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By Joe McConnell
Tide field hockey builds momentum
After two wins last week, the Everett High School field hockey team (4-9) is still fighting for a playoff spot in Division 2 with still five games left on the regular season schedule.
The Crimson Tide started the week off by shutting down non-league Northeast Voke at 7-Acres, 8-0 on Oct. 6, before closing it out with a nifty 3-1 victory over host Haverhill, another non-league foe, on Oct. 10. Between those two games, they lost a heartbreaker to visiting Marblehead out of the Northeastern Conference, 1-0.
Prior to last week’s success, the Tide dropped five in a row, but they proved during that stretch that they are a resilient group, understanding anything but a losing record would get them into the postseason.
“Although (that losing streak) presented some challenges on the scoreboard, the team’s grit and growth truly outshined its previous efforts earlier in the season,” said coach Nicola Jones. “It marked significant progress for them.”
The steady growth spurt in different phases of the game began on Sept. 29 with a 4-0 loss to visiting Waltham. The home team demonstrated remarkable improvement by cutting the goals against significantly since the two teams last played each other on Sept. 8, when the Hawks won, 9-0.
Then on Oct. 1, Everett fought hard, only to lose to Revere by the slimmest of margins, 1-0. “We showcased incredible spirit and determination on the road in this game,” said Jones.
The turnaround week of the season, despite the losses, concluded with a 2-0 home defeat to Hamilton-Wenham on Oct. 3.
Jones singled out several players during that three-game stretch, starting with captain Stéphano Oreléus. Jones said of her captain: “she continues to be a vital midfield leader.”
The veteran coach also praised goalie Wilins Julien for the energy and skill that he consistently brings to the defensive end of the field. His backup, senior Isadora Da Silveira, stepped in at times with no prior experience to make some crucial saves to keep the games close.
In the dominating win over aforementioned Northeast Voke, Captain Oreleus scored four goals to pace the offensive attack. Lindsey Sylva tacked on two scores, while Dadspencer Racine and Julien accounted for their first varsity goals.
The focus was on maintaining this momentum throughout the rest of last week, and they did so by defeating Haverhill. They have since gone up against host Malden on Oct. 15 after press deadline, and will then take on Haverhill again, this time at 7-Acres on Friday, Oct. 17, starting at 4:15 p.m.
Saugus (Oct. 20, 4 p.m.), Lowell (Oct. 22, 5 p.m.) and Revere (Oct. 23, 5:30 p.m.) close out the regular season for the Tide next week, all at home at 7-Acres.
Volleyball remains positive
The Crimson Tide volleyball team (2-13) played well at times last week, but ultimately came up short against Lynn Classical (Oct. 6) and Lawrence (Oct. 10) at home by identical scores of 3-0, while also losing to Lynn English (Oct. 8) on the road, 3-1.
“Obviously, we wish the results were different, but I have been pleased by the team’s attitude, which has been positive throughout this tough stretch,” said Coach Mike Fineran. “This group has stuck together and kept on fighting, and that’s a credit to our senior leadership.”
Fineran was referring to the likes of captain Nicole Damaceno, who has set the tone on the court this year. “As our setter, she is involved in almost every play, and is simply a natural leader,” he said. “She also leads the team in total serves and serve percentage.
In last Wednesday’s match against Lynn English, Damaceno was credited with her 400th career serve, and in this season alone she has successfully made 96% of her serves. She has also secured 50 aces and 50 kills in three years.
Fineran states that assistant captain Juliette Romboli is the team’s most vocal leader on the court. “We feed off her energy,” the coach said. “She leads in kills with 72 this year, which is nearly 40 more than the second highest on the team.”
Senior Amanda Verteiro, also an assistant captain, has been dynamic on defense in recent matches, according to Fineran. “She is closing in on 150 made serves and 50 aces in her career,” he added.
Their classmates, Shaendra Hall and Lindsey Cherichel-Paul, have also kept the spirits of their younger teammates up. “Hall, in particular, has served nearly 100 times, and has also tallied 33 kills, while playing all over the place – outside, middle, back row – at various times this fall,” the coach said.
