Sports 09-22-2011

Golfers win two of three matches

The Winthrop High golf team enjoyed another superb week, winning two of its three matches and almost taking the third against perennial Northeastern Conference power Danvers.

“The team is playing well,” said WHS head coach Peter Lyons, whose squad, which stands at a lofty 5-1 on the season (4-0 in the NEC South), accomplished its feat this week without the services in two of the matches of No. 1 player Pat Brogan, who pulled a back muscle this week.

Winthrop’s first victory of the past week was a 42-30 triumph over Salem last Wednesday. Adam Lundberg at No. 2 shot the best round of the day for Winthrop, a five over par 40 on the Winthrop Golf Club course, en route to defeating his Salem rival, 5-4.

The biggest winners of the day for the Vikings were Zack Mills at No. 5 and Steve Goddard at No. 6, both of whom triumphed over their Salem counterparts by margins of 7.5-1.5.

Mike Rich at No. 4, Max Floyd at No. 7, and Carmen Rich at No. 8 also were victors, 5.5-3.5. Brogan added four points to the Winthrop score card in the No 1 slot and Matt Tedesco at No. 3 chipped in 1.5 points.

After Thursday’s match with Lynn English was rained out, the Vikings hosted Danvers on Friday with their top player, Brogan, a scratch. This meant that Lyons had to move every one of his Vikings up one notch on the ladder and bring freshman Cody Boudrow into the lineup at No. 8.

However, the revamped Vikings responded with some of their best golf of the season, eventually falling by a razor thin margin of 37.5-34.5. Lundberg triumphed at No. 1, 5-4, with a blistering, one over par 36 on the WGC course. Mike Rich at No. 3 also was on fire with a 5-4 win with a round of 39.

Goddard was a 5-4 victor at No. 5 and Carmen Rich did likewise at No. 7. Tedesco earned four points at No. 2, with Floyd at No. 6 and Boudrow at No. 8 adding 3.5 points. Mills also made a nice showing with three points at No. 4.

“I was very proud of the way the team responded against Danvers with Pat out of the lineup,” said Lyons. “It put extra pressure on every boy, but they played superbly.”

On Tuesday Saugus came to town and became the Vikings’ fifth victim of the season. The contest was tied at 27-27 coming into the final two rounds, Carmen Rich at No. 7 and Boudrow at No. 8. But both players handled their opponents with aplomb for big victories, 6-3 for Rich and 6.5-2.5 for Boudrow, to provide their teammates with a  seven point victory margin, 39.5-32.5.

Lundberg won again at No. 1, 5-4. Mike Rich was a 5.5-3.5 winner at No. 3, as was Goddard at No. 5. Max Floyd triumphed at No. 6, 5-4. Tedesco at No. 2 and Mills at No. 4 chipped in three points apiece.

“We’re getting to the point where we are coming into a match not simply thinking about holding our own, but feeling confident that we will win,” said Lyons, whose squad has established itself as the team to beat in the NEC South, which would bring a golf championship banner to Winthrop for the first that anyone can remember.

The Vikings now enter a crucial stretch against its NEC South foes in three of its next four matches. Lynn English was on tap yesterday (Wednesday) and Revere is here Thursday. After a non league encounter with Malden Catholic on Monday, Swampscott visits on Tuesday.

Winthrop then will play a home and home series against non league rival Wakefield next Wednesday and Thursday.

Girls cross country team defeats Revere, Lynn English

The Winthrop High girls cross country team took two big steps in its quest to repeat as champions of the Northeastern Conference South Division with victories over Revere, 24-35, and Lynn English, 15-50, in a tri-meet Tuesday afternoon at the Deer Island course.

“This was a big win for us,” noted WHS head coach Warren MacPhail. “Revere was our closest rival for the South title last year, so to put them behind us is huge.”

Leading the way for the Vikings was eighth grader Celia Moreira, who outkicked Revere’s Caitlyn Caramello over the final 10 yards to cross the line in first place in 18:07.

The next two runners, Lady Viking Jordan Griffiths and Lady Patriot Nikki Nelson, also engaged in a duel to the finish, with Griffiths edging her Revere rival for third place.

Winthrop eighth grader Shannon Mahoney then did her part with her best effort of the season to take fifth spot in 20:07. Michaela McCarthy was seventh in 20:07 and Julia Wallace was eighth in 20:27 to complete the scoring for Winthrop.

