Lynnfield 11-15

More documents

Recommendations

Info

10 WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 NOVEMBER 15, 2018 Pioneers can’t get past Wayland By Daniel Kane PHOTO | ANNE MARIE TOBIN David Gentile (22) watches as twin brother Michael (5) wins a header, sending a Wayland player flying in the air in the process. LYNN — The Pioneers couldn’t overcome a tough opponent in Wayland as the Lynnfield boys soccer team fell in the Division 3 North final game 3-1 Sunday night at Manning Field. Lynnfield allowed all three goals in the first half and couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole despite coming out strong in the second. “They were better tonight,” Lynnfield coach Brent Munroe said. “This is a really good team and I don’t think we have faced anybody all year that has as many people coming forward that were dangerous. “In the first half they capitalized on the chances they got and I think they played well,” Munroe added. “They didn’t have a ton of chances but they took advantage and capitalized on the some good ones they did get and put them away. We came out in the second half hard and played as hard as we could but we just lost to a better team tonight.” After a defensive battle for more than 20 minutes Wayland was able to capitalize on a scoring chance with 16:55 remaining in the half. Devin Wong won a battle out front of the net and scored on a high shot to put Wayland ahead 1-0. Less than four minutes later Wayland found the back of the net again. This time Christian Kiernan ripped a shot from the left side of the box that put Wayland ahead 2-0. With just over two minutes to go before half Wayland’s offensive attack was still relentless. Rafael Chavez ripped a shot from the top of the box that rang off the top cross bar. Zachary Campana played the rebound perfectly and finished the play to put Wayland ahead 3-0 before the half. The Pioneers weren’t ready to quit down by three scores but struggled to capitalize early in the second half. Lynnfield eventually got on the board when Jonathan Luders sent a free kick just outside the box in front of the Wayland goal and Nathan Bass finished the play to cut the Wayland lead to 3-1 with 19:31 to play. The Pioneers had some close chances on some possessions and set pieces in the final minutes but were unable to capitalize. “We could have maybe added another goal at the end but to be honest they missed some at the end too so it could have been just as easily a different score,” Munroe said. “The score aside I loved the way we played especially in the second half. I don’t think we were quite ready for their speed in the first half. This team plays at a higher speed then we are used to seeing.” With the season coming to a close earlier than desired Munroe is still proud of what his team, led by a hard working senior class, was able to accomplish. “It was an amazing year,” Munroe said. “We were here at the North final, we haven’t been here in seven years. This group deserved to get this far, it wasn’t a fluke. It has been awesome, it’s been probably the funnest group that I have had. They work hard, we had some good players and we got some good results. It was all good. “This is a really good group of seniors,” Munroe added. “They were all on at the end, most of them play all the time anyway. It’s going to be a really tough class to move on without.” Shutout of Pentucket sets stage for North final By Anne Marie Tobin READING — For the first time in seven years, the Lynnfield Pioneers boys soccer team qualified to play for a North sectional title. The Pioneers (16-2-2) punched their ticket to Sunday night’s North Division 3 championship game against No. 6 Wayland at Manning Field (6:30) with a 2-0 win over No. 5 Pentucket (13- 5-3) Thursday at Austin Prep. But it wasn’t easy as Lynnfield got off to a slow start CATERING TAKE-OUT •Dinners • Sandwiches • Salads • Daily Specials 978-532-2791 santoros.com with Pentucket controlling possession and pace of the game for much of the first 15 minutes, seemingly a step quicker to every ball. As he has done all year long, Jonathan Luders provided the spark to jump start the offensive attack, scoring the game-winning goal off his own corner with 16:36 left in the first half after his kick deflected off a Pentucket defender into the net. After that, the Pioneers found their footing. Luders added an insurance goal with 22 minutes to play. Luders got things started 2 