WHS Sports Roundup

Viking boys open with victory over East Boston, 55-43

The Winthrop High boys basketball team opened its 2025-26 season in superb fashion with a 55-43 victory at East Boston this past Friday evening.

Playing in front of a packed gymnasium, coach Quinton Dale’s Vikings relied on relentless defense and efficient scoring to take control from the outset. The aggressive Winthrop defense grounded the Jets’ offense in the first half, enabling the Vikings to take a 34–25 lead at the intermission.

Senior Nicolas Correa drew the difficult assignment of guarding East Boston standout Kai Lau Quan and delivered a lockdown performance. Correa held Quan scoreless for the entire game, setting the tone defensively and disrupting the Jets’ offensive rhythm.

Senior captain Noah Bayersdorfer led the way for Winthrop with a dominant performance, pouring in 30 points while shooting an outstanding 9-for-11 from the field. Noah’s clutch shooting and high efficiency kept East Boston from gaining momentum and allowed Winthrop to maintain control throughout the second half.

Junior Desmond Cassidy added nine points, while senior Liam Natereno contributed eight points and made his presence felt on the boards. Freshman Lucas Dos Santos also provided a spark on defense with timely rebounds at both ends of the floor, helping the Vikings secure extra possessions and limit East Boston’s second-chance opportunities.

After the game, Dale praised his team’s effort and focus.

“Opening the season on the road in an environment like this isn’t easy,” said Dale. “Our defense set the tone and we played unselfish, disciplined basketball. This was a great team win and a strong way to start the season.”

Dale and his crew were scheduled to take on a pair of tough Northeastern Conference rivals this week, traveling to Swampscott this past Tuesday and to Danvers tomorrow (Friday).

D’Amico takes first in 600 at NEC Meet

Winthrop High junior Thomas D’Amico captured first place at the Northeastern Conference’s pre-season invitational meet that was held last Friday at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury.

Thomas’s clocking of 1:34.50 was 1.2 seconds faster than his closest rival (Osama Mishal of Peabody) among the 19 boys who competed in the 600.

Senior teammate Liam Kenney also shone in the 600, coming across the line in fifth place in a time of 1:38.27.

Freshman Owen Harty established himself as one of the top middle-distance runners in the NEC this season with a second-place performance in the 1000 with a clocking of 2:57.73.

WHS girls hockey opens season with 4-1 victory

The Winthrop High Lady Vikings hockey team skated into its 2025-26 season with a 4-1 victory over Northeastern Hockey League (NHL) rival Medford Saturday afternoon on the Lady Mustangs’ home ice at LoConte Rink.

Four Lady Vikings lit the lamp for coach Anthony Martucci’s squad: freshman Norah Zaffini (assisted by senior captain Reese Ferrara) scored the first goal of the season in the opening period; eighth-grader Lola Ferrara (assisted by Fran Indresano) notched her first career goal with what would prove to the the eventual game-winner and senior captain Chloe Couture (unassisted) scored in the middle stanza; and Reese Ferrara (assisted by Zaffini and Indresano) added some extra insurance in the final period .

The Lady Vikings dominated the contest from the outset, pouring 24 shots on the Lady Mustang goal in the opening period, though only finding the mark once to leave matters tied at 1-1 at the first buzzer.

“It was a good win in a very physical game,” said Martucci. “It was 1-1 after the first period despite a huge shot advantage by us, 24-8. The Medford goalie played very well. We took over in the second period, once again outshooting them heavily, 22-10, and in the final period we once again had a distinct shot advantage to end the game with a 56-20 shots-on-goal advantage in our favor.”

Winthrop goalie Riley Towse made 19 saves on the night, and in the midst of those 19 stops, Riley reached the milestone of the 1000th save of her superb high school career.

Martucci and his crew were scheduled to host non-league opponent Grafton last night (Wednesday). They will entertain NHL foe Newburyport at Larsen Saturday afternoon for a 1:00 face-off. Non-league rival Arlington Catholic will come to Larsen next Tuesday at 6:10.

WHS girls basketball hosts Danvers tomorrow

The Winthrop High girls basketball team, which opened its season this past Tuesday with a contest against Swampscott, will entertain Danvers tomorrow (Friday) evening. The opening tip is set for 6:00 in the WHS gym.

Coach Anthony Hatzisavas’s 2025-26 edition of the Lady Vikings will be led by a trio of senior captains, Polixeni Tsiotos, Bailey Ferguson, and Amina Barry.

The Lady Vikings’ next encounter is set for next Tuesday with a home match with non-league opponent Arlington Catholic at 5:30.