WHS Sports Roundup 3-5-26

WHS girls fall in tourney; four named all-stars

The Winthrop High girls’ hockey team’s 2026 season came to an end with a 2-0 loss to Methuen/Tewksbury in the opening round of the MIAA Division 1 state tournament.

The Lady Vikings, who finished their season with a 10-4-3 record, entered the tourney as the #27 seed in D-1 (the girls hockey team is the only WHS sports team that plays in Division 1 in the state tourney), while undefeated Methuen (18-0-2), is the #6 seed in D-1.

Despite a gritty team effort and an outstanding performance by senior goalie Riley Towse, who holds Winthrop’s all-time record for career wins in net, the Lady Vikings were unable to overcome a Methuen squad that has lost only one game in two years,

“It was exactly what you would expect when a #6 seed meets a #27 seed in the D-1 state tourney,” said WHS coach Anthony Martucci. “Methuen/Tewksbury, which consists of two very big towns together, is an incredible team. They were 18-0-2 coming into the game, and have only lost one game in the last two seasons. They were very deep and they were strong at every position and they were very well-coached.”

Methuen controlled play from the outset. Winthrop was unable to generate much on offense and struggled to get out of its own end for most of the game. “We had very little offensive zone time and could not muster much of an attack all game long,” noted Martucci.

Towse made 35 saves with what Martucci termed, an “heroic” performance. Methuen’s only two goals came with 38 seconds and 46 seconds remaining respectively in the first and second periods.

Martucci paid tribute to his seven seniors for whom this was their last game in a Lady Viking uniform — captains Tegan Pereira, Avalina Coffey, Reese Ferrara, Chloe Couture, and Riley Towse, as well as Avery Shea and Stella Pelletier.

“All seven have given their hearts and souls to our program, and have been instrumental in the continued success that we have enjoyed. I wish them all the best moving forward. Whatever their future brings, I am sure they will be great,” said Martucci.

Four Lady Vikings received post-season accolades. Reese Ferrara and Riley Towse were named to the Northeastern Hockey League’s all-conference team and

Tegan Pereira and Avalina Coffey were named to the NHL’s all star team.

“It was a fantastic season with a final record of 10-5-3,” Martucci added. “We still have a ton of great players coming back next year, and we look forward to more great things from our program.”