Girls Volleyball Records 10th Win
The Everett High girls volleyball team capped off one of its most successful seasons in the past decade and celebrated Senior Night in appropriate fashion by posting its 10th victory of the 2023 campaign with a convincing 3-0 win over Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Medford last Monday.
The 10 wins equal the total earned by the last Lady Crimson Tide squad to make the post-season state tournament, the 2017 team that was led by Ariele da Cunha, Sabrina Moreta, and Nathanny Balbino.
“I see a lot of similarities between these two teams,” said veteran EHS head coach Michael Fineran. “They both had deep benches, two strong middle hitters, and tough servers. They were also led by seniors determined to erase the memories of losing seasons in their first couple of years with the program.
“This year’s senior captains, Nicole Brandao and Yasmine Laabadla, joined the team during the winless, pandemic-shortened season,” Fineran continued. “Fellow seniors Darryn Desrameaux and Kaesta Sandy were part of last year’s team that fell just two wins short of the tournament. They all know how a slow start or a midseason flop can derail a season, and they have been focused from the first day of tryouts on playing in November.
“Having clinched our spot in the tournament the previous Saturday, I was worried about a letdown two days later, but actually, without needing the win, we could relax and play loose, which led to our most dominant win of the year,” Fineran added.
After a pre-game ceremony honoring the team’s four seniors, Desrameaux ignited the crowd with four service points and two aces to put Everett up 5-0. She and Sandy combined for five kills in the set. Junior libero Sonia Flores broke open the set with seven service points that pushed the lead to 19-9. Desrameaux closed the set with an ace, giving Everett the 25-13 win.
The Tide’s defense stepped up in the second set, with Desrameaux, Brandao, and Flores earning digs, as did sophomore Amanda Verteiro and junior Emilly Nogueira. Sandy had two blocks. Brandao had two aces in eight serves. Laabadla aced the final point of the set, 25-16.
In the third set, it was junior Murielle Campo’s turn to shine on defense, earning three digs in quick succession. Vertiero earned her first block of the season, and junior setter Victoria Rodrigues led the offense, adding four aces in 10 serves as Everett corralled the Lady Mustangs, 25-17, for the three-set sweep.
“It was a great way to honor our seniors, but it’s also a great event for everyone involved with the program,” noted Fineran. “Our younger players stepped up and really made it special. The win was just a nice bonus.”
Everett lost two, five-set, non-league matches with New Mission last Tuesday and Saugus last Friday to finish the regular season at 10-8. Among the statistical leaders for the Tide were Sandy, who finished with 128 kills and 32 blocks. Brandao was second in kills with 104 and led the team with 50 aces. Nicole served 88% of her 204 serves in-bounds, trailing only Rodrigues, who delivered 95% of her team-high 246 serves in-bounds, including 41 aces. Laabadla finished the year serving 90% in. Desrameaux was third on the team with 60 kills.
Fineran and his crew now await word of their seeding and first-round opponent in the upcoming MIAA Division 1 state tournament.
EHS Girls Soccer Posts Two Victories
The Everett High girls soccer team turned in the most successful week of its season with a pair of shutout victories over Greater Boston League (GBL) rivals Lynn English and Lynn Classical last week.
The Lady Crimson Tide gave head coach Dom Persuitte his best-possible birthday present with a 6-0 win over the English Lady Bulldogs last Tuesday. “The girls wanted to win and came out on fire, continuously moving the ball around the entire field,” said Persuitte. Kathleen DeSouza netted two goals after returning from an injury. On the first goal, Yelsa Garica passed the ball to Kathleen and, after a bit of a scramble, DeSouza slotted the ball past the English keeper. Her second goal came with an assist from captain Layla Cardona off a well-placed corner kick.
In addition to her two goals, DeSouza provided an assist to team-leading scorer Garcia, who had two goals of her own. Garcia’s second goal was from her co-captain, Cardona, who is the team’s free-kick specialist. Cardona delivered the kick and found Garcia on the other end, from where she beat the English keeper.
Cardona was not done scoring, netting two more goals as well. Layla’s first goal came from Luna Sepulveda Maselli on a solid cross-field pass to Cardona, who rocketed a shot past the keeper. Cardona’s final goal came from her own effort. She took the ball off a Lynn defender’s foot and brought it to goal, beating the English keeper one-on-one.
Alondra Flores started in net for the Lady Tide and posted a clean sheet. Sophomore Veronica Pineda Coto, who was called up from the JV squad, finished out the last 15 minutes of the game to complete the combined shutout for the duo.
Two other JV players also displayed excellent talent, junior Shaylee Perez and Xiomara Perez. “Without the help of these players, the game could have been completely different,” said Persuitte. “The entire team played as one, and everyone came into the game knowing what was on the line. The defense was incredible as well, led by captain Shyann Ambersley.”
The Lady Crimson Tide continued their momentum two days later for Senior Night when they hosted the Lynn Classical Rams, who stand in third place in the GBL, and emerged with a 1-0 victory.
“What a game it was, on a cold, windy night,” said Persuitte. “The girls came out on fire and refused to let up. The game went back and forth the entire time. Both teams were very aggressive, but we prevailed.”
The lone goal of the contest came in the final six minutes. Alondra Flores floated the ball over the Lady Ram back line and the speedy Garcia ran onto the ball, took a settling touch, and with her next touch beat the Lynn Classical keeper, with the ball trickling over the goal-line for the winning score.
“A few noticeable standouts from the game included winger Sofia Arana-Quintanilla, who controlled the entire left side, making it hard for the Lynn defense,” said Persuitte. “Layla Cardona controlled the midfield, along with Luna Sepulveda Maselli and Alondra Flores. Shyann Ambersley led the defense, making stop after stop, along with Gleidy Tajada, Casey Martinez, and Maria Silvestri.
