The Winthrop High boys basketball team will entertain Northeastern Conference North rival Peabody next Tuesday. The opening tip-off is set for 7:00 on the Chris Tsiotos Floor at Holland Gymnasium.
Coach Quinton Dale and his crew, who stand at 2-3 on the season, were scheduled to travel to NEC South foes Saugus this past Tuesday and to Salem tonight (Thursday).
The Vikings split their contests in last week’s 5th annual David Green Memorial Tournament, rolling past Excel Academy in the tourney opener, 80-44, but falling to the No. Reading Hornets in an exciting championship game, 67-63, that went down to the final 5.7 seconds.
The Vikings benefited from some hot shooting by Nico Ruggiero and Joseph Schettino in the opening period, both of whom sank some treys, but No. Reading also was hitting from beyond the arc — the Hornets eventually finished with a torrid 48 percent shooting percentage from three-point land.
Winthrop trailed by double digits, 41-26, early in the third period, but the Vikings embarked on a comeback effort that eventually saw them pull ahead, 54-52, when Ruggiero stole a Hornet pass at midcourt and drove in for the layup with 4:47 to play.
The team then engaged in a nip-and-tuck struggle the rest of the way. After No. Reading tied the score with 3:40 on the clock, Ruggiero drove the lane and drew the foul, hitting both of his free throws, and the Hornets responded with a similar drive, foul, and free throws to bring the contest back to level at 56-56.
Ruggiero answered with a bucket on a turnaround in the lane, and a Hornet free throw left matters at 58-57 in Winthrop’s favor with 2:48 to go. However, the Vikings lost their shooting touch and a No. Reading trey from the corner gave the Hornets a 60-58 advantage with 2:22 to go.
The teams traded defensive stops for the next 80 seconds until, with just over a minute on the clock, Ruggiero drained a trey from the top of the key to reinstate Winthrop’s lead, 61-60. But just a few seconds later, a Hornet responded with a triple to make it 63-61 with 55 seconds to play.
After Winthrop took a timeout, a long Winthrop three-point attempt missed the mark. No. Reading then hit two free throws (after an intentional foul by Winthrop with 22 seconds to go) to take a 65-61 advantage.
Viking captain Noah Bayersdorfer drove the lane and sank a clutch jumper from the foul line to draw Winthrop within two, 65-63, with 11.6 seconds remaining, and the Vikings subsequently forced a turnover for a five-second violation on the ensuing inbounds pass.
However, the Winthrop comeback effort fell short with a pair of misses at the free throw line with 5.7 seconds to play and a foul on the No. Reading possession gave the Hornets two more FTs for the 67-63 finale.
The Winthrop High boys hockey team improved to 3-0-0 in the Northeastern Conference (NEC) and 5-3-0 overall with a solid 5-1 victory over NEC South Division rival Peabody/Saugus/Swampscott this past Saturday evening at Kasabuski Rink.
Coach Dale Dunbar’s Vikings dominated the action from the outset. Junior defenseman Nikita Rossi scored a goal in the opening period, assisted by Dom Spinale, and the Vikings never looked back.
Winthrop took full control in the middle period, scoring three unanswered goals. A power play goal by captain Paul Ferrara (assisted by Spinale and Nate Previte) opened the floodgates. A few minutes later, senior assistant captain Bert Kline (assisted by fellow senior assistant captain Nick Romano) found the back of the Tanner net on another power play opportunity, and Ferrara upped the count to 4-0 with his second lamplighter of the evening (assisted by captain Joe Pumphret).
After Peabody got a quick goal in the third period, Winthrop answered right back on a goal by freshman Ethan Staff (assisted by Ferrara and Pumphret) for the 5-1 finale.
WHS netminder Jim Lyman turned in another solid effort between the pipes, turning aside 22 Peabody shots.
Dunbar and his crew have a pair of big matchups in the coming week against two of their fiercest NEC North rivals. The Vikings were scheduled to travel to Endicott College’s Ray Bourque Arena last night (Wednesday) to face Danvers and then will trek to the Haverhill Valley Forum next Wednesday evening for an 8:05 face-off against Masconomet.
The Vikings will return home next Saturday afternoon (January 17) for a contest with NEC North foe Gloucester at 1:00.
The Winthrop High girls hockey team improved to 4-1-1 overall and 3-0-0 in the Northeastern Hockey League (NHL) with a pair of victories this past week.
Last Tuesday, the Lady Vikings skated to a 4-0 triumph over NHL rival Gloucester.
Winthrop dominated the contest from the outset, outshooting the Lady Fishermen by a wide 22-7 margin in the opening period.
“We carried the play right from the start,” said WHS head coach Anthony Martucci, “but their senior goalie played extremely well, and held them in the game for the entire first period.”
Though the Lady Vikings were unable to dent the Gloucester goal in the opening 15 minutes, they cured that deficiency in the second period. Captain Avalina Coffey made it 1-0 when she ripped a fierce slapshot off a face-off that was drawn back to her that Avelina zipped over the Gloucester goalie’s head.
A few minutes later, Winthrop took advantage of a power play when captain Reese Ferrara slammed home another goal to make it 2-0.