Large Cheese Pizzas $14.99 when he fed Tommy Buston in the box. Buston ripped a shot that the Austin Prep goalie saved, one-handed style. The ball was loose in the box but nobody could get a foot on it. Buston then won a 50/50 ball on a clear attempt and found Max Sieger, who fed the ball to Luders breaking in on the right side. Luders ripped a low shot, that deflected off the far post into the net to make it a 2-0 game. “It was tense early for the first 12-15 minutes or so, but we were just starting to turn it around when we got that lucky goal,” said Lynnfield coach Brent Munroe. “But Jonathan is that kid who creates opportunities, often in situations where there aren’t a ton of opportunities, but he made the play that led to that goal. That’s just what he does. “When they were down a goal, I think they thought they could get that back, but our second goal was huge and seemed to take a lot out of them. I thought they thought that they could overcome one goal, but two was too much.” Munroe singled out the strong play of Max Sieger and Michael Gentile. “Max is just so hungry in the box and usually he is the one finishing, but tonight he pushed that ball to Jonathan on that second goal, which was a huge goal for us,” said Munroe. “He played great tonight and Michael was outstanding tonight as well. He didn’t practice this week and we didn’t even know if he would play, but he played great. I didn’t sub as much as I normally do, so many of the starters played a full 80 minutes. That speaks to the fact that they are good athletes who are in great shape and didn’t wear down as the game did. They looked just as strong at the end and we never got a real push from Pentucket, nothing that we couldn’t handle.” “It was a clean game with no bad-spirited fouls or trash talk and we knew that with Pentucket, that kind of stuff would not be an issue.” Lynnfield won both regular season meetings against the Sachems, defeating them on the road, 3-1, in late September, again in the final week of the regular season at home, 4-0. “We had played Pentucket three weeks ago and while we beat them easily, we knew they were missing some kids and would be better,” said Munroe. They are a classy team, wellcoached, and are the team to beat behind behind Masco in our league, so we knew we had to play well.”
NOVEMBER 15, 2018 PHOTO | KERRIANNE ALLAIN Jaret Simpson is brought down by Salem Friday night. He was a workhorse in the game against the Witches. Pride on the line on Thanksgiving By Anne Marie Tobin LYNNFIELD — There will nothing but Pioneer Pride on the line in this year’s Lynnfield Thanksgiving Day clash against visiting North Reading (10). Pride, and the desire to finish what’s been an up-and-down season on a high note with the Pioneers’ fourth win of the season. Coach Pat Lamusta knows what the rivalry is all about, which dates back to 1959, having played in four straight Turkey Day games from 2004-2007. “We struggled and lost all of them,” said Lamusta, a 2018 LHS grad. “The rivalry runs deep, but fortunately I have been part of two Thanksgiving Day victories as an assistant coach (2014, 2015). Regardless, it means more to me that we win this game for the players because they have put in a ton of work this year and it would be a very positive way to end the season and reset the Thanksgiving rivalry on our terms.” While the Pioneers (3-7) hold a 35-25 rivalry edge, the Hornets (5-5) have won the last two games. They have one of the top offenses in the league, averaging 26 points a game with a potent running attack. Both teams have rock-solid defenses, each allowing about 18 points per game. But Lynnfield may be peaking at the right time, after putting up a combined 52 points in their last two wins (both wins Your HOLIDAY made easy... Orchard made PIES and CIDER Many varieties to choose from Come visit us for our OPEN HOUSE DEC. 1 and 2 from 12-3 Wagon rides • Samplings • Trees • Wreaths • Gifts • Assorted apples • Squash BROOKSBY FARM www.BrooksbyFarm.org against Wakefield and Salem) heading into the Thanksgiving Day game. Lamusta said the key to the offense will be getting the running game going with Jaret Simpson, Leo Quinn and D.J. Capachietti getting the lion’s’ share of the handoffs. “That’s the key and we need to get those guys running behind our improving offensive line,” Lamusta said. “Hunter Allain and Cole Moretti continue to do a great job leading the O-line. “Clay Marengi, Jack Ford and John