Winthrop High School Sports Roundup

WHS boys hockey team blasts Longmeadow

The Winthrop High boys hockey team exploded for 10 goals in the final two periods to break open a 1-0  contest after one period and cruise to an 11-4 victory over Longmeadow last Wednesday at Larsen Rink.

The encounter began inauspiciously, with the lone marker in the opening coming off the stick of Viking Pierce Lamberton, assisted by Chris Page and Steven Goddard.

However, the offensive fireworks soon erupted in the second frame. Lamberton ignited the scoring surge, lighting the lamp twice for a natural hat trick. Page and Luke Hodgkins were credited with assists.

Dylan Driscoll got into the scoring act next, assisted by Jake McKinnon and Zack Deeb, and Page, assisted by Chris Fucillo, completed the Viking scoring in the second period.

For their part, the visitors from Longmeadow were not silent and managed to respond with three goals of their own to leave matters at 5-3 at the second horn.

However, Winthrop resumed its offensive output in the final 15 minutes to turn the contest into a rout. Fucillo pocketed his first career varsity goal (assisted by Lamberton); Lamberton racked up his fourth goal of the game (assisted by Fucillo and Page); Mark Ferullo lit the lamp (assisted by Page and Lamberton); Page notched his second tally (from Goddard and David Capone); McKinnon got into the goal column (from Page and Lamberton); and freshman defenseman Noah Hodgkins, assisted by brother Luke, recorded his first WHS varsity goal.

The end result of the Viking onslaught was an 11-4 triumph.

However, Winthrop was unable to continue its scoring touch three days later at Peabody. Ferullo, assisted by McKinnon, tallied the  lone Winthrop marker in the third period in a 2-1 loss to the Tanners. The Vikings pulled their goalie at the end and had a good chance, but could not find the handle for the tying goal.

“This was a very disappointing loss for us,” said WHS head coach Dale Dunbar. “We had been hoping to clinch a spot in the state tourney with a win, but we came out flat and never got any momentum going.”

The Vikings, who now stand at 7-3-4 on the season, need two points to punch their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney. They made the long trip to Gloucester last night (Wednesday) and host Beverly Saturday for a 7:00 face off at Larsen.  They are set to travel to Saugus Monday.

Girls basketball team claims more wins

The Winthrop High girls basketball team took two more steps toward clinching a Northeastern Conference South Division basketball title with victories over NEC South rivals Swampscott and Gloucester this past week.

Coach Ignacio Oyola’s Lady Vikings now stand at a sterling13-3 overall and are 11-2 in the NEC with three NEC games left on their schedule.

Friday night’s encounter at Swampscott saw the Winthrop girls apply the defensive clamps in the first half, as the Lady Vikings limited Swampscott to just one free throw through the first eight minutes of play and three points in the next eight minute frame to move out to a commanding 22-4 lead at the half.

The contest never was in doubt thereafter, although Swampscott found its scoring touch a bit after the intermission to keep things a respectable 39-24 at the final buzzer.

“Obviously our defense is what made the difference for us,” said WHS head coach Ignacio Oyola. “We played a sloppy game offensively, committing 26 turnovers against a team that played in a 2-3 zone the whole way. Everybody played a role in throwing the ball away and there really was no reason for it.”

Theresa Jones paced the Lady Vikings in the scoring department with 11 points, including a pair of treys, and grabbed seven rebounds. Kristen Siscamanis was next on the point parade with eight, followed by Temison Meggison with six points (to go with her eight rebounds), Liana Ferullo with four, Niki Tsiotis with three, Ashelyne Babb (nine rebounds from her point guard slot), Alyssa Mackey, and Jen Adamson with two each, and Nina Bartlett with a free throw.

Tuesday’s contest at the Holland Gymnasium was a different story from an offensive point of view for the Lady Vikings. The defense was there once again (Gloucester put up just four points on the board in the first quarter and 14 for the first half), but the Lady Viking offense was more consistent. Winthrop built a 29-14 advantage at the half and went into cruise control thereafter en route to a 54-30 triumph.

“We continued to stress our intensity level on defense, but we cut down significantly on our turnovers,” said Oyola, whose squad committed just 11 of those miscues on the night.

Babb topped the scoring chart with 10 points and Jones hit for nine. Ferullo struck for seven points, followed by Siscamanis, Nikki Tsiotis, and Polli Tsiotis with six apiece, Mackey and Meggison with four each, and Adamson with two.

The Lady Vikings host Marblehead Friday and then play at second place Danvers Tuesday. They return home next Thursday to host Saugus.

Lady Bulldogs tie unbeaten Beverly, 0-0

The Winthrop Lady Bulldog hockey team handed undefeated Beverly its only blemish thus far this season, dueling the Lady Panthers to a 0-0 standoff Saturday evening before a good crowd at Larsen Rink.

The big story of the game for Winthrop was the play of eighth grade goalie Gretchen Howard, who turned aside 36 Beverly shots, including a bunch in the first part of the game when Beverly had two power plays, including a 5-on-3 advantage.

“Gretchen was awesome,” said Winthrop head coach Anthony Martucci. “She simply was not going to be beat. She did everything she could to keep them from scoring.”

After the opening flurry by Beverly, the contest settled down into a classic up-and-down ice hockey matchup between the Lady Panthers, who sit atop the Northeast Division of the Girls Eastern Mass. Ice Hockey League and are ranked 18th in the state, and the Lady Bulldogs, who are among a group of teams vying for second place in the Northeast Division.

