WHS sports roundup
Boys hockey team
opens season with win
The Winthrop High boys hockey team opened its season in impressive fashion with a 7-1 triumph this past Saturday against Portland, Maine, in a contest played at Larsen Rink.
Coach Dale Dunbar’s squad was scheduled to play two more non-league opponents this week, Northeast Regional last night (Wednesday) and at Mansfield this Saturday.
They will open their Northeastern Conference North Division schedule next Saturday afternoon (Dec. 22) with a contest against Peabody at Larsen. Face-off is set for 1:30.
WHS girls hockey teamdefeats Medford in opener, 2-1
The Winthrop High girls hockey team opened its season on a successful note wth a 2-1 triumph at Medford Saturday afternoon.
After a scoreless first period, the Lady Vikings drew first blood in the middle frame. Emma Holmes, assisted by Mia Norris and Mia Martucci, earned the honor of lighting the lamp for the first goal of the 2019 season.
“It was just kind of a workman-like shift for that line, and it ended with a gritty goal off a goal-mouth scrum,” said WHS head coach Anthony Martucci, who now is in his 11th year at the helm of the WHS girls hockey program.
However, despite enjoying a wide margin in shots on goal through the first two periods (24-7), the Lady Vikings could not add to their advantage by the second horn.
Medford took advantage of a power play opportunity early in the third stanza to bring the score back to level at 1-1, but the Lady Vikings rebounded in short order, capitalizing on a power play of their own two shifts later.
Olivia Driscoll reached the back of the Medford net, assisted by Abby Stafford and Emma Carleton, to provide what would prove to be the winning tally.
“It was a very nice play by Olivia,” noted Martucci. “She walked the puck out of the corner and snapped a quick shot through the Medford goalie’s five-hole to give us the lead. It was a big goal that we needed, and it eventually became the game-winner.
“It was a great opener for us,” added Martucci, whose Lady Vikings outshot the Lady Mustangs, 40-10. “The Medford goalie played fantastically. She kept them in the game. We carried the play and had a bunch of great chances. It was great to have a lot of the play in their end, but I definitely would like to see us capitalize more on our chances.
“This is probably the youngest team I have had here since taking over the program,” Martucci noted. “We had three eighth-graders, two freshmen, and two sophomores filling major roles for us on Saturday and one of those eighth-graders scored our first goal.”
Martucci also had high praise for his veteran defensive corps.
“This game was strong for our defense and our goalie,” said the coach. “Bella Perrotti, Abby Stafford, Kayla Morrill, and Olivia Holmes really held down the fort. They are four seniors with a ton of experience and all of them bring great intangibles to the table. Summer Tallent was the winning goalie and she made some big saves. Summer is just a phenomenal competitor. She will give our team a chance to win every game.”
Martucci also singled out the performance of Julia Holmes. “Julia was very impressive in her varsity debut. She was all over the ice and had some good scoring chances.â€
“I also want to add that our three captains, Emma Carleton, Abby Stafford, and Bella Perrotti, have been incredible leaders and their leadership was evident throughout this game,” Martucci said. “They are much more than three all-star caliber players. They also are elite-level leaders.”
Martucci and his crew will host perennial Northeast Hockey League power Beverly at Larsen this Saturday afternoon with the face-off set for 1:30 p.m.. The Lady Vikings then will entertain Marblehead at Larsen Wednesday at 6:10 p.m.
WHS girls track
defeats English
The Winthrop High girls indoor track team opened its season in fine fashion, cruising past Lynn English, 56-21, last Wednesday at Danvers.
Five Lady Vikings won their individual events, earning five points for the Winthrop side of the scoresheet: Daniella Zanelli in the 55 meter hurdles in a time of 10.2; Nora McCarey in the 300 dash in 50.5; Kat Thano in the 600 dash in 2:10.9; Isabel Skomro in the 1,000 in 4:13.8; and Camilla Miranda-Llovera in the two mile run in 13:47.
Seven Lady Vikings took second place in their events to add three points to the Winthrop cause: Marykate Pote with a shootout toss of 29′-1″; Clalre Nargi in the hurdles in 11.4; Miya Grein in the 55 dash in 8.8; Ella McCarey in the 600 in 2:19.0; Devon Barry in the 1,000 in 4:14.3; Brianna Marley in the mile in 7:02; and Anyra Silva in the two mile in 15:26.
