K-ZONE WPKZ FM105.3/AM 1280

Your Hometown Radio

listen nowLISTEN NOW
listen nowLISTEN NOW
K-Zone Studio Line 978.348.1280

girls' soccer

Local roundup: Tibbetts propels Falcons to OT win

by

The Fitchburg State field hockey team needed extra time to get there, but when all was said and done Wednesday, the Falcons had captured win No. 1 on the season.

Fitchburg State picked up an overtime victory, winning 2-1 over Anna Maria in Worcester to improve to 1-4.

Sophomore Autumn Tibbetts, of Lunenburg, potted both goals for the Falcons, notching the game-winner in the third minute of OT off a feed from Joyce Arbia. The reigning MASCAC Rookie of the Week also netted a marker in the second quarter, giving Fitchburg State a 1-0 lead off an assist from Sophia Yates.

The AmCats pulled even in the fourth quarter with just 3:22 to play as Carly Drew poked home the equalizer.

Senior backstop Jenna Morse made three saves to earn the victory for Fitchburg State, which returns to action Saturday with a MASCAC matchup against Westfield State at Elliot Field at 11 a.m.

High school field hockey

Monty Tech 0, Blackstone Valley Tech 0: The Bulldogs are 2-1-1.

Marlboro 2, Oakmont 1: Rachel Simkewicz scored for the Spartans (1-3).

Girls soccer

AMSA 3, Monty Tech 1: Reyna Moran scored the lone goal for the Bulldogs.

Golf

Shrewsbury 209, North Middlesex 221: Max Caliri was the medalist, carding a 4-over 40 for North Middlesex (2-2) at The Haven.

Monty Tech 146, Blackstone Valley Tech 166: Michael Cannon was the medalist with a 1-over par 37 at Highfields Country Club for the Bulldogs (4-1).

Local roundup: Nashoba’s Balewicz breaks running record

by

Nashoba Regional’s Adam Balewicz made sure Tuesday was a memorable day for the Nashoba Regional boys cross country team, win or lose.

And by the end of a tri-meet, the Wolves had both won and lost, but Balewicz’s performance was what took centerstage. Nashoba (3-1) topped Leominster, 15-49, and fell to Groton-Dunstable, 22-34.

The Nashoba standout broke his own record on the 3.1-mile course in Bolton, finishing in 15:48 to top the previous mark by seven seconds.

Nashoba’s Connor Acerino had the fifth-best time on the day at 16:57.

Groton-Dunstable also topped Leominster (0-2), 15-50.

Boys soccer

Oakmont 6, Littleton 0: Gael Vera’s first half hat trick helped propel the Spartans (5-0) past the Tigers.

North Middlesex 7, Hudson 3: Tyler Jastrab scored three goals and added an assist for the Patriots, while Adeel Khan (two assists), Collin Harrington (assist), Jacob Heard and Noah Lake added single goals. Marlon Artuso dished out a pair of helpers in the victory.

Girls soccer

Nashoba 8, Groton-Dunstable 1: Grayson Edwards potted three goals and Holly Bechara added a pair for the Wolves (4-0).

Field hockey

Leominster 2, Algonquin 1: Taylor Boulay and Alana Marchetti scored in the first half to lift the Blue Devils at Doyle Field.

Volleyball

Groton-Dunstable 3, North Middlesex 2: Set scores were 25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 16-25 and 15-9.

Marissa Lacreta had 12 digs, 10 kills and three aces for North Middlesex, while Norah Tesini had nine kills, five blocks and three aces and Annie McNabb had 14 digs and a kill.

Golf

Groton-Dunstable 28.5, North Middlesex 25.5: Max Caliri shot a 5-over 40 at Northern Spy Golf Club for the low round for the Patriots (2-1, 2-1 Mid-Wach B).

Ayer-Shirley 155, St. Bernard’s 176: Reid Ohanesian carded a 1-over 36 at Oak Hill Country Club to lead the Panthers (4-0) to victory.

The Bernardians fall to 2-3.

Shrewsbury 212, Leominster 220: Daniel Simons posted a 4-over 40 at Gardner Municipal Golf Course to lead Leominster (0-4) and tie for medalist honors.

Girls cross country

Nashoba stays perfect: Nashoba Regional topped Groton-Dunstable, 26-29, and Leominster, 17-42, to improve to 4-0. Nashoba’s Caroline Collins had the top time for the day, finishing in 19:43.

Blue Devils storm past North Middlesex

by

LEOMINSTER — The Leominster High girls soccer team opened the season in strong fashion Tuesday night.

