WHS Girls Hockey Back on Track With Win Over Wilmington
The Winthrop High girls hockey team got back onto the winning track with a hard-fought, 2-1 victory over Wilmington last Wednesday evening at Miller Rink.
“This was a great game and a big win for us,” said WHS head coach Anthony Martucci, whose squad had dropped their previous two contests and who now stand at 5-4-2 on the season.
Winthrop trailed 1-0 early in the first period, but bounced back with a goal by Mia Norris, assisted by Olivia Driscoll, to bring matters back to level at the first horn.
“It was great to see Mia get her first goal of the season,” said WHS head coach Anthony Martucci. “I think she is going to break out and score a bundle from here on out.”
The second period was back and forth until Julia Holmes lit the lamp with a beautiful goal, assisted by Mia Martucci and Emma Holmes to give Winthrop a 2-1 lead.
“The passing by that line among Julia, Mia, and Emma was incredible,” noted Martucci. “They work together very well and gave us some great shifts.”
The final 15 minutes prove to be a defensive battle, with the Winthrop D and WHS goalie Summer Tallent rising to the occasion to preserve the lead.
“Summer shut the door and our defense played their hearts out,” Martucci said. “Elle English, Abby Holmes, Adrianna Rizzotto, Fallon Hurley, Taya Schlichting, Amelia Spencer, and Casey Petersen all played lock-down ‘D.'”
Wilmington pulled its goalie in favor of a sixth skater in the waning moments looking for the equalizer, but a huge shot block by freshman Maddy Deeran stopped their attack, and thwarted any real chance for Wilmington to tie the game.
Martucci and his crew, who moved over the .500 mark with the win to improve their record to 5-4-2, were set to take on Beverly last night (Wednesday) and will travel to Wilmington this Saturday for a rematch with the Lady Wildcats.
They will return to Larsen next Wednesday to host Masconomet at 6:30 p.m.
WHS Boys Hockey Hosts Mansfield Sat.
The Winthrop High boys hockey team will host non-league opponent Mansfield this Saturday afternoon at Larsen Rink. The opening face-off is set for 1:30.
The Vikings are coming off a tough week in which they dropped a pair of hard-fought contests to Danvers, 4-2, last Wednesday at Ray Bourqe Arena at Endicott College and then on Saturday to Beverly, 2-1, at Larsen Rink.
Winthrop now stands at 6-5-3 overall as they enter the final third of the season. Coach Dale Dunbar and his crew need five points in their remaining six contests in order to achieve the .500 record that is needed to punch their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney, the post-season MIAA state hockey tournament.
The Vikings took on Gloucester last night (Wednesday) and will trek to Salem State College next Saturday afternoon (Feb. 8) to meet Marblehead, which is in first-place in the North Division of the Northeastern Conference.
WHS Girls Track Wins Two Meets; Shoots for NEC Title
The Winthrop High girls indoor track & field team ran their winning streak to three meets with victories over Northeastern Conference South Division rivals Saugus (68-18) and Lynn Classical (49-37) in a tri-meet last week.
In the high jump, the top performer for Winthrop was Fiona MacPhail, with a leap of 4′-6″ to take second place against Classical and a first against Saugus. Teammate Izzy Mahoney also crossed the bar at 4′-6″ to earn a third against Classical and a second against Saugus.
In the shot-put, Mary Kate Pote came in second place with a throw of 31′-11″ against Classical and first against Saugus. Skyla Zapulla came in second place in the shot against Saugus with a throw of 23’11â€.
In the hurdles, Clare Nargi came in first against both opponents with a time of 9.6. Sydney Crotty grabbed second against both teams with a 10.4.
In the 55-meter dash, Izzy Mahoney outraced the field with a time of 7.8 for a pair of first-places. Sophia Munson came in second against Classical and third against Saugus with a time of 8.1.
In the 300 dash, Fiona MacPhail came in second against Classical and third against Saugus with a time of 49.3. Nora McCarey took third against Classical with a clocking of 49.5.
