game of the tournament," Coach Alvi Ibanez said after Thursday's win.

The one loss and two ties ending to the regular season marks a dramatic turnaround from 2011 when the team went 4-9-3 and did not make the postseason tournament.

The ties came versus Amesbury and Newburyport and the lone loss came versus Newburyport. The season includes wins over traditional CAL rivals such as Lynnfield and Masconomet.

The Generals captured the title with its own win and Masconomet's 2-1 win over Newburyport on Thursday. The team was welcomed back to town on Thursday afternoon with a Hamilton Police Department escort from the Ipswich town line to the high school. On Friday morning, they celebrated with a breakfast at Depot Diner in North Beverly.

In 2010, the No. 11-seeded Generals went to the Div. 2 North semifinals after upsetting No. 3 Stoneham. The Generals ended that year at 11-6-2 and then-coach Chal Congdon was named Cape Ann League Div. 2 Coach of the Year. The team was later bounced from the tournament by Danvers High School.

In Thursday's win, Alana Vecchiarello scored two goals and Emily Gaucher and Anna Rourke each had a goal, reports the Salem News.

Ibanez said one of  Vecchiarello's goals came from an assist by Samantha Charette and the other on an assist by Jillian Kefalas.

Other top performers were goalkeeper Cassie Vitale, Maggie Hackett in the midfield, and forward Anna Rourke, Ibanez said.