WHS Fall Season Swings Into High Gear
After a pre-season of dry and near-perfect weather, Mother Nature pulled a cruel trick on area high school athletes with a steady menu of rain for the first week of the 2022 fall athletic season.
But despite the inclement weather, Winthrop High athletes are set to get their season underway this week.
The Vikings girls and boys soccer teams were scheduled to kick off their seasons yesterday (Wednesday) against Northeastern Conference division rival Saugus.
Both the boys and girls soccer teams will be competing in the 10-school NEC, which once again will be split into two, five-school divisions.
The Winthrop soccer squads are in the same division as Saugus, Swampscott, Gloucester, and Salem. Winthrop will face each of those rivals twice.
The other division consists of Danvers, Beverly, Marblehead, Masconomet, and Peabody, all of whom Winthrop will play once.
For the girls’ side, a quartet of senior captains, Mia Norris , Lily Tallent, Maddie Stiglets, and Abby Holmes, will lead the 2022 edition of the Lady Vikings.
“Our preseason went well,†said veteran WHS girls head coach Tracey Martucci. “After graduating 14 seniors, we also have a big senior class this season with 11 seniors, so we will have a good number of new players on the field this year.
“Being in a tough NEC league, I think we have some amazing athletes who can compete against these tough teams,†added Martucci. “As much as this is a year where we have players who may not have played together before, the team chemistry seems to be going well.â€
Sophomore Amelia Spencer will be the goalkeeper. Other members of the varsity team are: seniors Olivia Skomro, Elizabeth Quinn, Emma Holmes, Kira Diaz, Cori Powell, and Julia Holmes; juniors Hailey Forsyth, Carolina Gonzalez, Hannah Parker, Daniela Gomez, Samantha DiMento, Shannon Abbott, Kaylee Farrell, Reese Brodin, and Genesis Bueno; and sophomores Emily Hoxhaj, Talia Martucci, and Gabby Buonopane.
Assisting Martucci with the coaching duties will be Julie Dowson and Jerry Gigliello.
Martucci and her crew will host Beverly Monday and non-league foe Excel Academy next Wednesday.
The boys’ side, under the direction of new head coach Phil Ronan, also sprang into action yesterday (Wednesday) vs. Saugus. They entertain Swampscott tomorrow (Friday) and make the long trek to Beverly on Monday. They will return home to host St. Mary’s of Lynn next Thursday.
The 2022 fall athletic season also accelerates into high gear this week for the other Winthrop High sports teams.
Coach Nik Besehere’s boys and girls cross country teams were scheduled to host Beverly (yesterday) Wednesday at Deer Island in their season-opening meet. They will trek to Salem next Wednesday.
Coach Lauren Kelly and the WHS volleyball team also got their season underway yesterday (Wednesday) when they entertained Excel Academy. They will play at Revere tomorrow (Friday), host Swampscott next Tuesday, and entertain Marblehead next Thursday.
Coach Weston Lazarus and his golfers, who took their first swings of the new season last Tuesday against Salem and last Thursday vs. Peabody, had been scheduled to face Beverly this past Tuesday and Lynn Classical yesterday (Wednesday).
They are scheduled to host Marblehead today (Thursday) at the Winthrop Golf Club, travel to Kelly Green to meet Revere on Tuesday, and host Gloucester at the WGC next Wednesday.