Cherichel-Paul leads the team in blocks with 11. Aya Selimovic and Leliani Ros-Morales provides much needed depth on the front line, and both have also been reliable servers when necessary.
“I’m disappointed for them that we haven’t been able to squeeze out a couple of more victories,” Fineran said. “The competition has been playing at a high level, but we also know that it’s more about our own performance than theirs. We need to execute better in the clutch, and that is something we will continue to work on in our final six regular season games.”
One of those matches was against Somerville on Oct. 14, a 3-0 loss at home. They were also at home against Medford the next day after press deadline, and will close out this week against non-league Saugus on Friday (Oct. 17) at the EHS gym, starting at 5:30 p.m. They will remain at home next week to complete the season versus Revere (Oct. 20, 5:30 p.m.), Malden (Oct. 22, 5:30 p.m.) and non-league Lowell (Oct. 23, 6 p.m.).
Girls’ soccer gets back into the postseason hunt
After losing four straight games, the Tide girls’ soccer team (5-7-1) got a much-needed 2-0 win against Lynn English on Tuesday night (Oct. 14) at Lynn’s Manning Field. With five games left in the regular season, every point is important with the postseason right around the corner. Those teams with at least .500 records secure playoff berths.
The team had a week off prior to the win over the Bulldogs, and the break did the girls a lot of good. They lost to Chelsea the previous Tuesday (Oct. 7) by the exact same score, which followed 5-0 losses to Medford (Sept. 30) and Malden (Oct. 2).
After the loss to Chelsea, coach Dom Persuitte was hoping for the best that his team would snap out of its losing ways.
“This game against Chelsea was hard-fought, but the (Red Devils) did well to break through our defense to score their goals,” said Persuitte.
Midfielder Rosa Ramero, striker Odalis Sandoval, defender Melanie Ribeiro and goalie Gabriella Menjivar stood out, according to the coach, for their solid play throughout the Chelsea game to keep it close on the scoreboard.
Since that loss, the players have been listening to their coach. They understand they need a sense of urgency in the final few games of the regular season. “We backed ourselves into a corner, but one thing I know about this team is that when their backs are against the wall they start fighting (for every possession),” said Persuitte. “It’s going to be a tough, long process, but I have faith in these girls that they will turn it around and hopefully make it to the tournament.”
Following the win over the Bulldogs, the Everett girls took on visiting Lynn Classical on Oct. 16 after press deadline, before heading to Revere on Monday night (Oct. 20) to face the Patriots at 7 p.m. They will then come right home to go up against Somerville the very next day at 7-Acres, beginning at 4:15 p.m.
Cross-country teams take on league rival Revere
The boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams had mixed results in the meet against host Revere last week at the Belle Isle Reservation on Oct. 8. The Everett boys’ (4-1) won going away, 18-40, while the girls’ (0-5) dropped a 15-50 decision.
In the girls’ race, senior captain Akanksha Neupane (22:15) led her teammates across the finish line with a third-place finish.
The Everett boys dominated the Patriots, taking six of the top seven places, led by senior captains Lucas Nunez (17:19) and Jeremy Whitlow (17:57), who topped the ticket with first and second place finishes, respectively. As a result of his first-place finish, Nunez remains undefeated in the Greater Boston League.
Following Nunez and Whitlow across the finish line were teammates Chris Portillo (18:40, fourth), Anthony Whitlow (19:00, fifth), Wilmer Fuentas (19:10, sixth), Dominico Delle Rose (19:12, seventh), Carlos Pagan (19:28, eighth), Pratyush Darai (20:55, 10th), Raakin Shrestha (20:56, 11th), Anthoid Khanal (21:00, 12th), Bryan Lewis (21:42, 13th), Michael Lemus (22:05, 14th) and Brasesh Maharjan (24:24, 18th).
After Neupane’s third place finish, her teammates Shashi Pokhrel (24:31, sixth) and Nathalia Cesario (28:42, seventh) also ended up in the Top 10 in the girls meet.
Both teams have two more league meets left in the regular season against Somerville (Oct. 15) and Lynn Classical (Oct. 22). The annual GBL Meet that determines all-star teams will then be held at Medford’s MacDonald Park on Oct. 29.
