Sports 12-24-2014

RHS sports Roundup

 RHS hockey team take Bourne tourney

They came. They played. They conquered. (With apologies to Julius Caesar).

The Revere High hockey team made their trip to the Cape over the weekend a worthy and worthwhile endeavor with a pair of victories to capture the Canalmen Hockey Classic hosted by Bourne High School.

Revere opened the tourney with a dramatic, come-from-behind, 2-1 victory over Holliston. After trailing 1-0 for most of the contest, Steve Noel, assisted by Joe Ristaino, notched the equalizer with about six minutes to go to send matters into overtime.

Noel then lit the lamp in the OT session on a nice pass from linemate Richie Polignone to provide the Patriots with the dramatic triumph. (The game will be recorded as an official tie for Revere, but the tourney needed a winner to advance to the final round.)

That brought Revere a matchup Saturday against the host Bourne team that had de                        feated Stoughton 4-0 in its preliminary. Ristaino gave Revere a 1-0 lead with a lamplighter in the opening period with the assist going to freshman Mike Giordano.

Bourne dented the Patriot net twice in the middle frame to take a 2-1 lead, but Revere sophomore Anthony Cecca tied matters up before the period ended when he managed to slip the puck past the Bourne goalie with 0:01 left on the clock, with the assist going to Giordano.

That set up an emotional and intense third period that finally was broken up when Cecca, assisted once again by Giordano — his third of the night — , beat the Bourne goalie for the decisive tally. For Cecca, it was deja vu all over again, as Anthony did the same thing to Bourne last year when he scored two goals to propel Revere to victory.

“We played great hockey and made big plays in pressure situations,” said RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello, who noted the fine, two-way play of his line of Cecca, Giordano, and Jim Pandolfo, which not only produced the winning goals, but also shut down Bourne’s top line.

Revere not only came home with the team trophy, but individual awards went to Steve Noel, who made the all-tourney team, and Patriot goaltender Maxx Anderson, who was named the tourney’s Most Valuable Player.

“Maxx was outstanding,” lauded Ciccarello of his junior netminder, whose 35 saves per game earned him the MVP accolades.

Earlier in the week the Patriots battled Northeastern Conference South Division rival Lynn to a 1-1 draw Wednesday evening at Cronin Rink. Ristaino scored the goal for Revere. Sophomore Kevin Chiles was a bulwark on defense for the Pats.

Cicarello and his crew, who now stand at 1-1-2 on the season, play at Lowell today (Tuesday) and at Everett Saturday. They stay on the road at Somerville next Wednesday.

Boys track team defeats English

‘The Revere High boys track team received a number of solid performances to post a 47-34 triumph over Lynn English Wednesday.

The Patriots swept the shotput, with senior Mirza Lizkovica pacing the field with a toss of 37’-8”. James Petrozella was close behind with a toss of 37’-4” and Gabriel Felix-Martinez grabbing third with a heave of 33’-6”.

Lionel Forbes won points in two events, capturing the 50 yard hurdles in 7.5 seconds and taking third in the high jump with a leap of 5’ even. Other first-place finishers for Revere were Pedro Pimenta in the 50 dash in 6.0, Richie Damiano in the 1000 in 3:01, Salah Barhoum in the mile in 5:18, and Zakaria Attioui in the two mile in 11:47.

Earning three points for the Revere scoresheet with second place finishes were David Sinatra in the 50 hurdles in 7.6; Bounlaing Chea in the 600 in 1:33.8; and Sebastian Mejia in the two mile in 12:10.

Daniel Murphy in the 100 in 6.1, Abubakis Aldrazy in the 1000 in 3:15.3, and John Simonini in the mile in 5:59 took third place in their respective events to round out the Revere scoring.

Girls track team tops Lynn English

The Revere High girls indoor track team earned its first win of the season with a 45-36 victory over Lynn English Wednesday.

First place finishers for the Lady Patriots were Jessica Cambraia in the 300 dash in 48.8, Danielle Fortuna in the 600 dash in 1:55.9, Cristina Martinez in the 1000 in 3:52.9, Hannah Fitzpatrick in the mile in 6:37, and Suellen Guerriero in the two mile in 14:15.

