Perfect Week for RHS Girls Soccer, Now Stand at 5–0
The Revere High girls soccer team enjoyed another perfect week, earning two victories, both by shutouts, over Greater Boston League (GBL) rivals Everett and Chelsea. Coach Megan O’Donnell’s Lady Patriots now stand at 5-0 (4-0 in the GBL) on the season and have not allowed a goal while outscoring their opponents, 21-0.
In last Tuesday’s 3-0 triumph at Everett, Nataly Oliva found the back of the Lady Crimson Tide net after receiving a nice pass from Sandra Torres late in the first half. Kaylin Folgers made it 2-0 just before the end of the half when she broke free from the Everett defender and Fatima Oliva hit her with a pass down the middle.
“We had tremendous defense from Fatima Oliva, Ari Pina, Giselle Salvador, Emily Torres, and Samarah Paiva,” said O’Donnell. “Our midfield struggled a little bit, but Erika Mejia and Sandra Torres dominated the middle.”
In the second half, Oliva scored her second goal of the contest off a pass from Giselle Salvador for the 3-0 finale.
“Jessica Galvez and Catalina Chizavo both played great outside wings in the second half, giving Nataly, Kaylin, Salma, and Kelsey multiple opportunities to score, but the Everett keeper made some great saves to keep them in the game,” said O’Donnell. “Everett is a well-coached and hard team to play because they have a lot of talented players who always challenge us to play our best.”
Lady Patriot goalkeeper Nisrin Sekkat recorded another shutout and made what O’Donnell labeled as “an amazing save” late in the game to preserve her clean sheet.
Two days later Revere took on a very strong and well-coached Chelsea team and came away with a 5-0 win.
Kelsey Morales had two goals with assists from Salma Zahraoui, Catalina Chizavo, and Kaylin Foglar. Grace Ramirez scored her first varsity goal with an assist from Kaylin Foglar. Sandra Torres scored her first goal of the season with a strike from the top of the box that was unassisted. Giselle Salvador scored her second of the season with a pass from Salma Zahraoui.
“Chelsea challenged us to be our best,” noted O’Donnell. “We had a lot of players get into the game who demonstrated their tremendous soccer skills. Senior Karla Robles, Giselle Portillo, and Jaimy Gomez took the leadership role out on the field by hustling up and down the field and making great soccer plays. Ajsi Balla, Grace Ramirez, Adriana Cataldo, Kathy Granados, Amilee Hernandez, Emily Torres, and Salma Zahraoui all had a ton of scoring opportunities in the second half, but the Chelsea defense and their keeper made some great plays to stop us. Amina Baroudi, Giselle Portillo, Karla Robles controlled the back field and stopped Chelsea from scoring on multiple occasions.”
Sekkat recorded her fifth shutout of the season. “Chelsea had a few scoring opportunities, but Nisrin shut them down,” said O’Donnell.
The Lady Patriot junior varsity team took on Everett on Tuesday night and came away with a big 5-0 win over a talented Everett squad. Ikram Bichou, Sarah Aguilar, Melanie De Almeida, Jaleeyah Figueroa, Sara Granados, Andrea Mendieta, Lesley Mendoza, and Asmaa Azeroual all played a strong game on the field. Sabrina El Arar recorded her first career shutout in goal.
“We had some newcomers to the team who got to play in their first JV game and turned in a tremendous job, including Giselle Alacron, Valerie Aguirre, Laryissa Jenner, Valeria Quijada, Johanna Rivas, Rebecca Silva, Mia Ventura, and Wiam Zidani,” said O’Donnell.
O’Donnell and her crew were scheduled to travel to Medford (yesterday) Tuesday — “A huge game for us that will test us as a team,” said O’Donnell — and will trek to Malden tomorrow (Thursday). They will entertain Somerville next Tuesday in what looms as a battle for first place in the GBL.
Golfers Top Medford, 38-34
The Revere/Malden golf team earned a 38-34 victory over Medford in their match last week at the Cedar Glen course.
Among the highlights for coach Brandon Pezzuto’s squad was the performance of Malden’s Chris Macdonald, playing in the number one spot, who battled back after being down 3-1 to win his match, 5.5-3.5, by winning thelast four holes against Medford’s top player. In addition, the team’s senior captains, Malden’s Ryan Coggswell and Revere’s Ollie Svendsen, secured the match for their team by winning their matches by big scores of 7.5-1.5 and 8.5-.5 respectively.
