Sports 01-03-2019

WHS sports roundup

WHS boys basketball defeats St. Joseph’s

The Winthrop High boys basketball team earned its first victory of the season with a 59-47 triumph over St. Joseph’s Prep last Friday afternoon at the WHS gym.

After a slow start, coach Dave Sacco’s young Viking squad moved out to a 15-12 lead with a minute left in the opening quarter and then went on a six-point run to close out the period with a 21-12 advantage at the buzzer.

Although Winthrop’s offense was not as prolific over the next eight minutes, scoring only nine points, the Vikings’ solid defensive effort limited St. Joe’s to nine points, enabling Winthrop to take a 30-21 lead into the half.

“I tell my guys night-in and night-out that we have to bring it on the defensive end and we did for the most part, especially in that second quarter where our offense was basically non-existent,‚Äù said Sacco.

The Vikings came out flying after the intermission, with sophomores David Diccico and Austin Daigneault draining back-to-back three-pointers. Winthrop pushed its lead to 16 points on three different occasions in the third period, but could not put St. Joseph’s away, as the visitors twice sliced the lead to seven points in the second half.

“We need to be more consistent for a full 32 minutes,” noted Sacco. “We‚Äôre not that good where once we get a big lead, we can just stop playing. We‚Äôre playing so many young guys that they need to know when you have a team down, you have to dig in even more, especially on the defensive end, to put them away.”

Sophomore Cam Conway paced Winthrop in the scoring column with 14 points. Diccici also reached double figures with 10 points, followed by junior Engjell Ramadan and senior Chrono Washington with nine points apiece and junior Bryan Rodrigues with seven.

Sacco and his crew, who now stand at 1-3 on the season, have a stretch of three games in five days: They will host Somerville tomorrow (Friday) evening; travel to the Maimonides School on Sunday; and then return home to entertain Salem on Tuesday. The opening tip for all games is 7 p.m.

WHS gymnastics team opens with two victories

The Winthrop High girls gymnastics team opened its season with a pair of victories against Medford and Malden last Thursday at the Winthrop Gymnastics Academy.

The Lady Vikings started off on the uneven bars, with Alayna Ronan, Rachel Farley, and Danielle Carter  scoring 6.8, 6.9, and 6.9 respectively. Teammates Mary O’Donnell and Brandi DiCicco tied at 7.5 and freshman Megi Zogasi won the event with a score of 7.8.

The second event for Winthrop, the vault, had Emily Rodriquez and Danielle Carter tying with an 8.0. Mary O’Donnell and Brandi DiCicco both tied with scores of 8.1. Megi Zogasi turned in a powerful vault, scoring an 8.2. Sophomore Rachel Farley scored an 8.35 to capture first place.

Unfortunately for Winthrop however, all-around performer Brandi DiCicco twisted her ankle and had to scratch for the rest of the meet.

The balance beam was the Lady Vikings’ toughest event last season, but this year they started off on the right foot. Sage D’Amelio and Jill Lerner both hit their routines to receive scores of 7.1 and 6.9. Mega Zogasi followed next with an impressive 8.5. Not to be outdone, eighth grader Alayna Ronan performed a flawless routine, scoring an 8.6.

Danielle Carter stayed on the beam, scoring an outstanding 9.45 to win the event. Freshman Mary O’Donnell, filing in for Brandi DiCicco, scored an 8.55, taking second place.

The Winthrop gymnasts’ final event, the floor exercise, turned out to be a crowd-pleaser, with freshman Emily Rodriquez hitting a 7.35, followed by Alayna Ronan (8.0) and Rachel Farley (8.1).  Bella Guiffre danced her way to an 8.3, taking second place, and sophomore Danielle Carter won the event with a beautiful routine, scoring 8.5.

The final team scores had Winthrop with 129.45 points, followed by Malden with 105.8 and Medford with 104.85.

The Winthrop gymnasts then headed to Masconomet to face what many consider to be the top team on the North Shore.

“Masco ranks with Bridgewater and Mansfield as among the best-three teams in the state,” noted longtime WHS coach Pete Gobiel.

The Lady Vikings started the meet on uneven bars, with Charlotte Hurley and Danielle Carter scoring 7.0, followed by Alayna Ronan, Rachel Farley, and Mary O’Donnell with scores of 7.6.

Megi Zogasi topped the score-chart for Winthrop with an 8.0, but Masco won the event, with two Lady Chieftains scoring 9.25 and 9.3.

Heading to the vault and competing for the first time, Lady Viking Molly Girard did a handspring to score a 7.6, followed by teammates Emily Rodriguez, Mary O’Donnell, and Megi Zogasi, all of whom earned scores of 8.2.

Danielle Carter twisted to an 8.45, while Rachel Farley vaulted to an 8.6 for Winthrop’s highest score. Masco’s all-around state champion, Gracy Mowers, took first place with an impressive score of 9.55.