However it was the third Winthrop goal that left the fans’ jaws dropping. Captain Tegan Pereira scored what Martucci described as “one of the nastiest goals in program history” when Tegan danced around three defenders, and then around the goalie, for a highlight-reel goal.
With a 3-0 lead securely in hand after two periods, the Lady Vikings continued to control the action, culminating with a goal by eighth-grader Lola Ferrara, assisted by her sister Reese, during a 4-on-4 situation.
“It was a great way to close out the game,” noted Martucci.
WHS netminder Riley Towse recorded her 21st career shutout, leaving Riley three shy of Summer Tallent’s program record of 24 shutouts. In addition, the win gave Riley 53 career victories, likewise leaving her three away from Tallent’s program record of 56.
This past Saturday Martucci and his crew trekked to non-league opponent Burlington and skated home with a 4-1 triumph.
“The Burlington game was big,” noted Martucci. “They came into Larsen Rink last year and blasted us, 7-1. So our girls wanted to answer for that, and they did.
“The game started off a little rough in more ways than one,” Martucci continued. “We were playing a little nervous, and not making smart plays with the puck, but a hit from behind by Burlington on Lola Ferrara set us straight. After Tegan Pereira jumped in to be there for her teammate, and Angela Coscia also got in to help, our team realized what we needed to do to win the game.
“It was a good wake up call, but it was also a very unifying moment for our team,” said Martucci. “I think seeing your captain go right into a scrum to have a teammate’s back is a very motivating thing and it led to us going on a three-goal onslaught.”
Amelia Serino got the puck rolling for Winthrop with a power play goal, and then made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal. “Amelia ‘went off’ for about five minutes,” Martucci said. “She just used her size and speed to take over the game, and really got us started.”
Angela Coscia then made one of her incredible rushes, finishing it off with a slick goal through the Burlington goalie’s five-hole (between the goalie’s pads), to make it 3-0 after the first period.
The teams exchanged goals in the middle period. After Burlington lit the lamp, Reese Ferrara got it back to stymie any thoughts of a comeback by the Lady Red Devils.
“Reese is our leading scorer so far this season,” said Martucci. “She has been tremendous in every game. She is leading us in many ways, but it is her grit and toughness that have been huge.”
Fran Indrisano had three assists on the four goals. “Fran has been excellent so far this season,” Martucci said.
The Lady Vikings continued to carry the play in the third period, but proved unable to finish their opportunities. “We had a lot of quality chances, but just could not squeeze one,” said Martucci.
“Riley Towse was great when she was called upon, but she did not have to go too crazy making saves in this one,” Martucci said of his netminder. “She did make some nice glove saves on their top player, and now is only two wins away from tying the program record.”
The Lady Vikings have a big week ahead vs. key NHL rivals: They were scheduled to host Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading last night (Wednesday); they will entertain Medford Saturday at Larsen at 1:00; and then will host Beverly/Danvers, which also is undefeated in the NHL, next Wednesday evening at Larsen at 6:10.
The Winthrop High girls basketball team will entertain Northeastern Conference South Division rival Salem this evening (Thursday) at a special starting time of 5:30.
Coach Anthony Hatzisavas’s crew, who were scheduled to face NEC South foe Saugus this past Tuesday, came out on the short end of a 51-39 decision at non-league opponent Winchester this past Friday.
“It was our first road contest of the season,” said Hatzisavas. “We came out a little flat, but we were able to bounce back quickly. We kept going down by 6-7 points, and then making it tight again with big baskets by guards Polixeni Tsiotos and Bailey Ferguson.
“I thought that our guards had a favorable matchup, so I really wanted to get them involved as much as possible,” Hatzisavas said. “We were also working during the week leading up to the game to try to get Amina Barry involved more on the offensive end, but foul trouble really limited her minutes and made it more difficult to get her going.
“Josie Barry was also fighting foul trouble,” Hatzisavas continued. “Josie had three fouls in the first half and that made it really hard for the rest of the contest for her to get in a groove.
“With Both of those two in foul trouble, juniors Alex Ross and Grace McCurdy did a great job stepping up and providing valuable minutes off the bench,” Hatzisavas added.
Winthrop trailed by only a point, 27-26, at the intermission, and was still within striking range in the fourth period when the Lady Vikings fell behind by five, 44-39. That deficit persisted for almost a three-minute stretch, but Winthrop was unable to narrow the gap. Winchester then scored five points over the final two minutes for the 49-39 final score.
Tsiotos displayed some sharp outside shooting, hitting five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. “Polixeni was a huge part of our offense and our rebounding,” said Hatzisavas. “She has been putting up double-digit games consistently and has been doing a great job on that end of the floor.”
Senior captain and backcourt mate Ferguson posted one of the best stat lines for a Lady Viking over the past few seasons, finishing with 20 points, seven boards, five assists, and five steals, and five deflections.
“Bailey has done a great job leading our offense as a playmaker, while also knowing we need her to score,” said Hatzisavas. “She has played 32 minutes multiple times this season and has been crucial for us.
“However, we need to find more scoring, Bailey and Polixeni combined for 37 of our 39 points. We need to get other people going and if we can just get a little bit more from some of the other girls, we can start finding more success,” Hatzisavas said.
After tonight’s encounter with Salem, the Lady Vikings will trek to Peabody next Tuesday.
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