RHS Girls Soccer Remains Unbeaten; Showdown for GBL Title Set With Somerville
The Revere High girls soccer team racked up three more victories — and three more shutouts — this past week to improve its record to 14-0-1.
Last Monday the Lady Patriots traveled to non-league opponent Boston Collegiate Charter and came home with a 4-0 victory.
Kesley Morales, assisted by Jessica Nova, gave Revere a 1-0 lead with 17 minutes left in the first half. The Lady Patriot advantage increased to 2-0 thanks to a sister-to-sister connection late in the half when Fatima Oliva brought the ball up from the back and passed it to her sister, Nataly, from where Nataly dribbled down the middle of the field and then went one-on-one with the goalie to make it 2-0.
After the intermission, goals from Sandra Torres (with an assist from Erika Mejia) and Nataly Oliva (with another assist from Mejia) accounted for the 4-0 finale.
“We had some great scoring opportunities, but the goalie from Boston Collegiate had a great game against us, making some big saves,” noted RHS head coach Megan O’Donnell. “Kaylin Oliva worked hard to get many shots on net in the second half, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Kaylin forced Boston Collegiate to make some mistakes, which gave us the ball back.
“Nisrin Sekkat, our keeper, had a few great saves in the second half when Boston Collegiate moved the ball upfield and took shots,” O’Donnell added. “We had some great ball movement from senior Giselle Portillo, who got the start at left halfback, and senior Karla Leal when she entered the game. Grace Ramirez had great ball movement with Salma Zahraoui, who gave Angie Caneza a few scoring opportunities. Amilee Hernandez, Adriana Cataldo, and Jaimy Gomez all moved the ball upfield and made a few defensive stops for us.”
Last Tuesday the Lady Patriots took on Greater Boston League (GBL) foe Chelsea and earned a 7-0 victory. “Chelsea made us earn every goal we scored that day,” said O’Donnell. “The score does not reflect how well Chelsea played against us.”
Revere tallied its first goal with 28 minutes left in the first half when Erika Mejia sent a ball down the line to Catalina Chizavo, who took the ball from the sideline, crossed over the top of the box, and buried a shot into the back of the Chelsea net.
Senior Ari Pina scored the second goal of the first half when Mejia set up a corner kick and she crossed it to the middle, where Kelsey Morales tapped it to Pina for the goal. Shortly after the intermission, Nataly Oliva took the punt from Sekkat and scored an unassisted goal to make it 3-0. A few minutes later, Kaylin Oliva pressured the Chelsea goalie and she missed the punt, which gave Nataly Oliva the chance to get the ball again and score her second unassisted goal of the game.
“Chelsea didn’t get defeated,” noted O’Donnell. “Because they were losing, it motivated them to play harder and more physically, and when that happened Chelsea ended up getting a card, which then got our girls fired up.”
Pina made it 5-0 on a free kick from the top of the box; Mejia scored off a pass from defender Giselle Portillo (who stepped up in the midfield and made a nice outlet pass to Erika for the goal); and Catalina Chizavo made it 7-0 with assists from Jessica Nova and Pina, who moved the ball down the line into the midfield to find Catalina down the sideline, who then brought the ball to middle of the box and ripped a shot into the back of the net.
“We had great defensive plays by Giselle Salvador, Fatima Oliva, Ari Pina, and Samarah Paiva,” O’Donnell added, “while Sandra Torres and Erika Mejia dominated the midfield.”
On Thursday the Lady Pats played GBL foe Medford, which is in fourth place in the league, and the contest proved to be a proverbial dogfight with the Lady Mustangs.
“Medford was a great challenge for us,” said O’Donnell. “They made us work for every goal and every ball, We were a little tired from having played two games at the start of the week.”
Revere took a 1-0 lead in the first half when Chizavo tossed a throw-in from the right side line deep in the Medford end into the box, where Pina received the ball and turned and passed it to Paiva, who made a quick turn and delivered a perfect shot past the Medford keeper.