The balance beam was the next event with Sage D’Amelio scoring a 6.2, followed by Mary O’Donnell at 7.4 and Jillian Lerner at 7.9. Megi Zogasi and Danielle Carter scored 8.1 and finishing first for the Lady Vikings was Alayna Ronan with an 8.6.

Masco’s Kately Aylin grabbed first place with a score of 9.55.

The floor exercise was next for Winthrop, with both Mary O’Donnell and Emily Rodrizuez scoring a 7.7, followed by a three-way tie among Alayna Ronan, Rachel Farley, and Bella Guiffre scoring 8.0.

Danielle Carter scored an 8.2 to finish off the meet for Winthrop.

Masco’s Mowers took first-place on the floor with an incredible routine to receive the highest score of the day, 9.7.

The final tally showed Masco with 145 points and Winthrop with 129.

The Lady Vikings’ next competition is set for this Saturday at 3:15 p.m. against Peabody at the Yellow Jackets gym on Route 1 in Danvers.

WHS girls hockey team wins two games

The Winthrop High girls hockey team won two of its three games this past week to improve to 5-1 for the season.

Both of the Lady Vikings’ victories came against non-league opponents. Last Thursday Winthrop defeated Falmouth (ME), 5-1, at Larsen Rink. Kaiya Rodriguez scored the first of her two goals, assisted by Bella Perotti, to give Winthrop a 1-0 lead in the opening period. The Lady Vikings then took control of the contest in the middle stanza, reaching the back of the Falmouth net four times to move out to a commanding 5-0 advantage.

Emma Carleton, Olivia Driscoll, and Julia Holmes all scored for Winthrop, with Rodriguez potting her second of the contest.

Mia Martucci earned two assists, with teammates Driscoll, Perotti, Carleton, Emma Holmes, and Brooke Costin also being credited with assists.

The third period marked the debut of back-up goalie Haley McSwiney, who took over for starter Summer Tallent.

“Hayley has been a huge addition to this team,” said WHS head coach Anthony Martucci. “She improves every single day and is a perfect fit in our locker room. She is a senior and just a great kid.”

This past Monday, Winthrop celebrated New Year’s Eve in fine fashion with a 3-1 triumph at Watertown.

After spotting Watertown a 1-0 lead in the first period on an errant line change, which permitted Watertown to score a breakaway goal, the Lady Vikings came right back and took control of the contest.

Martucci, assisted by Rodriguez and Julia Holmes, soon brought the score back to level.  Sydney Mignosa, assisted by Emma Carleton, gave Winthrop the lead and then Kayla Morrill, assisted by Jenna Dorr, made it 3-1.

‚ÄùIt was so great to see Syd and Kayla score,” noted Martucci. “They are such huge pieces to our puzzle. They work so hard and do all the little things right, so to see their hard work rewarded with goals is awesome.

‚ÄúJenna Dorr has been another great addition to our program,” continued the coach. “Jenna is an incredible athlete and a proven winner who came back to hockey after a year off. She has worked hard to catch up and, as every true athlete does, she is back in a big way.‚Äù

Tallent got the win in goal, making 14 saves. ‚ÄúSummer is just such a consistent player in our net,” lauded Martucci. “She brings it every practice and every game. She has a champion’s attitude and drive. It is awesome to have her in our net.‚Äù

The lone setback for the Lady Vikings came last Saturday at Peabody. The 3-2 decision in favor of the Lady Tanners marked the first-ever victory for a Peabody girls’ hockey team over Winthrop.

The Lady Vikings grabbed an early lead on a nice goal by Julia Holmes, assisted by Rodriguez, but Peabody struck back quickly to knot matters at 1-1.

The Lady Tanners then took advantage of a power play to take the lead, with junior Sammie Mirasolo, the Northeastern Hockey League’s MVP last season, notching the go-ahead marker.

‚ÄúMirasolo is a very good player,” said Martucci. “We took a bad penalty and it cost us.‚Äù

Winthrop had an opportunity to bring the teams even with a power play opportunity in the second period, but Mirasolo scored a short-handed goal to make it a 3-1 affair.

“We made a bad read on our power play and Mirasolo got free on a breakaway,” noted Martucci.

Julia Holmes lit the lamp for the second time to draw Winthrop within 3-2 before the period ended.

“Julia has played unreal for us so far this year, “ praised Martucci. “She is only an eighth grader, but she plays with incredible energy and speed.‚Äù

The Lady Vikings controlled the third period, but could not dent the Lady Tanner net. The contest ended with high drama in the waning seconds when, with Tallent  having been pulled from the Winthrop goal in favor of a sixth skater, Martucci let go a blast from just inside the blue line that beat the Peabody goalie as the buzzer sounded.

However, the refs rule that time had expired — which was borne out by the game film afterwards — and Peabody had earned the hard-fought victory.

“It was a tough loss, but Peabody is a good team,” said Martucci. “They back-checked better than anyone we have played this year, and they were very tough and physical. We had our chances and we look forward to the rematch at Larsen at the end of the season. Hopefully the conference title will be on the line for that game.”

