Stephen Faia potted two goals in a two minute span at the start of the third period to break open a tight 2-1 contest and power the Everett High boys hockey team to a 4-2 victory over Cambridge Saturday evening.
Faia’s first goal came just 10 seconds into the frame. He netted his second lamplighter on his next shift shortly thereafter to give the Crimson Tide a 4-1 advantage. Shawn Doyle and Cody Nadeau assisted on Faia’s first tally and Ryan Considine earned the assist on his second.
The contest had been an evenly played affair until Faia’s outburst. After the teams had battled to a 0-0 draw through the first 15 minutes, Reardan Sweeney, assisted by Joe Raymond, put Everett on the board in the second stanza. Cambridge knotted matters at 1-1, but Doyle, with assists going to Sweeney and Nadeau, gave the Crimson Tide the lead for good before the second horn sounded.
Everett controlled the play in the victory, outshooting Cambridge by a 28-16 margin. For the Crimson Tide, the outcome marked their first win against a GBL opponent in two seasons and raised their record to 4-2-1 on the year.
“This was a nice win for us,” said EHS head coach Alex Naumann. “We played well at both ends of the ice and our goalie, Vin Sottosanti, was superb at the beginning of the game when we started out a bit flat to keep Cambridge off the board in the first period.”
However, the triumph proved a costly one as defenseman Richard Huff suffered a serious knee injury when he was checked below the waist as he was headmanning the puck into Cambridge territory.
Earlier in the week, the Crimson Tide dropped a well-played 4-2 decision to Somerville. Doyle, assisted by Chris Roderick and Derek Bankus, and Faia, assisted by Doyle and Raymond, lit the red lamp for the Crimson Tide.
Everett trailed 4-1 entering the third period, but Faia’s goal at the start of the period seemed to give the Tide some momentum in their effort to get back into the game. However, some costly penalties, which eventually gave Somerville a 5 on 3 advantage, thwarted the Everett advance.
“We seemed poised to make a run at them, but costly penalties really hurt us,” said Naumann, who once again noted the strong play of Sottosanti, who turned aside 31 Cambridge shots. The contest also marked the use of a third line by Naumann, consisting of Roderick, Bankus, and Steven Chaves.
Naumann and his crew will be back in action tonight, hosting Medford tonight at 8:00 at Veterans Memorial Rink. They will play Mystic Valley in the local rink Saturday at 11:00 and then host Pentucket Monday at 4:00.
EHS Varsity vs. Alumni game set for January 28
The Everett High boys hockey team will take on their Alumni brethren on Saturday afternoon, January 28, at 3:40, immediately following that day’s Everett-Somerville contest.
All EHS hockey alumni who are interested in lacing up the skates to participate in what should be a fun filled afternoon should contact EHS head coach Alex Naumann at his e-mail address, [email protected].
All proceeds (there is a $40.00 fee for the alumni players) will benefit the Everett High hockey program.
Girls hoop team defeats Classical
A strong double-double performance by Amanda DeSouza, who pumped in 16 points and pulled down 18 rebounds, powered the Everett High girls basketball team to a 34-28 victory over Lynn Classical last Wednesday.
The contest was a hard fought battle from start to finish, with the Lady Crimson Tide clinging to narrow leads of 17-14 at the half and 23-21 after three frames. The teams dueled furiously in the final minutes with just a basket separating them, but Everett withstood the best that Classical could throw at them. In addition, the Lady Crimson Tide hit their free throws down the stretch, with Tori Cyrus sinking three clutch charity stripe tosses.
Cyrus reached double figures with 10 points and dished out eights assists. Taylor Sweeney, back in the lineup after missing the previous week because of illness, saw limited time and scored three points. Savannah Spinney and Jess Wade hit for two points apiece and Spressa Ramadani added a point.
“It was great to win a close game,” said EHS head coach Tammy Turner. “We’ve lost some tight ones this year, so this undoubtedly will be a big confidence booster for us.”
One of those down to the wire losses came the night before when the Lady Crimson Tide came out on the short end of a 36-32 decision to Haverhill. Everett held a 19-16 advantage at the half and led 25-24 after three frames. The Lady Crimson Tide seemed to be in good shape with a five point lead with five minutes to go, but a scoring drought over a two minute stretch allowed Haverhill to move into the lead.
Foul trouble proved fatal for Everett, particularly with Sweeney still on the sidelines and Cyrus slowed by an ankle injury. Everett was forced to foul in the waning moments, but Haverhill proved equal to the task and sank their shots from the charity stripe.
DeSouza led Revere in the scoring column with 11 points, followed by Cyrus with nine, Spinney with six, Ramadani with five, and Janyne Sierra with two.
Turner and her crew, who now are 2-3 on the year, have a busy week on tap, starting last night (Tuesday) against Somerville. They travel to Malden Friday, to Salem Monday, and to Cambridge Tuesday.
EHS freshmen-sophs compete in GBL meet
A contingent of Everett High freshmen and sophomores competed in the GBL Freshman/Sophomore Meet last week.
Top performers for the Crimson Tide included Bryan Cedeno, who took first place in the 50 yard dash in 5.9 seconds. Teammate Luis Montiero was fourth in the dash in 6.6.
Henry Maldonado was another first place victor, outrunning the field in the 300 yard dash in 38.6. Teammate Lucas Tejada brought home fifth spot in the 300 in 40.4.
In the 50 yard hurdles, Steven Garrity claimed the fourth place ribbon in 8.8. In the 600 yard dash, Malcolm Alexis nabbed third place in 1:31.4. Bryan Gomez earned third spot in the shotput with a throw of 32-5.
The 4 x 400 meter relay quartet of Jason Hansen, Lucas Tejada, Bryan Cedeno, and Henry Maldonado finished fifth in 4:30.
On the girls’ side, Elsbeth Colson took sixth place in the 300 yard dash in 47.6; Luana DeMenzes finished fourth in the 600 in 1:56.3; Faith Pinho came home in third in the 1000 in 3:36.3; and the 4x 400m relay foursome of Luana DeMenzes, Emily DeSousa, Sheryl Steeves, and Elsbeth Colson completed their race in a time of 5:43.
“Everyone put forth a good effort,” said EHS head coach Shelanda Irish. “The kids had a lot of fun and this meet gave them the opportunity to see where they match up individually against the kids on the other GBL teams in their grade.”
The next meet for the EHS boys and girls varsity teams is set for today (Wednesday) at Cambridge.