Under the lights of Doyle Field, Leominster had three different goal scorers as the host Blue Devils defeated North Middlesex Regional, 3-0, making head coach Todd Turcotte a winner in his first game back as a Blue Devil.

Previously, Turcotte served as Leominster head coach from 2003 through 2010 before heading to West Boylston and Littleton. Turcotte replaces Katie Gingras at the helm.

“My first game here in 2003 was against North Middlesex and we beat them on that day,” said Turcotte. “It’s pretty cool being able to come back. I’ve talked to a lot of people who were pretty excited I was coming back. It’s pretty neat. You drive up to the school and see the fields we used to practice on and you get chills realizing that’s where it all started.”

The veteran head coach praised his players for a job well done against the Patriots on Tuesday night.

“I think we did a nice job, we tried to be the aggressor and I think that helped,” said Turcotte. “Winning a ton of 50-50 balls early really put some umph behind us and maybe demoralized NM a little bit. We were strong those first 15-20 minutes.”

The Blue Devils (1-0) didn’t waste much time getting on the scoreboard as the hosts netted their first tally of the season during the 13th minute of the first half as Mia Keenan beat Patriots goalie Hannah Gruber for a 1-0 lead.

It remained a 1-0 Blue Devils lead at halftime. During the opening minute of the second half, the hosts added some insurance when Jillian French put one past Gruber.

The Blue Devils weren’t finished as they added one more goal before all was said and done. Senior captain Ava Troest tickled the twine with a shot from inside the box to make it 3-0 during the 53rd minute of the match.

North Middlesex (0-1) best opportunity to break up the shutout came late in the second half during the 74th minute of action. Anna Green found herself in a breakaway situation as she looked to attack Leominster goalie Abigail Goodwin. The Blue Devils keeper charged out towards the 18-yard line and was able to make a big stop on Green’s attempt as Leominster finished the match with a clean sheet.

“Defensively, captain Nicole Kelly is solid. She’s in the right place at the right time. Ava Mazzaferro did a great job filling in when Nicole was out. Also, with Molly Arseneau back there, they are organized and strong,” said Turcotte. “I think they did a really good job. Nicole does a great job keeping people in place back there.”

Leominster is back in action Thursday evening at Doyle Field when Wachusett Regional visits.

Local roundup: Patriots rally to top Blue Knights

by

The North Middlesex Regional boys soccer rallied for two goals in the final seven minutes to pull out a 2-1 victory over visiting Lunenburg at John E. Young Memorial Field in the opener for both on Tuesday.

Trailing 1-0 late in the game, North Middlesex senior Marlon Artuso netted the game-tying goal in the 74th minute. Two minutes later, Tyler Fournier gave the hosts the lead when he scored what proved to be the game-winner.

Tyler Jastrab and Cooper Foster picked up assists in the victory.

Lunenburg scored its lone goal early in the second half when Eltaher Kholeif scored on a penalty kick two minutes after the halftime break.

Monty Tech's Lance Lau fires a shot past St. Bernard's goalkeeper Jaiden Butler during Tuesday's game. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Nick Mallard)
Monty Tech’s Lance Lau fires a shot past St. Bernard’s goalkeeper Jaiden Butler during Tuesday’s game. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Nick Mallard)

Oakmont 6, Quabbin 1: Gael Vera potted a pair of goals to lead the way for the Spartans (1-0).

Ayer-Shirley 1, Clinton 1: Kevin Velasquez scored in the final two minutes to pull the Panthers (0-0-1) even.

Girls soccer

Monty Tech 2, St. Bernard’s 1: Trailing 1-0 late in the first half, Monty Tech’s Elsa Henrickson pulled the Bulldogs even. Lily Mom-Uch netted the winner in the second half for the hosts.

Amanda Key potted the opening goal for the Bernardians in the season opener for the crosstown rivals.

Field hockey

Leominster 3, Blackstone Valley Tech 0:  xxxx

Golf

St. Bernard’s 165, Gardner 199: Colin Majowicz carded a 2-over par 37 at Oak Hill Country Club to earn medalist honors for the Bernardians in the season opener.

Shepherd Hill 46, Fitchburg 8: The Red Raiders dropped their opener at Dudley Hills Golf Club.

Blackstone Valley Tech 146, Monty Tech 161: The Bulldogs lost their opener at Gardner Municipal Golf Course as Blackstone Valley’s Connor Griffin carded a 3-under 32 to take medalist honors.

