The Everett High girls soccer team will be sporting a new look this fall under the direction of new head coach Domenick Persuitte.
“It has always been a dream of mine to be a head coach of a high school soccer team, and I have been given a great opportunity here at Everett to help build the program. I am very humbled by this opportunity,” said Persuitte, a teacher at the high school who has served as an assistant coach with the Crimson Tide boys soccer program for the past five seasons.
Persuitte brings a lifelong love for the “beautiful game” and a lengthy background as a player and a coach. Persuitte is a graduate of Barnstable High, where he was the starting keeper for three years and coached the Barnstable JV team while attending Cape Cod Community College. Persuitte also played for the Cape Cod United club team prior to attending Cape Cod C.C.
He transferred to UMass Boston and was a walk-on who earned the starting keeper position for three seasons for the Beacons, graduating in 2010.
“Soccer has been my saving grace in life. It has always been there for me, even when I walked away while attending community college,” said Persuitte.
The 2022 edition of the Lady Crimson Tide will be led by a trio of captains, seniors Leah Ferullo and Lamiah Wyzard and junior Layla Bentancur-Cardona.
“Both Lamiah and Layla were named captains by the previous coach and both show excellent captain qualities,” said Persuitte. “I chose Leah as the third as she stepped up to help some underclass who didn’t understand what drills we were doing. She seemed very willing to help those who were struggling, the exact qualities I look for in a captain, it was a no-brainer to appoint her as a captain.”
Everett took part in the Jamboree this past Sunday at Medford and played well. The Lady Crimson Tide scored a 5-0 victory over Chelsea and battled Malden Catholic well in a 1-0 loss.
“On the whole, the team did a fantastic job,” said Persuitte. “Every player stepped up to show the team what they could do. There is a lot of work ahead, but for the first time being on the field together as one team, I was very impressed.
“For the upcoming season, my goal is to be at least .500,” Persuitte continued. “It will be great if we make the playoffs, but there is a lot of work for us to improve on. I am very confident that we will make some noise in the GBL. Every single player so far has shown the drive and will to be successful this season.”
Persuitte and his crew will open their 2022 season next Thursday (Sept. 8) at Medford.