“Our defense was challenged the whole game, but senior defender Giselle Salvador and junior Fatima Oliva had the defense on lockdown and didn’t allow Medford any cheap shots on net, and our keeper, Nesrin, made some great saves.”
Late in the second half, Paiva moved her way up the midfield and turned and made a bang- bang, give-and-go passing play with Nataly Oliva, which gave Samarah a clear run to the goal, from where she rocketed the ball into the back of the Lady Mustang net for the 2-0 finale.
“Medford was physical and could move the ball up the field, but our midfield did a great job on making some big stops,” said O’Donnell. “Erika Mejia, Sandra Torres, Jessica Nova, and Catalina Chizavo played strong. Our forwards, Kaylin Oliva, Nataly Oliva, Kesley Morales, and Angie Caneza, all worked hard to pressure Medford’s defense to turn the ball over.
“Emily Torres and Giselle Portillo came off the bench and made some huge plays as well,” the coach added.
O’Donnell and her crew, who have allowed just three goals this season, have three games this week. They were scheduled to host GBL rival Lynn Classical this past Monday and will entertain non-league opponent Northeast Regional tomorrow (Thursday).
On Friday they will travel to Somerville for what looms as a showdown for the 2023 GBL title. Both teams presently are undefeated in the GBL and dueled each other to a 1-1 draw in their first meeting three weeks ago. O’Donnell and hew crew then will await word of their seeding and first-round opponent in the upcoming MIAA Division 3 state tournament.
RHS/MHS Golfers Compete in Div. 1 State Tournament
The Revere/Malden golf team competed in the North Sectional of the Division 1 MIAA State Championship at the Renaissance Golf Club in Haverhill this past Monday The Golden Patriot Tornadoes were represented by Chris MacDonald, Frankie Annunziata, Jonathan Wells, Tommy Cronin, captain Ollie Svendsen, and captain Ryan Coggswell.
“The event and the opportunity to play at a prestigious, private club certainly provided a challenging test of golf and an experience that the team will never forget,” said head coach Brandon Pezzuto. “The team was split up into different groups, and each player was able to share the experience with members of various teams scattered throughout the northern part of the state, teams such as St. John’s Prep, BC High, Arlington, Belmont, Andover, Winchester, and Brookline, to name a few.
“This experience was special to the development of our program as we continuously strive to improve,” added Pezzuto, whose squad . finished in 13th place overall in the competition.
The team concluded its regular season with a non-league match last Wednesday at the Mount Pleasant Golf Club against Lowell.
“This match granted our team the unique opportunity to play on a private course,” said Pezzuto. “Although the result of the match was a 50-22 loss, it did not put a damper on a memorable experience for our players.”
Some highlights included: Bo Bogan playing well in a 5.5-3.5 loss in the #4 slot; #6 Dante Federico winning his match, 5.5-3.5; and #8 Saul Kruckenberg tying his Lowell counterpart, 4.5-4.5. The team’s final season record was an overall 9-2-1 with a record of 8-1-1 in the Greater Boston League.
“The coaching staff’s thoughts included how much we have improved this season, striking the ball with rhythmic, well-tempoed swings,” said Pezzuto. “We have some members of the team who have really been developing into well-rounded, more consistent players.
“This season what I’m most proud of is our resilience, as well as our tremendous leadership,” Pezzuto continued. “The leadership comes from many players, but it is grounded by the actions of our three captains, Ollie (Svendsen), Ryan (Coggswell), and Saul (Kruckenberg). Some of our leaders, including non-seniors, have been on the negative side of some very difficult decisions due to the intra-team competition we have had the luxury of having this season. Our team is constantly competing with each other, which makes us all stronger.
“This match was an opportunity to show some of our appreciation towards those key members of our team,” Pezzuto added. “Leadership through action was a major contributor to our team’s success this season and our leaders serve as excellent role models for what our program represents.”