Algonquin 207, Leominster 221: Luke Grebinar carded a 1-over 37 at Juniper Hill for medalist honors as the Blue Devils fell in their opener.

Volleyball

Monty Tech 3, Main South 0: The Bulldogs won their opener by set scores of 25-7, 25-12 and 25-13.

Jayda DeCarlo had five kills, four aces and two blocks, while Bailey Tetreault added 10 assists, two aces and a dig in the victory. Josany Diaz added three kills, three assists and an ace for the Bulldogs.

Leominster legends get call to Hall

by

The Leominster High School Athletic Hall of Fame has announced that the sixth Leominster High School Athletic Hall of Fame induction will be held on May 4, 2024, at the Leominster/Fitchburg Lodge of Elks. Fourteen individuals and a pair of Blue Devil teams will be inducted at the ceremony.

Individuals selected for the Athletic Hall of Fame are Mary Allard (multiple sports), Carol Tourigny Bingham (multiple sports), Sid Brown (basketball, track), Paul Caisse (multiple sports), Kerry Callahan (multiple sports), Rick Daigneault (multiple sports), Alyssa Freda (softball, soccer), Donald Freda (soccer, coaching), Patrick McMurray (track), Michael Russo (baseball), Ryan Salvatore (hockey), Donald Tredtin (hockey), Tara Herrick Witzgall (softball) and coach Peter Moryl (track, gymnastics).

In addition, the 1977 district champion girls track and 2014 state champion baseball teams will be inducted.

The evening will begin at 5 p.m. with a cocktail hour, dinner at 6 and the Induction Ceremony at 7, followed by the unveiling of the new plaques for the Leominster High School Wall of Fame. During the ceremony, the sixth Hall of Fame class will be read into the record and inducted into the Leominster High School Athletic Hall of Fame to join the 64 individuals and 22 teams already enshrined there.

For more information on the class or the Leominster High School Athletic Hall of Fame, please visit leominsterathletichof.com

Fitchburg aims for improvement

by

FITCHBURG — The Fitchburg High girls soccer team took its lumps in 2022.

The Red Raiders struggled to find the back of the net and it showed on the scoreboard as Fitchburg wrapped up the campaign winless. Chris Kitchin stepped in midway through the season last year as interim head coach looking to change the attitude and the culture.

One bright spot for the Red Raiders last season was a scoreless tie against host Tyngsboro on their way to a 0-17-1 record.

With the interim label removed, Kitchin is back at the helm for the Red Raiders as his team looks to move in the right direction this fall.

“Things have been great up to this point. When we took over last year we told the girls that we are changing the measure of what success is. It’s not so much wins and losses but to see daily improvement in themselves,” Kitchin said after his team wrapped up its first week of practice on Friday. “Once they started looking at it from that perspective, it changed their outlook and you can it carrying over into this season.”

The Red Raiders’ first match of the regular season is slated for Sept. 7 against Lunenburg at Game On Fitchburg, which will serve as the home venue for all of Fitchburg’s games this season.

Senior goalkeeper Genna Raboin has been a member of the Red Raiders soccer program since her sophomore year. Raboin says she’s looking forward to seeing what this year’s Fitchburg squad is capable of.

“I think this team is looking pretty good right now. We’re coming off a tough season last year but these girls are very excited for the season this year,” said Raboin. “I think the chemistry is strong in this group. We want to be successful and these girls are prepared to work hard to get where we want to be.”

The Red Raiders should have plenty of veteran leadership. Raboin is one of 10 seniors on this year’s team. Also representing the class of 2024 are Sari Reinoso, Jailiana Colon, Kyleigh Godfrey, Zoe Graham, Camila Hernandez, Arianna Lopez, Sophia Medero, Soraya Sheridan Vargas and Andrea Silva.

“We have 10 seniors and you can really see the excitement in this group. We are trying to build a junior varsity program, which is something we couldn’t do last year, so we are going to try to keep a balance between the two teams right there because we have talented underclassmen coming in,” said Kitchin. “We have 10 returning sophomores that have improved and we want to make sure they continue to have that opportunity to keep getting better.”

For now, the focus is improving in each practice and being ready for what awaits on the pitch.

“We are really focusing on continuing to develop the fundamentals and conditioning in the early practices,” said Kitchin, who will be assisted by coaches Kelly Mansfield and Jenn Huer. “That was one of the things that hurt us last year. We’d work really hard and stay with teams in the first half but then run out of gas in the second half. I’m looking forward to watching this team play, we are an improved team from a year ago.”