The Winthrop High boys lacrosse team had little trouble in its opening Round of 32 contest in the Division 4 state tourney, handily dispatching Old Colony Regional Tech, 13-1, this past Monday evening at Miller Field.
The victory advances coach Brian Donnelly and his crew to the Sweet 16, where they will take on #12 East Bridgewater (11-7 in the regular season) this afternoon (Thursday). The opening face-off is set for 4:30 at Miller Field.
East Bridgewater (whose mascot also is the Vikings) topped #21 Hull (4-13) by a score of 16-9 on Monday night in its opening round contest.
The Vikings, who entered the tourney as the #5 seed in D-4 with a 15-3 record, took control late in the first quarter against the visitors from Rochester, who came into Miller as the #28 seed with a 6-12 record, and never looked back.
“We had a great team win to open up the playoffs,” said Donnelly. “We started a little slow in the opening quarter, but once we got our footing, we didn’t look back. Seth Sacco had a dominant game, scoring seven goals and getting two assists. When the team needed a bit of energy, our senior captain responded. He is just such a strong player and just makes plays in big moments.
“Ace Daigneault also played excellently,” Donnelly said. “He played really unselfish lacrosse in a big game and had four huge assists and two big goals. He has an uncanny ability to create opportunities for other guys on the field and when our guys can capitalize on his looks, we look our best.
“Tomas Babine had a massive game for us as well, getting the hat trick from the X position. He has been a pivotal part of our offense this year and the more he plays, the better he gets,” Donnelly continued.
“Our tandem of Matt Madalone taking the face-offs and Paul Ferrara coming off the edge have kept us winning the possession game, which is indispensable in big games,” Donnelly added. “Paul is just a dominant player at long pole middie and is just a big playmaker. I can not speak enough on how much he controls the tempo of the game.
Our defensive core with Nick Romano in net played great,” Donnelly noted. “Holding any team to one goal in the playoffs isn’t easy, but they were able to just shut down their offense.
“The boys remain unbeaten this year on Miller Field and we hope to continue that streak on Thursday,” Donnelly concluded.
If the Vikings are successful today, they will advance to the Elite Eight where they will face the winner of #4 Ipswich vs. #13 Lunenburg, who were scheduled to play last night (Wednesday).
Winthrop High lacrosse captain Seth Sacoo has been named the 2026 Northeastern Conference (NEC) Player of the Year by a vote of the league’s coaches.
Seth has scored 241 goals and 92 assists for a Winthrop High record total of 333 points, even before the upcoming MIAA tournament. He led Winthrop to its best season in program history with a 15-3 record that included a first-place finish in the Lynch (South) Division of the NEC, the first-ever victory by a Viking boys’ lacrosse team over Marblehead, which was the champion of the NEC Dunn (North) Division, and a #5 ranking in Division 4 in the MIAA’s power ratings.
“It was awesome to see Seth get voted as the NEC Player of the Year,” said his head coach, Brian Donnelly. “Seth is such an amazing player and outstanding leader. He just works every day to be the best he can be. Seth has been a huge part of this program’s success over the last four years and is one of the best all-around players in the state.
“Seth will leave us as our all-time leading points scorer, a record that will probably stand for my years to come. Seth’s legacy as a leader, player and individual will be felt long after he leaves the program,” Donnelly added.
The Vikings also placed two players, senior defenseman Sean Dolen and attack Ace Daigneault, on the NEC’s 12-player First Team All-Star squad.
“It is always tough to pick from all of these amazing teams, but I am glad we were able to get some of our deserving guys onto the honorary team,” said Donnelly. “It was great to see senior defenseman Sean Dolen elected to the team as a close defenseman. Close defenseman rarely gets the recognition of some of the flashier players like attack and middie. Sean is a workhorse and an amazing communicator on that side of the field and elevates our defense. I would confidently put him up against any attack man in the state, and he has shown time and time again that he is the best defenseman in the league.
“Ace Daigneault is another player who is not only one of the best in the NEC, but the best in the state,” Donnelly said. “He has had a fabulous run this year with 83 goals and 43 assists, bringing his total (before the playoffs) to 100 assists and 197 goals for 297 points. It was great to see him come back this year and really take over the NEC.”
Three Vikings also were named to the second team all-star squad: senior goalie Nick Romano, senior attack Tomas Babine, and junior long pole middie Paul Ferrara.
Three members of the Winthrop High outdoor track track and field team competed in the MIAA Division 5 State Meet that was held this past weekend at Bridgewater State University.
The state meet is open to athletes who meet qualifying times and standards in each event. Viking junior captain Thomas D’Amico qualified in three events, finishing 13th in the triple jump with a distance of 39′-02″; 20th in the 400m hurdles in a time of 62.72.; and 24th in the 400 dash with a personal record (PR) clocking of 52.84.
Freshman Owen Harty qualified in two events, finishing 29th in the 800 meter run in 2:17.62 and 31st in the 1-mile in :56.29.
On the girls’ side, sophomore Hailey Demarco came in 25th overall in the 400 hurdles with a PR of 1:14.05.
The Winthrop High girls lacrosse team made the long trip to Upton to face Nipmuc Regional High School last Wednesday for a Round of 32 contest in the MIAA Division 4 State Tournament and came up on the short end of an 18-2 decision.
Coach Anthony Hatzisavas’s squad entered the D-4 tourney as the #29 seed with a 9-9 record, while Nipmuc was the #4 seed with a 13-3 mark. The Lady Warriors subsequently knocked off #13 Mt. Greylock, 13-9, in the Sweet 16 to advance to the Elite Eight.
The Winthrop girls flag football team, which finished with a.10-6 record that placed the Vikings in 9th place in the 20-team Northeast Division, was awaiting word of its opponent in the first round of the upcoming playoffs, which are slated to get underway next Monday.
Coach John Cross’s crew, which sported a points-for/points-against ratio of 183-to-127 this season, has been among the most-consistent teams in the flag football league since its inception three years ago. The league has grown from eight teams to 56 teams in five divisions across the state during that time.
Flag football operates under the auspices of the New England Patriots and the National Football League. Andre Tippett, the former Patriot great linebacker, is the head of the program in Massachusetts.
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