English girls soccer coach Ed McNeil couldn’t have asked for a better retirement gift from his fellow Northeastern Conference coaches. McNeil, who retired last week after 15 seasons at the helm at English, was named NEC Coach of the Year as the conference announced its end-of-season awards and all-stars Wednesday.
“I had a number of coaches reach out to me,” McNeil said. “Jimmy Hinchion from Danvers, Andrew Douglass from Salem, Mike Schena from Classical, Tracy Martucci from Winthrop. It’s unbelievable. I had to leave the NEC Coaches’ Meeting early because of another commitment and then they sent me a text letting me know I got Coach of the Year. It was greatly appreciated. I coached against the best coaches. They’re all wonderful. It was an honor. This really got to me. It was great.
“I was named Coach of the Year three times before. But those were some great teams. This time it was for the body of work. Everywhere I go, people are congratulating me. I’m very honored and very happy. It’s an honor that they’d think that much of me.”
McNeil’s looking forward to enjoying his retirement.
“The last week has been just fabulous,” McNeil said, “and to have this honor just puts the icing on the cake. I’m looking forward to coaching my granddaughter, Caitlin, who plays for the Lynn Sharks. But it’s been an honor, knowing that the coaches think so well of me. Apparently I’m doing something right.
“The state tournament is coming up and I’ll be at some of the games. The English boys are undefeated with coach Kerry King. The Saugus girls are having a great season with coach Chris Coviello. Tim Phelan and the Austin Prep girls are doing well. These coaches are all great friends of mine.”
Danvers’ Arianna Bezanson was named conference MVP. Classical, under first-year coach Mike Schena’s watch, earned the Sportsmanship Award.
“Through all the injuries that transpired through the season we stayed positive,” Schena said. “We might’ve been the only team that never got a yellow card. It felt good to get the Sportsmanship Award. It’s not about me, it’s the girls. They’re the ones who stayed positive and carried themselves well on the field. I’m very proud of that.
“It says a lot about who we are. We always kept our heads up on the sidelines, no matter what. You might be down one, you might be down two, you might be down five. But we always kept ourselves positive. It’s something that was brought to my attention after games. Next year will be a different year and I’m looking forward to it.”
The All-Conference team includes Beverly’s Sydney Anerson, Cassie Jones and Lia Whitehair; Danvers’ Bezanson, Livvi Anderson, Abby Cash and Riley DiGilio; Marblehead’s Anna Rigby; Peabody’s Aja Alimonti; Salem’s Ella Galante-Barrett; Swampscott’s, Mackenzie Kearney and Emme Laundry.
The NEC South All-Stars are Classical’s Anna Flaherty, Chloe Kebreau; English’s Julianna Perry; Saugus’ Jordan Morris, Maddie Goyetche, Kiley Ronan; Salem’s Madison White, Stephanie Cantone; Winthrop’s Maura Dorr, Manuela Mejia.
The NEC North All-Stars are Beverly’s Ceirra Merritt, Kayleigh Crowell, Samantha Carnevale; Danvers’ Abby Clickstein, Becca Rocker, Reese Pszenny; Peabody’s Madeleine Scacchi, Colleen Crotty; Swampscott’s Sydney Clark, Aislinn McCarron; Marblehead’s Carter Murray; Gloucester’s Rumi Thomas.
