WHS Sports Roundup

WHS Girls Hockey Remains Undefeated with Two More Wins

The once-tied Winthrop High girls hockey remained undefeated with a pair of convincing victories over Northeastern Hockey League rivals Medford and Gloucester by identical scores of 7-0.

In last Thursday’s encounter at Larsen Rink with Medford, the Lady Vikings were in control from the outset in a contest in which they outshot the visiting Lady Mustangs by a wide margin of 43-8.

Lily Tallent and Emma Holmes scored two goals apiece to pace the Winthrop offense.

“Lily Tallent is an incredible three-zone player,” said WHS head coach Anthony Martucci. “She is one of the best defensive forwards I have ever coached. She does a great job on face-offs and is so good in the defensive zone. It was great to see her get rewarded with not one, but two goals.

“Emma Holmes has been a beast for us all season so far,” Martucci continued. “She leads the team in both goals and points. Emma has worked very hard this year. Everything she gets, she’s earned it. She is a gifted goal scorer.‚Äù

Talia Martucci, Reese Ferrara, and Julia Holmes also reached the back of the Medford net.

“Reese Ferrara is an eighth-grade forward who got her first career varsity goal,” Martucci noted. “She is one of our young guns who will be a huge part of this team for years to come.

“Julia Holmes and Talia Martucci have been scoring consistently this year. They are currently second and third on the team in points behind Emma Holmes,” the coach added.

Senior captain Summer Tallent played the first two periods in goal and was spelled by eighth-grader Riley Towse, who saw her first varsity action in net in the third period and made two nice saves. For Tallent, the shutout marked the 18th of her career.

“This was a good game for us,” said Martucci. “Medford is a very young team. We were just too much for them.”

Two days later the Winthrop girls were back on the ice at the Eruzione Center to host Gloucester.

“Gloucester is another very young team,” said Martucci. “Gloucester worked very hard, but we just overwhelmed them early.”

Emma Holmes and Talia Martucci scored two goals apiece to lead the way for Winthrop.

“Again, it was Emma Holmes lighting up the scoreboard,” said Martucci. “One of her goals was a real beauty, just an amazing top-shelf goal that started with her dangling around a defender and then ripping one over the goalie’s shoulder.

“Talia Martucci, who also had two goals, is only a freshman, but has really helped our offense,” the coach added. “She has great hockey sense and a nose for the net.”

Also reaching the back of the Gloucester net were Mia Norris, Hannah Parker, and Kendall Brant.

“Mia Norris scored an insane goal, a quick snapshot from just above the top of the circle that went bar down,” said Martucci. “Mia is one of those players whom you love to see score because she does so many little things that help the team win games. She is just an awesome 200-foot player — she plays the game in all three zones.

“Hannah Parker is a rugged left wing who would rather go through you than around,” continued Martucci. “Her goal was great because she outmuscled a Gloucester defender as she went to the net and swept in a great pass from Mia Norris.

“Kendall Brant had a nice goal on a rebound,” Martucci added. “Kendall is a senior transfer from Tilton Academy who has really fit in nicely.”

Summer Tallent cast aside 10 Gloucester shots to record her 19th career shutout, bringing her within two of the WHS girls record of 21 shutouts that is held by Gretchen Howard.

“Overall, in both games our defense was just too strong,” Martucci said. “The two younger teams had a hard time penetrating our zone and getting anything going when they did get in. Elle English, Abby Holmes, Adrianna Rizzotto, Casey Petersen, Izi Hain, Avalina Coffey, and Tegan Pereira all worked their hearts out to protect and preserve two shutouts for Summer Tallent.”

Martucci and his crew, who now stand at 6-0-1 in the NHL — their lone blemish being a tie with similarly-undefeated Peabody — are scheduled to travel to the Ray Bourque Arena at Endicott College to meet NHL rival Beverly this Saturday evening. They will return home to host non-league foe Latin Academy/Fontbonne next Tuesday at Larsen at 6:10.

Big Week for WHS Boys Hockey; Parker Scores Six

The Winthrop High boys hockey team enjoyed its best week of the season with a trio of convincing victories in which the Vikings outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 17-1.

Last Wednesday coach Dale Dunbar and his crew, who are fighting to stay in the running for a Northeastern Conference (NEC) North Division title, earned a well-played, 3-1 victory over divisional rival Gloucester, which entered the contest with a 3-1 record in the division.

The Vikings grabbed a 2-0 lead in the opening period thanks to goals by senior captain Ari Hain, assisted by sophomore Pete Silverman, and senior captain JD Parker, assisted by Mike Holgersen.

Winthrop enlarged its lead in the middle stanza to 3-0 when Jack Hayes reached the back of the Fishermen’s net, assisted by Hain and Silverman.

Gloucester got on the board before the period ended to make it a 3-1 affair, but the Viking defense and some big saves by goalie Anthony Indrisano preserved the victory.

“This was a must win for us against a very strong Gloucester team,” noted WHS assistant coach Mike Norris.

Three nights later the Vikings made the trek to the O’Keefe Arena at Salem State and came home with a 9-0 victory over Swampscott, which plays in the South Division of the NEC.

Winthrop asserted its dominance from the outset, outshooting the Big Blue by a wide margin of 19-3 in the opening 15 minutes, but could manage only a 1-0 lead on a goal by Silverman, assisted by Jack Hayes and Hain.