Lee are great football players and have big play potential.” The Pioneers’ biggest challenge will be containing the Hornets’ running attack. “It is going to take the whole defense executing to stop the North Reading run game,” said Lamusta. “They have been very effective in that phase all year, but we will continue to lean on our seniors on defense to bring the defensive intensity on Thanksgiving.” Key defensive players include defensive back Matt Fiore, linebackers Quinn and Simpson, and two-way lineman Moretti. “They will all be important factors on defense against the Hornets run game,” Lamusta said. Pre-sale game tickets ($5/$7) will be sold at the LHS athletic office from Monday, Nov. 19-Wednesday, Nov. 21 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Game-day gate tickets are $10. 54 Felton St., Peabody • 978-531-7456 OPEN DAILY 9-5 pm •Closing for the season in late December WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 11 Pioneers beat Salem for their second straight win By Anne Marie Tobin SALEM — The Lynnfield football team took advantage of a costly fourth quarter fumble and won its second straight game last Friday night, coming from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat host Salem at rainy Bertram Field. Salem’s second fumble of the game set up the game-winning drive, capped by a 32-yard touchdown scamper by Jaret Simpson and extra point by Blake Peters. From there, the Pioneers defense got the job done, forcing a three-and-out to return the ball back to the offense with a little under three minutes to go, and that was the game. The game marked the second straight week that the Pioneers (3-7) were playing an opponent for the first time in program history. “With the rain and the way we came from behind to win the game, it was just crazy,” said Lynnfield coach Pat Lamusta. “We were able to capitalize on their mistakes and we also had the benefit of playing mistake-free football in terms of execution for the most part, even though it’s never completely mistake free. Lynnfield opened the game, gambling (and winning) on an onside-kick to start with a short field. Simpson (11 carries, 59 yards) capped the drive with a 6-yard rush into the end zone. Simpson also added the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0. A key play on the drive was a big 42-yard pass from Clayton Marengi (5-of-16, 76 yards) to Jack Ford (2 catches, 55 yards). Salem answered right back with a 2-yard TD and 2-point conversion by Sam Ofurie to tie the game, 8-8. After a safety following a bad Witches’ snap, Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS EVERETT – 419 BROADWAY L YNNFIELD – 771 SALEM STREET 617-387-1110 WWW.EVERETTBANK.COM Lynnfield led 10-8 heading into the second quarter. Matt Fiore was in the right place at the right time in the second quarter snagging a tipped pass from Marengi from 12 yards out to make it 16-8. The Witches pulled to within two, 16-14, on Ofurie’s second TD of the night, this one from 34 yards out. Salem took its first lead of the game in the third quarter on a 6-yard run by Ofurie. Lamusta said one of the keys to the game was an effective running game. “Jaret Simpson had a nice running game and the offensive line did a solid job giving him space to run,” said Lamusta. “I think our line is peaking at the right time. They are coming together and have come a long way. I think it’s so important for everyone to feel the back-to-back winning feeling. It goes a long way in terms of morale being so positive by winning, and that will be important for us on Thanksgiving Day.” John Lee also had a solid effort running the ball, picking up 45 yards on six carries. Ofurie had a monster day running the ball with 244 yards on 20 carries. The Pioneers hope to wrap up the season in style with a Thanksgiving Day win over North Reading, which is riding a two-year Turkey Day win streak. “I’m really happy for the kids to be able to go into Thanksgiving with two wins under their belts,” said Lamusta. “We have a lot of momentum. I’m really glad that we’re able to go into practice with momentum and enthusiasm as we get ready for North Reading. “I think it should be a very competitive game, Lamusta said. Member FDIC Member SIF
Page 1 and 2: The #1 Selling Real Estate Office i
Page 3 and 4: NOVEMBER 15, 2018 WEEKLYNEWS.NET -
Page 9: NOVEMBER 15, 2018 WEEKLYNEWS.NET -

Lynnfield 11-15

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?