WHS Roundup

WHS Football Team to Play at Classical

The Winthrop High football team (1-0 NEC South, 1-3 overall) will travel to Manning Field in Lynn this Friday evening to take on Lynn Classical (1-1 NEC South, 2-3 overall) in a key matchup between South Division rivals of the Northeastern Conference.

The opening kick off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The Vikings are coming off a 28-6 loss to Swampscott (which plays in the North Division of the NEC) this past Friday evening.

For the second year in a row between the long-time rivals, Winthrop found itself behind the proverbial eight-ball from the outset when the Big Blue returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown for a quick-as-a-flash 7-0 lead.

“Obviously, this was not the way we wanted to start the game,” said WHS head coach Jon Cadigan. “However, to our credit, we didn’t let it get us down and we outplayed Swampscott for the remainder of the first half.”

After an exchange of possessions, Winthrop took over deep in its own territory on its second possession of the game and marched the length of the field with a long drive that covered 88 yards in 12 plays, capped by a four yard run by Ryan Hovermale. However, the Vikings mishandled the PAT attempt to leave matters at 7-6.

The Big Blue then put together a nice drive of their own to score their second TD of the contest and move out to a 14-6 advantage. However, Winthrop, taking over with about 3:00 to go in the half, responded with another long drive that brought the Vikings into the red zone.

Winthrop quarterback Bobby Hubert then was the victim of an unsportsmanlike play by a Swampscott player that required Bobby to leave the field for a down with just seconds left in the half.

The penalty moved the ball to the Swampscott five yard line, but the Vikings subsequently turned the ball over on the next play, ending their effort to bring the game back to level at the intermission.

“We caught a really tough break,” Cadigan noted. “The penalty by the Swampscott player resulted in the injury to Bobby that required our trainer to come onto the field, and even though he was okay to stay in, the refs said he had to come out for a play, and that led to the turnover that ended our drive and our opportunity for tying the game before the half ended.”

Another Viking turnover in the third period resulted in Swampscott’s third TD of the contest to make it a 21-6 affair. The Big Blue added a fourth score late in the game for the 28-6 finale.

Hubert was the top offensive performer for Winthrop, rushing for 97 yards on 16 carries. Tyler Rockefeller ran for 25 yards on five attempts.

Junior Steve Perullo, whom Cadigan refers to as, “The Swiss Army knife of our defense,” because of Perullo’s versatility, received the weekly Black Shirt Award for leading the Vikings in defensive metrics.

“Steve is a very smart player whom we can use in a variety of ways depending on the situation,” said Cadigan. “He can play anywhere we need him.”

The Vikings will face a stiff challenge in Lynn Classical, an explosive team that has put up some big numbers on offense, including a 48-40 victory over Brockton (yes, that Brockton) in the second game of the season and a 48-8 rout of Salem last week.

However, the Rams have been porous on defense, giving up 40 or more points in four of their five games, including a loss of 44-22 to Danvers three weeks ago. By contrast, Winthrop narrowly was edged by Danvers, 14-13, two weeks ago.

“Classical has a dangerous quarterback and a big offensive line,” said Cadigan, “so our defense will have to be at our best to contain them.”

Maura Dorr’s Four Goals Leads WHS Girls to Win over Marblehead

Maura Dorr scored all four of the Winthrop goals to lead the Lady Viking girls soccer team to a 4-2 victory over Marblehead last Wednesday.

Winthrop held a 2-0 lead at the intermission, but Marblehead scored two goals early in the second half to bring the contest back to level.

However, Dorr, who set the all-time Winthrop goal-scoring record a week ago, found the back of the Marblehead net on two more occasions to provide the winning margin.

Teammates Alex Gibbons, Emma Holmes, and Julia Marcoccio earned assists on Maura’s goals.

“We had a great game against Marblehead,” said WHS head coach Tracey Martucci. “It was a nice win for us to break up the tough spread of games that we had last week.”

Two days later the Lady Vikings trekked to Peabody and played well in a 2-0 loss. “It was a great game for us,” said Martucci. “Peabody is a strong, skillful team, but our strong defense came up big for us and our keeper, Manuela (Mejia), kept us right in it. “

This past Monday Winthrop dropped a 6-0 decision to Swampscott.

Martucci and her crew will meet Matignon, a fellow Division 4 school, this Friday afternoon at Miller Field as part of a doubleheader with the boys’ team. Kick-off for the girls’ contest is set for 4 p.m., with the boys following at 5:30 p.m.

Winthrop then will host Lynn Classical next Tuesday and will travel to Charlestown next Thursday.

WHS Volleyball Team Edges Matignon in Five Sets

The Winthrop High volleyball team earned a victory in dramatic fashion this past week, defeating fellow Division 3 school Matigon in a match that went five sets, with the fifth and decisive set being decided by a score of 17-15.

“It was a very competitive match, but our team did well, lifting each other up and working together while keeping the intensity level up the whole match,” said WHS co-head coach Rachel DelSolio.

Junior Katie Gagnon had a strong serving game and Lily Dias led the Vikings in kills. “Lily has been a strong addition to our volleyball team this year,” DelSolio noted.

Winthrop also played Marblehead and Peabody last week, coming up short by scores of 3-0 and 3-1 respectively.

“Both Peabody and Marblehead teams are very talented and brought great competition,” said DelSolio. “After the game against Peabody, their coach commended our team on our defensive play. She said we have a very talented defensive team that is not reflected in our record.”

The Vikings were scheduled to face Lynn Classical yesterday (Wednesday) and will host Saugus next Tuesday.

Boys Soccer Hosts Matignon Friday Evening

The Winthrop High boys soccer team will host Matignon tomorrow (Friday) evening under the lights at Miller Field. Kick-off is set for 5:30 p.m.

The Vikings endured a rough stretch this past week, dropping contests to Marblehead (2-0), Peabody (6-0), and Swampscott (3-0).

“Although we haven’t been getting wins, we’ve actually been playing some pretty good soccer,” said WHS head coach Kyle Gagin. “Juniors Yousseff Benchikhi and Augie Cherico have impressed recently, along with sophomore Chad Bernstein.”

After tomorrow’s Matignon encounter, Gagin and his crew will journey to Lynn Classical next Tuesday.