However, the Lady Vikings displayed a lot of depth, with a host of Winthrop girls coming through with strong performances: Lexi Vaccaro in ninth in 20:36 in her first cross country race; Victoria Scorzella in 10th in 21:47; Alessandra Scorzella in 11th in 22:19; Alyssa Mackey in 12th in 22:24; Alex Ferri in 22:51; Abby Love in 22:51; Abby Evans in 23:10; Lucy Floyd in 23:52; Jess Ford in 26:59; and Jen Collignon in 27:02.

NEC North Division foe Gloucester comes to the island Tuesday afternoon.

Girls soccer team ties Gloucester, 1-1

It was a bit of a mixed bag for the Winthrop High girls soccer team this past week, as the Lady Vikings dropped a 4-2 contest to Marblehead Saturday, but then came back to earn a 1-1 tie with Lynn Classical Tuesday.

Winthrop jumped out to a 1-0 lead against Marblehead when senior midfielder Mairead McCarthy beat the Lady Magician goalkeeper just 1:40 into the game with an assist to Liana Ferullo. However, the Lady Vikings did not press their advantage and instead Marblehead  responded with a pair of unanswered goals to make it 2-1.

Senior captain Nicole Black got the Lady Vikings back to even before the half ended with a superb corner kick that curved in around the post (a true Bend It Like Beckham shot), but that would prove to be the apogee of Winthrop’s effort on the day. Marblehead scored twice after the intermission to come away with the victory.

Tuesday’s encounter with Lynn Classical proved to be a frustrating contest, as the Lady Vikings controlled the game, but could only come up with a 1-1 deadlock on the scoreboard.

“We outshot Classical in both halves, but we couldn’t put the ball in the net,” said WHS head coach Tracy Martucci, noting that her team had an 11-2 SOG advantage in the first half and a 15-4 advantage in the second.

Amanda Cordes potted the Winthrop goal in the first half on a scramble in front of the Classical net, with Ferullo, whose shot Cordes put back in, earning the assist.

The Lady Vikings, who now stand at 1-2-1 on the season, are set to host Saugus tonight (Thursday) under the lights at Miller. Kick off is at 7:00. They will entertain Lynn English Monday afternoon.

Boys cross country teams shows improvement

Although the WHS boys cross country team came out on the short end of its tri meet with Revere and Lynn English Tuesday at Deer Island, WHS head coach Warren MacPhail expects good things from his team in the weeks ahead.

“I think we established that we can compete with the other teams in the NEC South and I think we have a good chance of winning our last three meets against our South opponents,” said MacPhail.

Leading the way for the Vikings in the meet was junior Jeff Laguerre, a newcomer to the sport this season, who captured sixth place overall in a time of 15:33. Right behind Jeff in 15:43 was another new runner to the program, fellow junior Josh Babb, who likewise has been burnin’ up the miles for Winthrop.

Nick Floyd was the next Viking across the line in 16:48, followed by Brian Manning in 17:32 and Jerry Driscoll in 17:52 to complete the Winthrop score sheet. They were followed by teammates Joe Bosco in 18:40, Leo Haskell in 19:13, Mario Mazzone in 23:11, and Eric Wadkins in 24:32.

Winthrop entertains Gloucester of the NEC North this Tuesday at Deer Island.

Boys soccer team drops two tilts

An injury wracked Winthrop High boys soccer team put up a good fight at Lynn Classical on Tuesday, battling to a 0-0 draw through the first half, but three unanswered goals by Classical proved the difference in a 3-0 loss for the Vikings.

“I’m very proud of the way our team has responded to the adversity we are facing,” said WHS head coach Pasquale D’Amore, ticking off the names of his six starters, Joe D’Amore, Ross Mulholland, Paul Cingarella, Mike Lessard, Chris Day, and David Tracy, who are on the sidelines. “But with our entire starting defense on the bench, we are scrambling to fill those holes in the lineup.”

Lady Luck (and the refs) did not help matters when Classical was awarded a penalty kick that led to its first goal. Still, the Vikings battled hard up and down the field, with D’Amore in particular citing the play of captain midfielder D.J. Estrada, midfielder Rigen Mehil, and goalkeeper David Sobradelo for their efforts against Classical.

Last week the Vikings took on Everett in a nonleague encounter and came up on the short end of a 5-0 decision. D’Amore and his crew have a busy week ahead, traveling today (Thursday) to Swampscott and to Lynn English on Monday before returning home to face Revere Wednesday. They play at Watertown on Thursday.

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