In the 600 dash, Soneida Dahlquist outran all of the competition for first places against Saugus and Classical with a time of 1:49.5. Soneida has only lost twice by one second this season. Corey Powell came in third against Saugus with a time of 2:09.4.
In the 1,000 meter, Beatriz Holzbach came in second against Classical and first against Saugus with a time of 3:39.3. Devon Barry came in third against Classical and second against Saugus with a time of 4:17.2, while Isabel Skomro came in third against Saugus.
In the mile, Lily Skomro came in second against Classical and first against Saugus with a clocking of 6:41.1. Libby Carney grabbed third against Classical and second against Saugus with a time of 6:42.6. Heather Buccini came in third against Saugus with a time of 8:17.1.
In the two-mile run, Anyra Silva came in second against Classical and first against Saugus with a time of 14:47.8 . Brianna Marley came in third against Classical and second against Saugus with a time of 14:50.9. Ana Baurle came in third against Saugus with a time of 15:57.6.
The Lady Viking 4 x 400 relay defeated both of their Lady Sachem and Lady Ram rivals in a spectacular race. Fiona MacPhail started the relay for Winthrop with a split of 70.4. Fiona passed the baton to Nora McCarey, who ran a great split of 71.4.
Bea Holzbach took the handoff from McCarey and ran an unbelievable spilt of 64.8, passing the Classical girl who had been ahead of her by 20 yards.
That left matters up to anchor Sonieda Dahlqvist, who finished strong to win the relay with a split of 67.5 seconds and a final time of 4:34.6. The Classical girls finished in 4:37 and the Saugus girls in 5:06.
D’Amico and his crew were set to race yesterday (Wednesday) in a quad-meet against fellow South Division opponent Salem and North Division foes Peabody and Gloucester. If the girls defeat Salem, they will become the NEC South Division champs for the first time since 1988.
“The girls are excited and can’t wait to compete in the meet,” said D’Amico.
WHS Boys Track Splits Tri-Meet
The Winthrop High boys indoor track & field team split its recent meet with Northeastern Conference South Division foes Saugus and Lynn Classical that was held in Swampscott. The Vikings defeated the latter, 49-37, but came up short against the former, 47-39.
Leading the way for Winthrop in the meet were the trio of Pat Haskell, Chris Rodriguez, and Ryan Cash, all of whom won their races. Pat outsprinted the field in the 300 dash in a time of 40.3 seconds; Chris defeated everybody in the 1,000 with a clocking of 3:11.8; and Ryan was the first to cross the line in the mile in 5:28.6.
Bobby Hubert scored points in two events against both the Rams and Sachems with a second-place overall performance in the shot-put with a toss of 37′-7″ and with a third-place effort overall in the 55 meter dash in 7.0.
Other Vikings who scored points in the meet were: Julian Osorio in the 55 dash in 7.1; Steve Perullo in the 300 dash in 46.3; Mark Goudge in the 600 dash (first vs. Classical and second vs. Saugus) in 1:45.6; C.J. Viscio in the 1,000 in 3:29; James Silva (second vs. both foes) in the mile in 5:43.8; John Rice in the mile in 6:50; Stephen Hinchion in the two-mile run (second vs. both opponents) in 13:44; Andrei Opincaru in the two mile in 16:11; Pat Teixeira in the shot-put with a toss of 35′-7″; and Billy Hubert in the shot with a throw of 33′-1″.
The Vikings also captured the 4 x 400 relay with a time of 4:35, with Saugus finishing in 4:42 and Classical in 4:59.
WHS Basketball Teams in Action This Week
The Winthrop High boys and girls basketball teams both will be in action this week.
The Viking boys will be road warriors with three away games on tap. They will travel to non-league rival Georgetown this evening (Thursday), to Lynn English tomorrow, and then to Austin Prep next Wednesday.
The WHS girls, who improved to 9-5 on the season with an exciting 43-40 victory over Peabody this past Tuesday night, have three home games in a row: They will host Lynn English tomorrow (Friday) evening, Fontbonne Academy next Tuesday, and Masconomet next Wednesday.
The opening tip for Coach Joe Lowe and his crew for all three contests will be at 6:30 p.m.