Sports 09-21-2017

WHS sports roundup

WHS girls soccer defeat Everett, 7-1

The Winthrop High girls soccer team earned a 7-1 victory over new Northeastern Conference rival Everett last week.

The Lady Vikings grabbed a 3-0 lead at the half and never looked back. Senior captain Francesca Capone scored the first two goals, one of which was assisted by Olivia Holmes. Emma Carleton added the third marker before the intermission, assisted by freshman Maura Dorr.

Dorr (assisted by Carleton) and Capone (for the hat trick) quickly upped the count to 5-0 soon after the intermission. Dorr reached the back of the Everett net for her second goal of the game to put the contest safely into the “W” column for Winthrop.

This past Tuesday night, the Lady Vikings dropped a 2-0 decision to Malden.

“We had a few opportunities, but just couldn’t get any flow to our game,” said WHS head coach Tracey Martucci. “It happens, and we just have to put it behind us and move forward.

“We had two great showings from our goalies, Kaitlin Singarella and Gemma Dimento,” added Martucci. “They made a lot of big stops and kept us in the game. SofieLafratta and Jillian Kfoury also had great games for us. We have a mix of seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen all on the field at the same time, and they are really working well together.”

Martucci and her crew have three games on tap next week. They play at Essex Tech Monday, host Gloucester Wednesday, and entertain Excel Academy next Friday. Victories over Essex and Excel, which are Division 3 schools, will qualify the Lady Vikings for the post-season D-3 state tournament.

 

Key contests on tap for WHS boys soccer

The Winthrop High boys soccer team were scheduled to play some key contests this week, which could determine whether the Vikings qualify for the post-season Division 4 state tournament.

Coach Kyle Gagin and his crew were set to host D-4 opponents New Mission yesterday (Wednesday) and Stoneham Saturday at 10a.m. Victories in those contests will earn the Vikings a spot in the D-4 tourney.

In games this past week, Winthrop came out on the short end of decisions of 3-0 to Malden and 6-0 to Salem.

“We played tough defensively, and our junior keeper, Corey Cherico, made a number of good saves,” said Gagin of his team’s performance against Malden. “Juniors RilindBytiqi and RenolsCahani made a number of blocks and tackles.”

Malden scored two goals in the first half, the first of which came on a penalty kick when Cherico guessed the right way, but couldn’t quite reach his fingers to the ball.

Malden was awarded another PK in the second half. Cherico once again made the right move and actually got a hand on the ball, but was unable to keep it out of the net. Freshman John Langone made his varsity debut and played well.

“In the Salem game, we fell asleep defensively numerous times and were punished for it,” said Gagin. “RenolsCahani looked pretty solid and impressed up front. Senior midfielder Steve Tracy also had a strong game, and looked good when we needed him at defense.”

Winthrop’s game with Lynn Classical this past Tuesday was postponed. The Vikings will entertain Lynn English this coming Monday.

 

From the Press Box

The Viking Pride Bus

By Jim Lederman

The board in the Vikings locker room states: the bus will leave for the game at 4:30p.m. The Vikings are “Road Warriors” for the second year in a row. 10 games away from home, while the construction takes place on a “new” Miller Field.

The Blue Viking Pride bus with the inscription – “Winthrop Vikings” is the only team bus that is not a private commercial bus. Viking Pride provides four buses for use of the athletic teams and school transportation.

We can go back to the old “Rapid Transit” buses – the old green and yellow buses. I can go back to a team trip up the old route one in Topsfield one Friday night. The 1958 football team was en route to World War Memorial Stadium in Newburyport (before the traditional Friday night under the lights) the bus drove down and parents and fans brought the Winthrop team to Newburyport.

The first memorable sports trip was in 2011 when the Vikings captured the Division 4 State Title in the TD Garden. Fans lined the entrance to Winthrop for the arrival of the “state champs”; an escort from the Fire and Police departments took a tour of town to celebrate.

We had a repeat in 2015; the Lady Vikings captured the North title at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.

Let’s go way back in Vikings championship history to the 1983 Division Two Vikings winning the super bowl title at Foxborough Stadium.

The game was played on a Saturday morning at 10 a.m. The town was wild about the Vikings during their 33-game unbeaten streak. 13 buses left Winthrop from the Elks, the Yacht Clubs, the Booster Club and the Winthrop Golf Club. The Vikings defeated Xaverian (14-3). All scholastic Steve Staffier rushed for 215 yards.

When will the “Blue Vikings Pride” bus bring another championship team back to Winthrop?

Let the Games Begin!

 

 

Skimming the Sidelines

Marblehead (12-0) defeated Revere (0-2) 24-0 at Marblehead the patriots travel to Manning Field in Lynn Friday night to play undefeated Lynn Classical (2-1).

