RHS Sports Roundup

Boys Soccer Wins GBL Playoff Title

The Revere High boys soccer team, the regular-season champion of the Greater Boston League (GBL), put the finishing touch on a successful 2020 Fall II soccer campaign by defeating Lynn English, 3-0, in the championship game of the GBL playoffs last Wednesday at Harry Della Russo Stadium.

Estiven Vasco, assisted by Michael Maldonado, gave Revere a 1-0 lead early in the contest with a goal that would prove to be the eventual game-winner,

Diego Salcedo then beat the Bulldog keeper with an unassisted goal to give the Patriots a 2-0 lead at the intermission.

Diego applied the coup de grace midway through the second half when he reached the back of the English net for the 3-0 finale. Maldonado earned his second assist of the day.

The Patriots had advanced to the final round after defeating Chelsea, 4-2, the previous day. The Red Devils had knocked off second-seeded Malden, 1-0, to advance to the semifinals, but the Patriots were not about to allow Chelsea to continue its upset skein.

Salcedo provided the offense, netting a natural hat trick to account for Revere’s first three goals. Vasco found the back of the Chelsea net for an insurance tally for the 4-2 finale. Salcedo assisted on his teammate’s goal for a four-point afternoon.

Octavio Buenrostro assisted on two goals and David Marquez earned one assist.

The Patriots finished their GBL Cup-winning season with an outstanding final record of 9-1.

RHS Girls Soccer Loses Heartbreaker in GBL Final

The Revere High girls soccer team dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to the Lynn Classical Lady Rams last Wednesday in the championship game of the Greater Boston League Cup last Wednesday afternoon at Harry Della Russo Stadium.

Despite controlling the play for most of the game, the Lady Patriots were unable to reach the back of the Classical net. The Lady Rams had grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first half and then managed to hold off a relentless Revere attack that produced many scoring opportunities that just missed the mark.

“This loss was a tough one because every single player from the bench to the field gave it their all,” said RHS head coach Megan O’Donnell, whose squad had been undefeated coming into the contest with a 7-0-2 record. “Classical scored off a free kick late in the first half and then played conservative defense the rest of the game.

“We had tremendous play by forwards Nahomy Galvez, Carolina Bettero, Samarah Paiva, Sofia Chorqi, Jackie Zapata, Ari Pina, and Emily Gomez, as well as our goalkeeper, Camila Perez,” said O’Donnell.

“My heart breaks for my seniors because they have played a huge role in developing this team to be so successful,” O’Donnell added. “This senior class has made the playoffs three times, won a league title, and got a number one seed in the division one playoffs, all of which were for the first time in school history. 

“Junior Carolina Bettero reached her 100th career point this season and she’s not done yet,” said O’Donnell. “I can’t wait to see what next year brings for all my returners. This loss left a sour taste in their mouths, so they will be coming back bigger and better next season.

“I am so proud of every single player on this team from JV to varsity,” O’Donnell continued. “This was a crazy and wild season and these ladies gave me and coach Pozzaro everything they had and we are so grateful.”

“Next year” will be here soon enough for O’Donnell and her crew, who will be starting fall practice in three months for what hopefully will be a return to normalcy for the 2021 season.

Pelatere Is GBL Champ; Boys Are Third

The Revere High boys cross country team capped their pandemic-shortened 2020 Fall II season with an impressive showing at the Greater Boston League championship meet last Thursday at Macdonald Park in Medford.

Patriot star runner Victor Pelatere, who was undefeated in dual meets this spring, continued his winning ways, capturing first place ahead of dozens of entrants from all eight GBL schools, speeding over the 2.75 mile course in a clocking of 15:39.

“Victor ran the race of the year to win the league meet,” said RHS head coach Mike Flynn, of his GBL champion runner who paced Revere to a third-place finish among the eight GBL schools.

Vincent Nichols ran what Flynn termed “the best race of his career” and finished 17th with a time 17:44.  Trey Delaney, running in his first league meet, finished an impressive 24th with a time of 18:31.  Brayden Shanley ran a strong race to  finish 31st with a clocking of 18:44. Miguel Leoanrte also turned in a strong performance, finishing 44th with a time of 20:28.

A few days earlier on Monday, the Patriots trekked to Somerville, the top team in the GBL this year. Pelatere outpaced the field to win the 2.49 mile race in 14:44.  Vincent Nichols finished 10th with a time of 18:44, followed by Brayden Shanley, who finished 11th with a time of 19:06; Trey Delaney, who finished 12th in 19:08; and Miguel Leoanarte who finished 13th in a time of 19:31.

With the Fall II season behind them, the Patriots can turn their attention to the 2021 fall campaign which will be getting underway in less than three months.

Rocio Gonzalez Turns in Strong Performance at GBL Meet

The Revere High girls cross country team wrapped up its season last week with a dual meet versus Somerville on Monday and the GBL Invitational on Thursday.

Lady Patriot Rocio Gonzalez turned in strong performances in both races. On Monday, she once again was the first female finisher in a dual-meet competition with a time of 19:39. 

Three days later, Rocio finished in the top seven of the league with a time of 21:19, earning her a spot on the GBL All-Star team.

“This is quite an accomplishment for Rocio, who is only a freshman,” said RHS head coach Katie Sinnott. “She has shown heart, dedication, and determination in this very strange season. I am so proud of her and very excited to see her grow as a runner and competitor.”

Wednesday’s Greater Boston League final between the Lynn Classical and Revere girls soccer teams had a definite state tournament feel to it.

But it was the Rams who rose to the occasion and outlasted a big push by the Patriots to capture the GBL title in a 1-0 victory on the road at Harry Della Russo Stadium. 

“As usual, Revere comes out of nowhere,” Classical coach Mike Schena said. “They’re such a strong, well-balanced team. But in order for us to compete with them I had to have a total team effort. I couldn’t be more proud. We worked so hard all year to get to this level.“

It was a night to remember for freshman Lauren Wilson, who scored the lone goal for Classical with Mary Collins assisting on a free kick. But it was a true team effort, especially on the back end for the Rams. 

“I can’t even single anybody out,” Schena said. “Lauren had a big goal, Anna Flaherty our goalie played amazing and Mary is just MVP caliber. Every girl out there did what they had to do to make this work.”

The loss was a heartbreaker for Revere, which gave Classical everything it could handle in the second half but just couldn’t break through. 

“Our second half was definitely better,” Revere coach Megan O’Donnell said. “Shout out to Classical, they deserved it. They worked hard from start to finish. Overall, it was a great game. I’m proud of my kids. I feel bad for the seniors, to go out in their last game like that. But we’ll be back ready to go in the fall. I’m proud of this team for the way they played the last two weeks.”

After several minutes of even play, Classical broke the tie thanks to a nice finish from Wilson. Collins’ free kick landed right on Revere goalie Camila Perez Herrera, who juggled the ball before it dropped right on the goal line — where Wilson finished the play to put the Rams out front 1-0. 

The rest of the night was all about surviving for the Classical. The second half saw three yellow cards, some aggressive play and no shortage of Revere scoring chances. 

Carolina Carvalho-Bettero had a free kick that was just barely deflected wide right early on. The Patriots followed with another set piece where Samarah Paiva placed a perfect ball in front of the net that bounced off a body and again went wide right. 

Another great chance came later on a point-blank shot from Nahomy Galves-Martinez midway through the half that Flaherty made a diving one handed stop on to once again preserve the lead.

It took every second and a few more saves by Flaherty, but the Classical defense held strong and capped off a shortened season that ended up being one to remember for the green and gold.