Sports Roundup: Soccer, Field Hockey Continue to Play Well

Winchester boys and girls soccer both continued their winning seasons by defeating Melrose over the weekend.

The boys team won 2-0 to improve its record to 5-0-1. Ryan Connolly headed in a pass from Sam Paul just six minutes in, and the Sachems put the game away with 15 minutes remaining on a gaol by Ben Davis, assisted by captain Conor Calnan.

That was more than enough for the Winchester defense, which is led by senior sweeper Ben Bratt and has allowed just three goals on the season.

The girls team beat Melrose 2-1 to run its record to 4-2. The Sachems allowed a goal nine minutes in but tied the game just two minutes later when Audra Foley scored, assisted by Shannon Quinn. Quinn then scored the winner four minutes into the second half, assisted by Sarah Ohnigian. 

"I feel we're going in the right direction," coach Chris Scanlon said. "We're not happy we lost those two games early in the season but the players are really working hard and we're trying to improve on some of the areas that caused us some problems earlier," like playing more consistently.

Cross-country: The boys cross-country team also had a big win this week, defeating reigning league champion Lexington 28-29.  

"The boys team has their sights set on some lofty goals and that was a huge win for them," coach Joseph Cantillon said.

The Sachems continued their undefeated season on Tuesday, beating Melrose 15-50 and Burlington 24-37 to go to 4-0 despite the absence of top runner Andrew Hintlian. Jim Anderson was the fastest runner on Tuesday.

"The other guys had to step up and make up for his absence," Cantillon said. "That was good to see. We seem to be developing a fair amount of depth."

The girls team beat Melrose 23-32 and lost to Burlington 26-29, making them 2-2 on the season. They previously beat Stoneham and lost to Lexington. Top runner Rachel Unger has finished first in each race so far.

Next Tuesday is the team's first home meet, a tri-meet against Reading and Watertown.

Football: falling 49-14 on Friday night. The Sachems (0-3) had finished season in the league behind the Rockets last year. 

Reading raced out to a 35-0 lead as Winchester couldn't get a first down on its first five possessions.

"This has happened to us two years year in a row now," coach Paul Sobolweski said. "They've laid into us two straight years. Last year it was a real positive because after we lost to them we never lost again. But we need to keep trying to improve."

The Sachems finally scored on their first drive of the second half on a touchdown pass from Greg Thompson to Will Herbert, and scored the final touchdown on a three-yard run by Rich Mpanga.

Last season the Sachems won eight straight games after losing to Reading. They will try for a repeat performance starting this weekend against Wakefield.

Golf: Winchester lost to Reading Monday at Meadow Brook Country Club 42.5-29.5 and is now 3-2-1 on the season. Chris Simpson and Derek DiVincenzo won their matches against Reading — a co-favorite for the Middlesex League title — while Sam Oleksak finished in a tie. DiVincenzo and Oleksak are both coming off wrist injuries.

Villeyball: The Winchester High School girls volleyball team ran into a tough Middlesex League opponent on Wednesday afternoon, as Melrose paid the Sachems a visit and left with a 3-0 victory.

Winchester (1-4) was swept by scores of 25-13, 25-14 and 25-13.

 "I think each game we had a good stretch in there, and they found an opportunity to make a run in each of the three games and extend their lead," said Winchester coach John Fleming. "In the third game we played a great start, and then they caught us and just went on a run. It was one after another."

Winchester was led on the court by senior captain Sam Mangano, who had a solid game from her middle-hitter position. She received support from sophomore Karen Li, who made her varsity debut at outside hitter in place of classmate Rory Connolly, who should return from an injury later this week, according to Fleming.

Field Hockey: Sachems goalie Annie DeRosa withstood a barrage of shots Monday, as the Winchester High field hockey team defeated Belmont 2-1 at McCall Middle School.

The Sachems (3-1) were outplayed almost the entire game. They failed to communicate and passed poorly, according to coach Michelle White, but DeRosa bailed them out.

"She is hands down the reason we were able to come out on top," White said.

DeRosa, a junior, had 14 saves in the Middlesex League win, while her team only managed three shots on goal, two of which went in.

Forward Alyssa Aharonian, also a junior, scored the games first goal off a penalty corner 6 minutes, 30 seconds into the contest. Teammate Emily Savage, a sophomore, then extended the Sachems lead to 2-0 with a goal off a corner three minutes into the second half.