Also scoring points for Winthrop with third-place performances were: Sydney Crotty in the high jump and in the hurdles in 13.6; Gianna Doherty in the 55 dash in 9.2; Alexandra Gibbons in the 300 in 53.4; and Mary Teixiera in the mile in 8:08.
The Winthrop 4 x 100 relay quartet won its race handily with a time of 5:09.9 compared to English’s 5:31.9.
The Lady Vikings will be back in action this Tuesday against Somerville.
WHS boys outrace
Lynn English, 51-29
The Winthrop High boys indoor track team opened its season with a 48-29 victory over Lynn English last Wednesday at Danvers.
Six Vikings took first-place honors in their respective individual events: Kim Haddar in the high jump with a leap of 5′-0″; Billy Hubert with a shot put toss of 33′-4″; Cam Martin in the 55 meter hurdles with a clocking of 11.0; Bobby Hubert in the 55 dash with a sprint of 6.9; Mark Goudge in the 600 dash in 1:47; and Cormac MacPhail in the two-mile run with a time of 11:33.
The Viking 4 x 100 relay team defeated its English counterparts in a tight race by two seconds, 4:11-4:13.
Second-place finishers for Winthrop were: Julian Osorio in the high jump; Cody Wojcik in the hurdles in 11.7; Ryan Kfoury in the 300 in 42.9; Pat Haskell in the 1000 in 3:04.6; and Michelangelo Marcoccio in the mile in 5:58.
Ryan Buccini added a point to the Winthrop total with his third-place finish in the 300 in 44.5.
The Vikings will face Somerville this coming Tuesday.
WHS girls basketball
opens season Friday
The Winthrop High girls basketball team will open its season tomorrow (Friday) evening when the Lady Vikings host Beverly at the WHS gym. Tip-off is set for 7:00.
The 2019 squad will feature eight returning varsity players, led by senior captain Cat Grimes and fellow seniors Emma Turner, Holly Vaccaro, Aliyah Lovell, Fatma Tufa, and Bianca Fregi, a foreign exchange student. For Grimes, Lovell, and Fregi, this will be their first season with the varsity squad.
Sophomores Maura Dorr, Lily Pulsifer, Caroline Earl, Carolyn Kinsella, and Grace Galuris will round out the varsity roster.
The Lady Vikings have played well in the pre-season. Winthrop participated in the Coaches vs Cancer Jamboree on December 1 at Burlington High where they played half-games against Wakefield and Lawrence. The Lady Vikings showed promise in both scrimmages, enjoying an edge in the Lawrence matchup thanks to a strong team defense and rebounding.
Three days later, coach Kristin Degou’s team hosted Newburyport, which finished in second place in the Cape Ann League last year with a 15-5 record, for a full-game scrimmage. Winthrop once again played well, coming up short by just two points with a chance to win in the final seconds.
The Lady Vikings once again turned in a strong defensive effort, led by the duo of Pulsifer and Dorr (who scored more than 250 points last year as a freshman) at the top of a 2-3 zone that disrupted the flow of the Newburyport offense. Earl also was a big factor defensively in the middle of the zone.
Offensively, Pulsifer and Earl paced the Winthrop effort with nine points apiece. Although the Lady Vikings gave away some size to Newburyport, they outrebounded the visitors by a 2-1 margin.
“We’re looking to take another step forward in the State Tournament this year,” said assistant coach Rick Pulsifer. “The team has great senior leadership and a handful of returning young players with varsity experience. We feel we are capable of playing with anyone when we play a complete team game.”
After Friday night’s opener, the Lady Vikings will travel to Lynn Classical next Tuesday and will host Lynn English next Thursday.
WHS boys basketball
team opens season
The Winthrop High boys basketball team opened its season this past Tuesday with a non-league contest against Malden Catholic.
The Vikings open their Northeastern Conference schedule when they travel to Beverly tomorrow night (Friday) and host Lynn Classical Tuesday. They will be back on the road to Lynn English next Thursday.