“Emilia Maria-Babcock got her first shutout in her new role as our keeper,” added Persuitte. “She has made the transition seamlessly in replacing the injured Laura Sanchez, who was out with a broken thumb from earlier in the year. The team played exactly how we wanted, together and as one. The seniors who got to play (many of whom were on the sidelines because of season-ending injuries) made it a night for everyone to remember. The team and the entire coaching staff are incredibly proud of this group of athletes showing their dedication to the senior girls and the team.”
Persuitte and his crew were scheduled to wrap up their 2023 season this week with contests with Medford (this past Monday), Lowell today (Wednesday), and Stoneham on Friday.
Cross Country Turns in Strong Meet for Senior Night
Although the Everett High girls and boys cross country teams fell short in their final dual meet of the season with Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Somerville last week, coach Brendan Hahesy was pleased with his team’s performance.
“We had a great last meet on Senior Night at Rivergreen Park,” said Hahesy. “We had a team average of over two minutes of improvement over the course of the season.”
For the boys, the results were as follows:
— Nischal Tamang 4th, 15:25
— Lucas Nunez 9th, 16:31
— Anthony Whitlow 10th 16:33
— Jermey Whitlow 13th 17:27
— David Huezo 14th 17:30
— Dawens Germain 15th 17:41
— Domenico Della Rosa 19th 19:38
— Harry Guevara 20th 20:27
On the girls’ side, Suzanne Mahrajan finished sixth with a clocking of 20:55 and Camille Comilo came across in ninth spot in a time of 24:10.
Both teams were scheduled to compete in the GBL Meet yesterday (Wednesday) at Torbert Macdonald Park.
Field Hockey Team Wins Two of Three
The Everett High field hockey team enjoyed a successful week, winning two of its three contests.
“What a week we had!” exuded EHS head coach Sabrina Wright.
Last Monday the Crimson Tide made the long bus ride to Greater Lowell a worthwhile trip, coming home with an 8-0 victory,
“It was interesting playing them because their field is grass and we play and practice on 99% turf both home and away, so it was going to be interesting watching the team play on grass, and then on top of that, it was downpouring, so it was wet, muddy grass. But the tough conditions did not bother us and we dominated.”
With Cephas Orelus serving as the Tide’s honorary captain for the day, Caden Sylva scored three goals, including his first of the season,
“It was awesome watching Caden play this game,” said Wright. “He has been trying to get a goal all season and when he finally got a taste of it, he was hungry for more and ended up with a hat trick. He was also our MVP of the game.”
Orelus also potted three goals to add to his status as the team’s top goal scorer on the season. The other two Everett goals came from Malaica Guillaume and Meghan Currie, which was Meghan’s first goal of the season.
Two nights later the Tide hosted Northeast Regional for Senior Night festivities. “It was an amazing night,” said Wright. “I loved getting to recognize and celebrate our seniors. This is my first group of seniors to leave and I feel so lucky to have had them this year. They adjusted quickly, and with open arms welcomed a new coach and I’m so thankful.
“It was another great game for us and we were fired up,” said Wright of her team’s 8-0 triumph for which Jonathan Scoletti served as honorary captain.
Freshman goalie Willins Julien earned his second shutout of the week and the offense was led by Cephas Orleus (two goals), Meghan Currie, Caden Sylva, Jonathan Scoletti (two goals), Malaica Guillaume, and the last one from senior defensive player Taisha Alexandre.
“Taisha asked to be put as a forward so that she could score a goal on her Senior Night and she did,” said Wright. “It was so fun to see.”
This past Friday the Tide faced Waltham. “I was excited for this match,” said Wright. “Waltham was our first game of the season and we are not even close to the team we were in that first game. The first time we played them we fell 5-0. When we played them on Friday they scored late in the first quarter putting them up 1-0 and we held them to that for most of the game until late in the third when they scored their second goal.
“Throughout the game we had some scoring opportunities, but nothing that clicked,” Wright continued. “We lost 2-0, but to me that’s a win. Waltham is a team with great stick work and great passing, but we can outrun them all day, so for us to go up there and only let up two goals was really something to be proud of. It shows you how much we have improved as individual players and as a team and I am so happy.”
Wright and hew crew were scheduled to conclude their 2023 season this week. After taking on Melrose this past Monday, they are set to face Greater Boston League rivals Revere today (Wednesday) and Malden on Saturday at 10:00 AM at 7-Acre Park. “These are three great games to end our season,” said Wright.
EHS Golfers To Compete in GBL Open
The Everett High golf team was scheduled to wrap up its 2023 season at the Greater Boston League (GBL) Open today (Wednesday) at Kelley Greens in Nahant. The quartet of Makenzie Powers, Anthony Masucci, Jacob Cantone, and Andrew Crasco will compete for the Crimson Tide.
“The top four golfers from each school are invited,” said EHS head coach Steve Gallagher. “We will be using a Stableford format, so I am hopeful we can get some points and compete.”
The Tide came up short in its final two matches of the season this past week, falling to GBL foes Lynn English (46-26) and Medford (42-30).
EHS Boys Soccer Shooting for Tourney
The Everett High boys soccer team’s hopes for punching their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney rests on the outcome of their final two matches of the season this week.
Coach Pedro Blas’s squad stands at 6-6-4 and needs either a win or two ties to achieve the .500 record that is necessary to qualify for a berth in the the MIAA Division 1 state tourney. The Crimson Tide were slated to take on B.C. High yesterday (Tuesday) and Medford tomorrow (Thursday).
The Tide deadlocked with GBL foes Lynn English and Lynn Classical this past week by identical scores of 1-1.