The Rams offense was in high gear in a (40-7) victory over Malden. For the second week in a row the Rams put their feet down on the throttle and didn’t release it until there was no time left on the clock. Classical led (21-) at the half and (35-7) after three quarters.

Lynn English improved to (2-0) with a (28-16) victory over Somerville at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville.

The ‘Bulldogs’ play North Reading in a non-league game before they begin their conference schedule. The Vikings play English on Saturday, October 21st at Manning Field.

Salem improved to (2-0) with a (36-0) shutout over Essex Tech at Bertram Field. Vincent Gaskins had two more touchdowns for the ‘Witches.’

Saugus (0-2) lost a (37-20) decision to North Quincy at Stackpole Field. Saugus travels to Bertram Field to battle Salem on Friday night.

Danvers defeated Peabody (7-0) to improve to (2-0). Gloucester defeated Beverly (25-15) the Fishermen are (2-0) and play host to Somerville Friday night at Newell Stadium. “To the River” will be the chant from the loyal Gloucester crowd on the banks of the Annisquam River.

The Vikings will play the Lynnfield “Pioneers” next Friday night in Lynnfield. Lynnfield defeated Wayland (28-26) in overtime to improve to (2-0).

 

 

On Second Thought

Two ex-Vikings are carrying the Viking tradition in College. Co-captain Danny Feeley leads the undefeated Framingham State Rams team. Danny was an all-league lineman the last two years.

Freshman Chris Zuffante is a backup quarterback for the RPI Engineers up in Troy, New York.

My comments after the second week of action in the NFL. Beth Mowins became the first woman to call a “Monday Night” football game. She smashed through the thickest glass and did an outstanding job. Beth had to carry ex-Jets ‘loudmouth’ coach Rex Ryan, who did a terrible job.

In the Patriots-Saints game on Sunday, rookie broadcaster Tony Romo spent more time discussing his career in Dallas than praising the greatest quarterback of all-time – number 12 – Tom Brady. Three touchdown passes in the first quarter for TB-12!

Vikings offense stalls in loss to Medford Mustangs

By: Jim Lederman

In 26-8 loss to Medford the Vikings played their first game with new NEC member Medford. The Mustangs handed the Vikings a (26-8) loss.

Matteo Aredes raced 30 yards in the first quarter to give Medford a (7-0) advantage. Quarterback Joel Disla had a 15-yard touchdown to increase the lead to (14-0) at halftime.

Medford scored twice in the third quarter. Disla took the ball 48-yards to pay dirt, and Ryan Burke added a 37-yard touchdown for a (26-0) advantage.

The Vikings scored a TD pass from Jake Adamson to junior Matt Love; Jake rushed the extra points for a final score of Medford 26 – Winthrop 8.

The Vikings had 154 yards of total offense. 100-yards rushing and 54-yards passing. Junior Feedle Small rushed 12 times for 62-yards. Adamson had 23-yards rushing.

Jake was six-for-13-54 yards, Love caught three for 24-yards, Small had one reception for 17 yards.

 

Extra Points

Small led the defense with nine tackles, A.J. Massa had nine tackles one for a loss, Tyler Chiudina had seven tackles, Calvin Tufa chipped in with two tackles for a loss.

Freshmen Brian Conceicao and Tyler Rockefeller played well on defense. The sub-varsity team of sophomores and freshman had a thrilling (22-22) tie on Saturday morning at Medford. Frosh Chris Ferrara and Austin Daigneault were standouts for the Vikings. The Vikings travel to Swampscott on Saturday at noon in the feature varsity game!

Let the Games Begin!

 

The Rivalry

The Vikings travel to Blocksidge Field on Saturday (noon) to battle the Big Blue of Swampscott. The two archrivals have completed in the old Northeastern Conference since the 1950s.

Coach Stan Bondelevitch built a dynasty in Swampscott. The Swampscott Pop Warner program was one of the first on the North Shore. The Vikings only NEC title team was the undefeated 1964 Vikings.

The success of the Vikings winning eleven NEC titles ranks second in the NEC to Swampscott. The Big Blue was led by all-scholastic Dick Jauron. The Vikings hold a NEC record 33-game unbeaten streak (1981-1983) two super bowl championships.

The Big Blue have opened the 2017 campaign in impressive fashion. A (44-0) victory over Greater Lawrence and a (49-17) victory over Triton on Saturday. Triton lost a (16-9) decision to undefeated Marblehead on opening weekend.

Colin Frary, Big Blue quarterback completed 11-of-16 passes for 122-yards with three touchdowns and also rushed for 35-yards and rushed for one touchdown. The Vikings have defeated Swampscott five out of the last six years. Winthrop beat Swampscott 20-7 at East Boston Stadium in 2016. “They are big and they are fast,” said Coach Sean Driscoll.

Vikings vs. the Big Blue – Don’t Miss “The Rivalry” Saturday at noon!

Let the Games Begin!

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