Taking second place for Revere in their respective events were Sam Myrtil in the shotput with a toss of 25’-11”, Jasmin Zelkanovic in the 50 hurdles in 9.3, Yesenia Arango in the 600 in 2:01.16, Jaclynne Dion in the mile in 6:51, and Joanna Severino in the two mile in 15:18.

Third place points for the Revere scoresheet came from Rayana Benzuhra in the hurdles in 9.5, Angelina Nguyen in the 50 dash in 8.3, Sarah Almeida in the 300 dash in 50.6, Nadia Lerari in the 600 in 2:06.3, and Monica Posada in the 1000 in 4:03.6.

“We were down 21-5 after the first three events, which was a bit unexpected,” said RHS head coach Antonio LaBruna. “But we had much more depth in the middle distance and distance events and ended up clinching the meet by finishing first (Suellen Guerriero) and second (Joanna Severino) in the two mile.

“We were able to sweep the 600M which changed the meet for us,” continued LaBruna. “Danielle Fortuna, our senior captain, ran a PR of 1:55 in the 600 and won the event. What impressed me even more about Danielle’s race was that she had a huge lead throughout and still managed a great time, despite not having any competitive push. She is on track to have a great season.”

Boys basketball team drops pair

The Revere High came out on the short end of both of its encounters this past week, falling to Lynn Classical and Salem.

In Tuesday’s contest with Classical, the defending Northeastern Conference champions, the Patriots never were in it as they fell by a score of 82-39. Classical jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first period, a deficit that proved insurmountable for Revere to overcome.

“We were getting good looks on offense, but weren’t knocking any of them down,” said RHS head coach Adam Rizzo. “Defensively, we struggled all game to cover all of their capable scorers. Whether we went zone or man, they were able to get good looks and convert. Even when our defense was sound, they are talented enough to hit their shots.

“Regardless if they are the defending NEC North Champs and regardless if they have the returning league MVP in Phil Rogers, I still expected to compete and believed we could win,” added the coach. “When we play again later in the season, I know it will be much closer. This was an eye-opener for us and we know we have a lot of work to do.”

Romeo Thomas led Revere with  10 points. Tommy Chea hit for seven, followed by Marvin Urdaneta with six, Mass Joof and Gerald Charles with five each, Brendan Hayes with three, Camilo Gomez with two, and Nermin Ibreljic with a free throw.

Two nights later, the Pats dropped a 65-53 decision to Salem. The Pats trailed by 10, 34-24 at the half, but the Witches extended their margin to 19, 54-35, after three frames.

“After a bad outing at Lynn Classical, we had a quick turnaround due to some scheduling issues,” said Rizzo. “Instead of playing on Friday, we played on Thursday. We could have used that extra day of practice, but it’s no excuse for the way we played in this one.

“Again, we got off to a slow start, spotting Salem eight points to start the game,” continued Rizzo. “The final half of the first quarter we played evenly, but giving teams an eight point cushion doesn’t usually bode well.”

Revere picked up the pace in the send quarter, with Romeo Thomas scoring 11 of his team-high 15 points in the period, including three triples, all in front of the Salem bench.

“Unfortunately,” noted Rizzo, “the defense didn’t pick up, as we allowed 20 points in the quarter, including 11 to Salem senior Bryan Martinez en route to his game-high 27 points. We stressed at halftime that our defensive and rebounding effort, as well as protecting the basketball, will get us back in the game. The advice went by the wayside as we turned the ball over three times on our first four possessions and the lead ballooned up to 19 after the third.

“In the fourth quarter we played with some fire and made an effort to take it to the paint strong and got to the free throw line, converting on 9 of the 13 attempts and we took in the quarter,” said the coach. “The five who finished the game brought some fire to the defensive end, a fire that has yet to be seen from some of the regulars.

“We have a lot of work to do both as individual players and coaches as well as a team and a program,” continued the coach. “Things will change whether it is the quality of play or the players on the floor.”

In addition to Thomas’s 15 points, Gomez and Chea both reached double figures with 10 points. Urdaneta added six, followed by Jovan Salcedo with four,, Janard Jones and Ibreljic with three apiece, and  Charles with two.

The Pats were set to play Beverly last night (Monday) and will meet Malden Saturday and Arlington Catholic Sunday.