Beverly had nipped Winthrop 1-0 earlier in the season and the rematch once again was a tight affair in which neither the goalies nor defense could afford to make a mistake.

Both teams had their chances to score, with Winthrop having one last opportunity at a game-winning goal when Emma English broke in from center ice, made a move on the Beverly defenseman to the outside, and let go a hard shot that the Beverly goalie managed to get a pad on.

Martucci also had praise for his defensive corps of freshman Gabby Kenniston, sophomore Kasey Harris, senior captain Cat Salvetti, and freshman Juliana Kennedy, who stood tall in front of Howard throughout the game.

“Our defense played a great game for us,” said Martucci. “Gabby is a tough player whose entire game is really beginning to take shape. She has a great slapshot and is on our power play.

“Kasey has been very consistent for us and does so many things well,” continued the coach. “Cat is one of our leaders and is a calming presence for our younger players on the ice. Juliana always has been our rushing defenseman, but now she also is playing more of an all-around game at the blue line for us.”

The tie inched Winthrop a point closer to punching their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney. The Lady Bulldogs stand at 6-4-4 on the season and now are just two points away from the magic number of 18 they need (playing an 18 game schedule, Winthrop needs 50 percent of its possible 36 points) to clinch a post-season state tourney berth.

Those two points likely came last night (Wednesday) at Everett, a rival whom Winthrop handily defeated 10-0 in their first meeting. The Lady Bulldogs then will be home for the final three games of the season: They host St. Joseph’s Prep (an amalgam of Mt. St. Joseph, Matignon, and Trinity Catholic) Saturday at 5:00; Marblehead next Wednesday; and Masconomet in the season finale next Saturday that will be highlighted by Senior Night festivities.

Girls turn in strong efforts at NEC Meet

The Winthrop High girls indoor track team turned in a number of fine performances at the Northeastern Conference All-League Meet held at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center last Thursday.

Sophomore Carly O’Keefe ran a great qualifying time in the prelims with a clocking of 9.61 and then came in fourth in the finals with a personal record (PR) time of 9.51.  Carly will be going to the upcoming State Divisional Meet.

Sophomore Amy Sena had a great day. She finished sixth in the 1000 meter run by running a 3:19.71 (which beat her previous best by a huge seven seconds) and which qualified her for the State Meet in that event. Amy also earned a ribbon (which goes to the top six competitors in each event) and more  points for the Winthrop cause with a fifth place finish in the high jump with a leap of 5-0, a height that equaled her PR.

Freshman Holly Benson also had a fine day, qualifying for states in the 600 with a time of 1:49.93, which was good for ninth place.

Those three aforementioned Lady Vikings then joined with teammate and senior captain Jordan Griffiths in the  4 x 400 relay that came home in fifth place in a PR time of 4:27.55 that also earned them a spot in the state meet.

“Jordan got us off to a superb start by putting the team up near the leaders with a split of 64.4 for the first leg,” said WHS head coach Mark D;Amico. “Carly then came through with her best split of 67.1.  Holly kept pace with a 68.7 and Amy finished strong with a split of 66.1 for their final time of 4:27.55.”

Other girls from Winthrop who competed were: Julia Wallace who high-jumped 4-8 to finish in eighth spot in that event; Ashley Jurovich in the hurdles with a time of 11.72 and in the shotput with a toss of 29-09.7, which placed her in eighth; Elizabeth Anderson in the 55 meter dash with a time of 8.47 and in the shot with a throw of 27-01.5, good for 12th place; Valentina Ramos in the 55 meter dash with a time of 9.06;  Michaela McCarthy with a run of 6:41.4 in the mile; Kristen Ford with a mile time of 6:47.1; freshman Sarah Burnett with a PR of 51.80 in the 300 meter dash; and in the two mile, Abbie Love with a clocking of 14:41, which was good for 11th place.

The 4 x 800 relay team of Michaela McCarthy, Maria Rago, Heidy Benson, and  Olivia Rago crossed the line in a time of 11:39.4.

WHS boys hoop team burns Swampscott, 72-46

The Winthrop High boys basketball team came out of the locker room on fire to start the second half and turned what had been a tight 27-26 contest at the intermission into a 72-46 rout of Swampscott last Friday evening before a large crowd of young fans who had turned out for Youth Night at the Holland Gymnasium.

The Vikings picked up their defensive intensity to start the third quarter and began to create turnovers, which in turn led to some fast break buckets that soon put some distance between the teams.

“We started to do everything well on both sides of the ball and showed the capability we have of becoming a very good basketball team,” said WHS head coach Mike DiMarino.

Winthrop received balanced scoring with three Vikings reaching double figures. Josh Babb led the way with 15 points, followed by Jeff Laguerre (in his first game back in the lineup since straining a knee two weeks ago) with 14 and Ervin DeJesus with 12. Curtis Locket (whose jam at the end of the first half ignited the crowd) and Jake Chiudina added eight apiece. Max Floyd chipped in five points, Vinnie Sparacino contributed four, Brendan Van Dalinda hit for three, and Mike Lessard sank a free throw.

However, Tuesday night’s contest at Gloucester saw the Vikings commit numerous turnovers from the outset. Winthrop fell behind 37-16 at the half and never recovered en route to a 68-44 loss to the host Fishermen.

“It was a disappointing game after we had played so well against Swampscott,” said a candid DiMarino.

The Vikings play at Marblehead Friday and host Danvers Tuesday. A big encounter with Snowden is set for next Thursday in a game which Winthrop needs to win in order to qualify for the post-season state tourney.

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