Pezzuto’s squad was scheduled to wrap up its season yesterday (Wednesday) with the GBL Open, a jamboree highlighting the best golfers in the GBL, at Kelley Greens in Nahant.
“This tournament is a great way for fellow competitors to compete one last time to conclude the season and learn a new scoring format, a Stableford, where players are awarded points for particular scores,” Pezzuto said. The Revere/Malden squad was represented by Chris MacDonald, Frankie Annunziata, Matt LaCroix, and Tommy Cronin.
Girls Cross Country Edges Chelsea, 26–29; Improves to 5–1
The Revere High girls cross country team earned a big victory with a 26-29 triumph over Greater Boston League rival Chelsea last Wednesday on the Lady Red Devils’ home course at Admiral’s Hill at the bottom of Broadway. The win improved the Lady Patriots’ record to a sterling 5-1 on the season in dual meets.
“It was a close race throughout,” said RHS head coach Katie Sinnott. “We were missing a few runners because of illness, but we had major contributions from everyone who ran.”
Afnane Amine carried the team with a stellar performance, finishing first for Revere and second overall in the race. “Afnane took more than 30 seconds per mile off her previous fastest pace,” said Sinnott, “bringing her pace to well below eight minutes per mile. This is a tremendous improvement.”
Daniela Santana Baez and Anahis Vasquez also ran their personal record (PR) paces, with Daniela placing seventh. Stephanie Reyes placed 10th to secure the victory.
“The whole team is excited to end the season strong at the GBL Meet on Wednesday (yesterday),” Sinnott added. “After that meet we will have a handful of participants in season-extending invitational meets on November 4 and 11.
Overall Results:
Revere 26, Chelsea 29
Individual Results:
Afnane Amine – 2nd overall – 23:48
Rocio Gonzalez Castillo – 3rd overall – 23:59
Olivia Rupp – 4th overall – 24:12
Daniela Santana Baez – 7th overall – 25:34
Stephanie Reyes – 10th overall – 31:05
Anahis Vasquez – 11th overall – 32:01
On the boys side, head coach Michael Flynn was pleased with his squad’s performance.
“The team ran very hard and I am very proud of their progress this year,” said Flynn. “Zaraius Bilimoria finished fifth with a time of 20:01, which is a great time for him for a 5K. Adam Assour ran very well despite nursing a sore calf and finished sixth with a time of 20:12
Nick Barry ran his best race of the year and finished 13th with a time of 22:04.”
Flynn and his crew were scheduled to compete in the GBL yesterday (Wednesday).
Boys Soccer Ties, Wins
The Revere High boys soccer team earned a tie and victory this past week against a pair of Greater Boston League (GBL) opponents.
Last Tuesday the Patriots dueled Chelsea to a 1-1 deadlock. Latrell Ashby scored the Revere goal, assisted by Jeremy Romero.
The Patriots then earned a 1-0 victory over Medford in which JP Chavarria reached the back of the Mustang with an unassisted goal. The victory moved the Patriots (8-3-3 in the GBL) into a tie for second place in the GBL with Medford (9-3-1 in the GBL). Both teams have 19 points, but Medford still has one league game left with Everett this week. A win or a tie will give the Mustangs (who defeated Everett 3-1 in their first meeting this season) a second-place finish behind league champion Somerville.
Coach Manny Lopes and his crew were scheduled to conclude their regular season today (Wednesday) with a home game against non-league foe Excel Academy. They then will await word of their seeding and first-round opponent in the upcoming MIAA Division 2 state soccer tournament. The Patriots are ranked 25th in the D-2 power ratings.
Girls Volleyball Team To Conclude Season
Although the Revere High girls volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Somerville last week, there were some individual highlights for coach Emiliie Hostetter’s crew. Liv Yuong had four kills, while Susan Lemus Chavez dished 10 assists to her teammates and served three aces. Farah Habbour played well on defense with 12 digs.
The Lady Patriots are scheduled to wrap up their season today (Wednesday), hosting non-league opponent Chelmsford.