“The coaching staff was extremely impressed by the resilience and leadership of this group,” said Pezzuto. “They are a testament to what our program represents and models to their teammates.”
Other notable performances in the win included Malden’s Tommy Cronin, a freshman playing the No. 5 spot, who split his match, 4.5-4.5, and Revere’s Jonathan Wells, who just fell short in the No. 4 spot, 5-4.
The Revere/Malden squad dropped its first match of the season later in the week with a loss to Lynn English by the slimmest of margins in match play, 36.5-35.5.
“This match was certainly a learning experience for our group as we learned the hard way that every point and shot matter,” said Pezzuto, “and even when things aren’t going our way during the early stages of a match, we must be resilient and continue to battle.”
Some highlights from the contest included the battles at No. 1, featuring Chris Macdonald of Malden, and No. 2, featuring Matt LaCroix of Revere. Both players faced very talented opponents and their matches were back and forth through the first eight holes, eventually tied entering the ninth hole. Chris fell short, losing his match 5-4 against his Lynn English counterpart, while Matt tied his match 4.5-4.5.
Other notable performances for the team included the big wins by captains Svendsen, 8.5-.5 at No. 8, and Coggswell, a 6.5-2.5 winner in the No. 7 slot. Frankie Annunziata of Revere tied his match 4.5-4.5 in the 5 spot.
Malden freshman Tommy Cronin, although dropping his match by a score of 6-3 in the No. 4 spot, “Demonstrated true integrity and highlighted one of our programs core values,” said Pezzuto. “When there was a discrepancy in the scorecards of him and his opponent. Tommy’s card showed the final of a 6-3 loss, while his opponent’s showed a loss of 5-4 in Lynn English’s favor. Upon review, on one hole Tommy noticed that his opponent credited him with a better score than was accurate. Although this point could have potentially altered the final outcome of the match, respecting the spirit of the game is much more valuable to the core values of our program and Tommy’s integrity should be celebrated.”
Pezzuto and his crew, who stand at 3-1 on the season, are scheduled to face Somerville tomorrow (Thursday) and will have a chance for revenge in a rematch with Lynn English on Monday. They will meet Medford next Tuesday.
RHS Girls Cross Country Defeats Lynn Classical
The Revere High girls cross country team earned its first win of the season with a 19-45 triumph over Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Lynn Classical at the Lynn Woods course last Thursday. Senior captain Rocio Gonzalez Castillo ruled the course, easily taking first place with a clocking of 23:21 that outran the rest of the field by more than a minute.
“The looped course at Lynn Woods is very challenging,” said longtime RHS head coach Katie Sinnott. “The runners have to tackle a significant hill three times, but they prevailed and really ran strong. This is not a course to earn personal-best paces on, so the race is more about trying to battle for your place.
“A Lynn Classical girl had a tremendous sprint finish and got herself into second place after being in fourth for much of the race. Olivia Rupp, Hiba El Bzyouy, and Afnane Amine ran really well, making a strong pack that secured the dominant win,” added Sinnott.
Overall Results
Revere 19, Lynn Classical 45
Individual Results –
Rocio Gonzalez Castillo – 1st – 23:21
Olivia Rupp – 3rd – 24:43
Hiba El Bzyouy – 4th – 25:02
Afnane Amine – 5th – 26:38
Yasmin Riazi – 6th – 27:25
Daniela Santana Baez – 7th – 27:33
Rania Abdelhannane – 9th – 34:06
Stephanie Reyes – 11th – 35:18
Three days earlier last Monday, the Lady Patriots engaged in their first meet of the season (after their opener the week before was postponed because of the heat) and came out on the long end of a 20-39 decision to GBL foe Medford.
“We finally got to run our first meet – albeit in the rain – against a competitive Medford team. It rained quite heavily through the race, making for sluggish and sometimes slippery conditions, but the team was tough and pushed through those challenges,” said Sinnott.
“Rocio Gonzalez Castillo led the team with her fastest run on this course in over two years — she is in midseason form already, and looks strong and confident out on the course,” noted Sinnott. “Daniela Santana Baez also had a strong showing and has improved tremendously over last year. She was over four minutes faster than last season on this same course. That is awesome.
“New team members Afnane Amine and Anahis Vasquez Solorzano had personal-best paces,” Sinnott continued. “While we did not come away with a victory, and several runners are working their way back from an early season illness, we are excited for the potential in the team.”