However, the Vikings lifted the lid off the Swampscott net in the second period. Parker was a one-man wrecking crew. The Winthrop captain reached the back of the net three consecutive times for a natural hat trick, and JD then made it four goals in a row (a Texas hat trick?) to boost the Vikings into a 5-0 advantage.

The brother-duo of Jack and senior captain Joe Hayes assisted on the first goal, but JD’s next three tallies were unassisted.

Nate Evangelista, assisted by senior Charlie Dassau and Phil Boncore, wrapped up the big period for the Vikings with a lamplighter for a commanding 6-0 Winthrop lead.

Parker went back to work in the third period, scoring two more goals, with assists from Boncore on the first and from Joe Hayes and senior Jack Sicurella on the second, to conclude a memorable six-goal evening — a double hat trick.

Hain, assisted by freshman Jay Fortades, put the finishing touch on the 9-0 Winthrop win.

Indrisano and junior Nicholas Sabine  who took over in the Viking net in the third period, shared the shutout.

This past Monday the Vikings hosted non-league foe Medford from the Greater Boston League and skated to a 5-0 victory.

Winthrop jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening period thanks to goals by Boncore (assisted by Parker) and Holgersen (assisted by Parker and Hain).

The Vikings doubled that margin in the middle period on tallies by Dassau (a pretty goal on which Charlie picked up a rebound from a shot by Robert Rich) and Rich (assisted by Joe Hayes). Hair applied the coup de grace in the final period, assisted by Jack Hayes and Silverman.

Indrisano went all the way in the net to earn the shutout.

After a slow start, in which the Vikings dropped a pair of games by one-goal (including one in OT), Dunbar’s squad now stands at 3-2 in the NEC North, two games behind first-place Masconomet, which is 5-0 in the division.

Winthrop has a busy week ahead, with four games in eight days. Dunbar and his crew were scheduled to host non-league rival Bishop Fenwick yesterday (Wednesday) and then will journey to the Essex Sports Center to take on first-place Masco on Saturday evening. The Vikings will return home to host non-league opponent Cambridge on Monday at 5:30 and will travel to Somerville next Wednesday for another non-league contest

WHS Boys Basketball Wins Third Straight Game

The Winthrop High boys basketball team won its third straight game with a 56-47 victory at non-league rival Northeast Regional Tuesday evening.

“This wasn’t the prettiest win, but we were resilient,” said WHS head coach Mike Triant. “It was a tough road game where a few breaks went Northeast’s way.  We battled ourselves all night, but our intensity never wavered.”

The triumph over Northeast was preceded by a victory last Thursday at Pioneer Charter School of Science in Everett.

“Pioneer Charter Everett was another good team that is well-coached by a former Winthrop basketball guy, Ryan McGowan,” noted Triant.

“We opened that one slowly and clawed our way to a 13-13 tie after the first quarter,” said Triant. “But we buckled down and outscored them, 36-17, over the next two quarters.

“We’re playing well,” the coach continued, “but there always are things to be working and improving on. Luckily, we have a great group of coaches, both paid and volunteer, who know the game and who understand the importance of doing things the right way.

“We’re entering what will be a very competitive stretch and seem to have everyone within the program on the same page,” Triant added.

The Vikings, who now stand at 5-4 on the season, are scheduled to travel to Peabody tomorrow (Friday) evening and then will trek northward on Tuesday to tangle with a tough Salem team.

Triant and his crew will return home next Thursday to host Danvers for a 7:00 tip-off.

Viking Tracksters Engage in Tri-Meet with Gloucester, Swampscott

The Winthrop High boys and girls indoor track and field teams took on Northeastern Conference rivals Gloucester and Swampscott last week at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Boston.

The meet saw all 10 of the NEC schools engage in two tri-meets and a quad-meet at the Reggie Lewis Center, giving the day the feel of an all-conference meet.

The Winthrop boys came out on the short end of scores of 61-14 to Gloucester and 66-14 to Swampscott.

On the girls’ side, Winthrop topped Gloucester, 39-28, but fell short to Swampscott, 50-31.

The top performers for the Lady Vikings were:

— Sophia Munson, who finished seventh overall among the field 25 competitors in the 55 meter dash in a time of 8.32 seconds. Sophia took first place v. Gloucester and second vs. Swampscott.

— Nora McCarey finished eighth overall among the field of 21 in the 300 dash in a clocking of 49.79. Nora took first place vs. both her Gloucester and Swampscott rivals.

— Libby Carney grabbed first place vs. both Swampscott and Gloucester in the mile with a time of 6:42.48. Libby edged her closest Swampscott competitor by just 1.18 seconds.

— In the 55 hurdles, Alley Ford took first place vs. both Gloucester and Swamppscott with a time of 10.66.

— The Lady Viking 4 x 400 relay team finished with a time of 4:46.68, handily outrunning both Swampscott (5:02.29) and Gloucester (5:12.04).

— Sarah Delehanty was eighth overall in the high jump among the field of 18 entrants with a leap of 4’-6”. She took second vs. Swampscott and first vs. Gloucester.

— In the junior varsity 55 meter dash event, Julianna Demers clocked the fifth-fastest time in 9.01 among the field of 25 runners.

On the boys’ side:

— Evan Rockefeller sprinted to a 10th place ranking among 25 entrants with a 55 meter dash of 7.32 seconds, which gave Evan a first place vs. Gloucester and a second vs. Swampscott.

The WHS track teams are scheduled to travel to Peabody next Wednesday.