Girls Volleyball Plays at Westford Today in D-1 State Tourney
The Everett High girls volleyball team, which completed its most successful season since 2017, was set to open play in the Division 1 MIAA state tournament this afternoon (Wednesday) with a preliminary round contest at Westford (Academy) High School at 5:00.
Coach Michael Fineran’s Lady Crimson Tide, who compiled a 10-8 record during the regular season, are the 36th seed in D-1, while the Lady Ghosts, who finished with a 5-13 mark, are seeded 29th.
The winner will advance to the Round of 32, where they will travel to meet Shrewsbury, the #4 seed in D-1.
Boys Soccer Falls Short in Tourney Bid
The Everett High boys soccer team, which had a chance at qualifying for the state tourney entering the final week of the season, fell short in its bid to punch a ticket for a Journey to the Tourney with a pair of hard-fought losses to B.C. High (2-0) and Medford (1-0), both of which are tourney-bound teams, this past week.
“We unfortunately lost both our games,” said EHS head coach Pedro Blas. “I thought we played really great in both games. We just couldn’t finish, but definitely had the opportunity to do so. We did everything we could, but no luck.”
The Crimson Tide, who needed a win (or two ties) in their final two games in order to achieve the .500 record needed to qualify for the tourney, finished the season with an overall mark of 6-8-4 and 5-5-4 in the Greater Boston League, which was good for fourth place behind league champion Somerville (12-1-1), Medford (10-3-1), and Revere (8-3-3).
EHS Golfers Wrap Up Season; Powers Named GBL All-Star
The Everett High golf team wrapped up its 2023 season last Wednesday at the Greater Boston League (GBL) Open at Kelley Greens in Nahant, which featured the top four golfers from each GBL school.
“We lucked out with the weather last Wednesday,” said EHS head coach Steve Gallagher. “It was a beautiful day to play some golf.”
The competition consisted of a modified Stableford format in which players earn points for their outcome on each hole (one point for a double bogey, two points for a bogey, four for a par, six for a birdie, and eight for an eagle.)
Somerville finished with 126 total points, while the Crimson Tide rounded out the bottom with a total of 68 points. Senior Makenzie Powers was Everett’s top scorer, accounting for 24 points.
Makenzie also earned the honor of being named to the GBL all-star team. “Makenzie has improved tremendously over her high school career and I’m so proud that she was able to cap it off with an all-star nod,” said Gallagher.
Boys Finish 5th at GBL Meet
The Everett High boys and girls cross country teams competed in the Greater Boston League (GBL) last Wednesday at Macdonald Park along the banks of the Mystic River on Route 16.
“It was a nice last race of the season,” said EHS head coach Brendan Hahesy. “Everyone really brought their best effort to the meet.”
For the Crimson Tide boys, who finished in sixth place among the eight GBL schools, senior Nischal Tamang was the top performer, coming across the line in 16th place with a time of 16:12. Nischal was followed by fellow senior Dawens Germain in 20th place in 16:25, sophomore Lucas Nunez in 32nd in 17:05, sophomore Anthony Whitlow in 37th in 17:48, sophomore Jeremy Whitlow in 40th in 18:11, junior David Huezo in 41st in 18:20, and freshman Domenico Delle Rose in 50th spot in 20:07.
On the girls’ side, senior Suzanne Maharjan finished in 23rd place with a clocking of 22:11 and fellow senior Camile Camilo grabbed the 38th spot with a time of 25:41.
EHS Field Hockey Wraps Up Season
The Everett High field hockey team completed its 2023 season with a trio of well-played and hard-fought contests this past week.
Last Monday the Crimson Tide faced Melrose and came up on the short end of a 4-1 decision. “I was excited for this match-up since we came so close to beating them the last time we saw them,” said EHS head coach Sabrina Wright. “Unfortunately, it was their senior night, so they were fired up and hungry to win.” Caden Sylva scored the Everett goal and Yasmin Linhares was named the Tide’s MVP.
Last Tuesday Everett squared off against Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Revere and fell just short by a score of 4-2. “This was a good match-up,” said Wright. “They had some lucky corners that resulted in a goal. The highlight of the game was a penalty stroke in the first quarter. We have a great goalie and I had full faith in him and he came up with a huge save on that stroke. This was the first and only penalty stroke of the season so it was fun.” Senior Emma Longmore scored her first goal of the season and Malaica Guillaume added the second Everett goal. Luiza Velev was named the team’s MVP.
The Tide’s final contest of the 2023 campaign came this past Saturday against GBL foe Malden on the field at 7-Acres Park. “This was a crazy game,” said Wright of the encounter with the Golden Tornadoes, who are one of only three teams from the GBL, along with Everett and Revere, who have a field hockey program.
The contest was a scoreless duel until Malden broke the deadlock with a goal on a penalty corner late in the third quarter. “Our team fought hard and we had a few scoring opportunities,” noted Wright, “but Malden took the win. It was a great game to end the season on.”
Wright named assistant coach Nicola Jones as the team’s MVP, not for the game, but for the whole season. “Nicola was supportive of me, the team as a whole, and a great person for the players to confide in,” said Wright. “She kept us all sane and we are so grateful that we have her on our coaching team.
“We worked hard all season and we have improved immensely,” said Wright, reflecting on the team’s 2023 season, which was her first at the helm of the Everett field hockey program. “We are not at all the team we were in August or in our first game. I’m sad to see all our seniors leave, but I’m excited to continue to work with the returning players, the new players, and to grow this program.”
EHS Girls Soccer Tops Lowell, 4-1
The Everett High girls soccer team earned a 4-1 victory over non-league rival Lowell last Wednesday. Aldrona Flore scored the first goal for the Lady Crimson Tide with an assist from Layla Cardona on a free kick. Yelsa Garcia reached the back of the Lowell net, assisted by Luna Sepulveda Maselli, to make it 2-0. Layla Leles scored Everett’s third goal on a deflection off the Lowell goalkeeper and Sofia Arana-Quintanilla applied the coup de grace with her first goal of the season. “Sofia has been showing a lot of promise for the future of this program,” noted EHS head coach Domenick Persuitte. Emilia Maria-Babcock played well in net for the Tide.
Everett wrapped up its season with a contest against non-league opponent Stoneham. Although the Tide fell short by a margin of 7-1, Persuitte was upbeat about his team’s effort. “Despite the score, we held our own well into the second half,” said Persuitte. “However, a few mistakes happened and Stoneham capitalized on them.”
Garcia, assisted by Layla Cardona, accounted for the Everett goal.
“The team played overall very well, but the big standout was our goalkeeper, Emilia Maria-Babcock, who kept the Stoneham offense at bay, even though the score was high,” said Persuitte.
Reflecting on the season, Persuitte observed, “My takeaways from this season are nothing but positive. My overall goal is still to make the .500 mark. This year we were plagued with injuries, but the amount of positives that came out of this season outweighed everything else. I am very proud of this group of girls. They were asked to do a lot and step outside their comfort zone.
“I want to thank my entire coaching staff, Bridget Cifuni and Rodney Landaverde, for helping out and making this such an enjoyable experience and season,” Persuitte added. “All three of us are looking forward to next year.”