Overall Results
Medford 20, Revere 39
Individual Results
Rocio Gonzalez Castillo – 2nd overall – 20:30
Afnane Amine – 5th overall – 23:45
Daniela Santana Baez – 8th overall – 24:59
Yasmin Riazi – 11th overall – 25:31
Stefanie Reyes – 13th overall – 29:14
Anahis Vasquez Solorzano – 14th overall – 33:05
Sinnott and her crew are scheduled to race at Lynn English today (Wednesday) and will host Everett next Wednesday.
Chahid Paces Patriots in Opening Meet of Season
Although the Revere High boys cross country team came up short on both of its meets last week, coach Mike Flynn was pleased with the performance of his team.
In last Monday’s meet with Medford in the pouring rain, Patriot Youness Chahid won the race by almost a minute in an excellent time of 16:20. Adam Assour ran his first cross country race and had an excellent result, coming in fifth with a clocking of 17:58. Senior captain Zaraius Bilimoria came in sixth right behind Assour with a time of 17:59. Abderrahmane Rochdi ran his first cross country race and did very well, finishing 11th with a time of 25:52.
In the Patriots’ meet three days later against Lynn Classical at Lynn Woods, Assour, despite being sick, ran what Flynn termed “a great race,” finishing second with a time of 19:58. Bilimoria finished fourth in 20:16; Vincent Phan ran his first cross country race and had an excellent race to finish seventh with a time of 24:41; and Ziyad Dendane, also running in his first cross country race, finished strong in eighth with a time of 24:44.
Flynn and his crew will meet Lynn English today (Wednesday) and will host Everett next Wednesday.
Volleyball Team Takes Chelsea to the Limit
The Revere High volleyball team turned in its best effort of the season, but came up just short to undefeated Chelsea last Wednesday by the slimmest of margins in an existing contest that went the full five sets.
After dropping the first two sets by tight scores of 26-24 and 25-23, coach Emilie Hostetter’s Lady Patriots refused to quit and captured the next two sets by identical scores of 25-22.
That set the stage for the fifth and deciding set — a race to 15 points, winning by two — and with both teams fighting hard for every point. However, in the end the Lady red Devils prevailed, 17-15, to claim the victory.
“This was a really close match against a good team, where we came back after losing the first two sets,” said Hostetter. “However, Chelsea finished well at the end to secure the win.”
Key performers for the Lady Patriots were captain Lea Doucette, who accounted for five kills and delivered six service aces; Hadassa Dias, who contributed five kills; and Liv Yuong, who added four kills.
Hostetter and her crew will play at Everett today (Wednesday) and will make the short trek north up the coast to take on non-league opponent Swampscott this Friday. They will play at Lynn Classical on Monday and at Lynn English next Wednesday.
RHS Field Hockey Shows Improvement
The Revere High field hockey team under the direction of first year head coach Alexandra Butler continued to show improvement this past week in contests with Malden and Lowell.
After a 3-0 loss at Malden last Wednesday, Butler and hew crew made the long trek to Lowell on Saturday. Though the Patriots came up short by a score of 5-0, Butler was heartened by her team’s performance.
“The first quarter of our game in Lowell was the best 15 minutes the team has played this season,” said Butler. “Our defense was able to shut Lowell down, preventing them from scoring in the first quarter, and we had multiple shots on goal at the beginning of the game.
“The last time we played Lowell, the score was 4-0 at the end of the first quarter,” continued the coach.”Our goalie, Sonia Haley, looked incredible and our defense was really strong in the first half. Ava Morris really stepped up during this game and stopped multiple offensive plays from Lowell.”
Butler and her crew are scheduled to host Peabody this evening (Wednesday) at 6:00 under the lights at Harry Della Russo (HDR) Stadium and Ursuline Academy Saturday afternoon at 12:00 at HDR. They will entertain Saugus on Monday at 6:00 under the lights at HDR and will make the short trek to Everett next Wednesday.
Up and Down Week for RHS Boys Soccer
The Revere High boys soccer team knocked off defending Greater Boston League (GBL) champion Everett last Tuesday by a score of 2-1 in a contest in which both teams entered the fray undefeated.
However, two days later the Red Devils of Chelsea handed the Patriots their first loss of the year by the same 2-1 score.
Coach Manny Lopes and his squad, who now are 4-1 in the GBL, were scheduled to host GBL rivals Medford yesterday (Tuesday) and Malden tomorrow (Thursday). They will trek to Somerville next Tuesday.