The Lady Vikings, who have been amidst a grueling stretch of their schedule, were set to be back in action last night (Wednesday) when they hosted Watertown in the rematch of their home-and-home series.

Winthrop then will entertain Northeastern Hockey League rival Masconomet on Saturday afternoon at Larsen at 1:00.

“We are a very tired team right now,” noted Martucci. “Our schedule has been a gauntlet this vacation. The game with Masco on Saturday is huge now that we lost to Peabody. The conference battle is on.”

Martucci and his crew will host non-league foe Haverhill next Wednesday evening at Larsen at 6:10.

WHS boys hockey edges Lynn, 5-4;hosts Marblehead Sat.

The Winthrop High boys hockey team defeated Lynn — which is a combination of Lynn Classical and Lynn English — by a score of 5-4 Saturday afternoon at Larsen Rink. The triumph improves the Vikings’ record to 4-2 overall. Winthrop is 1-0 in the North Division of the Northeastern Conference.

Lynn is one of the six schools in the South Division of the NEC. There are seven schools in the NEC North. With the Lynn schools combining for a team, Malden joining with Revere, and Salem not having a hockey team, there are 13 teams comprising the two divisions among the 16 NEC schools.

With the Vikings’ season at just about the 1/3 mark, senior assistant captain Luke Evangelista has been on fire, lighting the lamp for a team-high 11 goals with three assists. Senior captain Sam Yarrow likewise has 14 points with eight goals and six assists.

Senior assistant captain Corey Cherico has six points with three goals and three assists and senior captain Brian Chalmers also has six points with a goal and five assists.

In the goaltending department, senior assistant captain Ryan Skoczylas has been superb with a 1.43 goals-against average. Ryan has stopped 93.2% of enemy shots.

Winthrop now gets into the heart of the schedule against its NEC North rivals. Coach Dale Dunbar’s Vikings were set to take on Medford yesterday (Wednesday) and will host Marblehead Saturday afternoon at 3:00 in the second game of a doubleheader, preceded by the WHS girls, who are playing at 1:00.

Larsen should be rockin’ & rollin’ for the Marblehead encounter. The Magicians and Vikings have become fierce hockey rivals in recent years and both teams are expected to be contenders for the NEC North championship.

Winthrop then will trek to the Ray Bourque Arena at Endicott College Tuesday evening to meet another perennial NEC North contender, Danvers, at 7:30.

WHS girls playwell in PJ tourney

Although the Winthrop High girls basketball team dropped both of its contests in last week’s Pope John XXIII Christmas tournament, the Lady Vikings fought hard in both encounters.

In the tourney opener last Thursday against No. Reading, Winthrop found itself in a 22-9 hole at the end of the first period and trailed 42-19 at the half.

Although the Lady Vikings improved their defense after the intermission, holding No. Reading to only seven points in the third period, Winthrop continued to struggle on offense and trailed 49-30 entering the final eight minutes of play.

The Lady Vikings continued to fight and refused to give up, finally trimming the No. Reading margin under single digits with two minutes to go.

However, with the Lady Vikings forced to commit fouls, and No. Reading sinking all but one of their attempts from the charity stripe, Winthrop was unable to get any closer, with the final result a 68-51 decision in No. Reading’s favor.

“I know we were going to have to come out and play a full game to have a chance against a very good North Reading squad,” said WHS head coach Rick Pulsifer.  “I was proud of the girls for fighting hard after being down early in the game, but as a team we need to take better care of the ball and stay focused for the full 32 minutes.”

Lily Pulsifer led the Lady Vikings in scoring with 13 points. Emma Turner reached double figures with 10 points and Maura Dorr added nine.

The next night Winthrop took on Saugus in the consolation game and came up short, 58-49.

The contest was a tightly-fought battle until the very end. Both teams engaged in press defenses, which ramped-up the intensity on both sides. Winthrop had leads of 12-11 and 33-26 at the first two buzzers. However, after the intermission Saugus was aided by some foul trouble by Winthrop. The Lady Sachems went to the charity stripe for 11 free throws in the third period to bring matters back to level at 44-44 entering the final eight minutes of play.

Saugus maintained its scoring pace in the final quarter, but Winthrop struggled to put the ball in the basket, leaving Saugus with a 58-49 victory.

“We were getting good looks, but it seemed like all of our shots and layups were rimming out,” noted Pulsifer. “We knew this was going to be a tough, physical game. Both teams know each other really well and play tough. I think a key to this game was rebounding and we didn’t do a good enough job at it, which led to second-chance points for Saugus.”

Lily Pulsifer once again led the Lady Vikings in the scoring department with 17 points. Emma Turner struck for 12, Caroline Earl hit for 10, and Maura Dorr added five points.

Pulsifer took home the tournament MVP for Winthrop with a combined 30 points and over 20 rebounds in the two games.

The Lady Vikings hit the road tomorrow (Friday) evening and trek to Salem Tuesday. The junior varsity contests will tip off at 5:30 followed by the varsity at 7:00.