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high school golf

Local roundup: Falcons grounded by Western New England

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The Fitchburg State field hockey suffered a 4-1 setback to Western New England in non-conference action this afternoon from Elliot Field on Thursday.

Western New England (5-0) broke a scoreless stalemate in the 25th minute as sophomore Kara Edwards rifled a shot into the left side of the cage for her third goal of the season..

Fitchburg State (0-3) nearly knotted the score with three minutes remaining in the first half when senior Joyce Arbia ripped a shot on frame, but Golden Bears keeper Ella Henry turned the shot aside to preserve the advantage going into the break.

Following the intermission, the Golden Bears threatened at the 43:08 mark with sophomore Haley Kaczka was awarded a penalty stroke, only to have Falcon goal keeper Jenna Morse make the save to keep the score at 1-0.

Western New England upped the lead to 2-0 in the 47th minute of play when Kacaka received a feed from senior Carly-Anna Barba and struck for her second marker on the year. The visitors secured the victory three minutes later as junior Sarah Johnston collected a loose ball in front of the cage and deposited a shot inside the far post to make the score 3-0.

Fitchburg State dented the scoreboard with just over four minutes remaining in the contest as Arbia redirected a loose ball into the lower right corner for her first collegiate score.

Morse stopped 14 shots for Fitchburg State, which returns to action Saturday with a MASCAC tilt at Framingham State at 11 a.m.

Boys soccer

Nashoba 2, North Middlesex 0:  Lucas Messier scored twice for Nashoba, with Angel Bustrillo notching an assist for the Wolves.

Volleyball

Nashoba 3, North Middlesex 0: Set scores were 25-15, 25-12 and 25-19.

Jess Allard had four kills and six digs in defeat, while Joann Nolan added a pair of kills and Anne McNabb had 10 digs.

Golf

Nashoba 194, Leominster 212: The Wolves (3-1, 2-1 Mid-Wach A) were led by Mason Bowie and Irv Carnes, who each carded 3-over 38s at Gardner Municipal Golf Course.

Luke Grebinar earned medalist honors for Leominster (0-2, 0-2) with a 1-over 36.

Monty Tech 158, Bay Path 196: Michael Cannon was the medalist for Monty Tech (3-1) with a 2-over 38 on the back nine at Gardner Municipal Golf Course.

Boys cross country

Ayer-Shirley 17, Tahanto 43: Jake Leone won the race in 18:14 for the Panthers (1-0) and was followed by teammates Cole New and Jack Holden in second and third, respectively.

Girls cross country

Ayer-Shirley 26, Tahanto 31: Carolyn Mason, Marissa Grace, Jane Marshall and Ada Perwak took second through fifth, respectively, for the Panthers (1-0).

Commentary: St. Bernard’s Ginnity deserving of honor

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As one of the best high school golfers in the state, St. Bernard’s Patrick Ginnity knows the importance of patience.

The St. Bernard’s senior is even-keeled on the golf course, on the basketball court and in the classroom. And when rewarded for being an exemplary student-athlete, the always gracious Ginnity has been patient as well.

Ginnity was recently named the MIAA’s Male Student-Athlete of the Month for November, presented with the award and a $1,000 scholarship by Steve Dubzinski, the organization’s Assistant Director.

Better late than never.

Nominated by St. Bernard’s athletic director Ray Cosenza, the MIAA’s press release on Ginnity recounts what earned him the honor.

“Patrick has had an amazing career at St. Bernard’s High School. He has been a member of the golf team since eighth grade, earned five varsity letters and been the Number 1 golfer since freshman year. Patrick has been a two-year captain and team MVP and had an amazing senior season as a medalist in 12 of the 14 matches,” the MIAA’s release said. “Shooting a 4-under 68 in the state finals, Patrick captured the Division 2
Championship at Maplegate Country Club. His play led the team to a sixth-place finish. This summer, he traveled to Oregon to play in the USGA Junior Amateur Championships.

St. Bernard's senior Patrick Ginnity points to his score at the conclusion of the Division 2 state championship. (Courtesy Matt Hoeske)
St. Bernard’s senior Patrick Ginnity points to his score at the conclusion of the Division 2 state championship. (Courtesy Matt Hoeske)

“Also a basketball star, Patrick is a two-year captain and team MVP as a junior. His teachers describe him as an ‘active learner that asks engaging questions.’ He was a top achiever in English class and ‘respected the subject matter and held his education in high regard.’

“As President of the Senior Class, Patrick also volunteers in numerous youth sports programs, campus ministry, is an MIAA Student Ambassador, and interns at the Beyond Sports podcast.”

It’s quite the résumé.

Personally, I’ve written about Ginnity’s golfing exploits multiple times over the years. His achievements on the links speak for themselves. And having seen him play basketball this season, I can say he’s pretty impressive on the hardwood as well.

But what stood out to me most was the senior’s demeanor. He was respectful to opposing players and officials, which isn’t always an easy thing to do in the type of game I saw: a blowout win over Immaculate Heart of Mary. Players on the winning side, even the nicest of kids, can fall victim to cracking jokes at the expense of an overmatched opponent.

Not only was Ginnity a leader on the floor, the senior captain had instilled an air of respect in his teammates, who not once took verbal jabs at their guests. Restraint by high school students in the midst of a rout isn’t a common thing.

Furthermore, he made his way to me after the game and introduced himself, thanking me for the coverage over the years. Heck, he even offered up a firm handshake.

Maybe I’m easy to win over. But my guess is that Gingranity has been brought up to do the right things in life and he’s taken those lessons to heart.

This was a well-deserved honor for a young man who seems to excel in areas of being a student-athlete.

 

Local roundup: Bernardians break through at Div. 2 tourney

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The St. Bernard’s golf team made quite a splash at the Div. 2 West tournament at The Ranch Golf Club on Tuesday.

The Bernardians third with a team score of 323 to advance to the Div. 2 State tourney Oct. 25 at Maplegate Country Club. Patrick Ginnity carded an even par 72 to advance as to the individual tournament as well.

Colin Majowicz added a 79 for the Bernardians and Adam Bosco carded an 82.

Leominster ended up in fourth, three strokes behind St. Bernard’s, just missing out on reaching the state tourney.

Blue Devils sophomore Luke Grebinar tied for second, while junior Daniel Simons tied for seventh, qualifying as individuals for the Div. 2 state championship tournament.

Belchertown took the Div. 2 Central title with a 313, while Pope Francis (319) was second.

Div. 3 Central: Ayer Shirley claimed fourth at Blissful Meadows Golf Club in Uxbridge with a team score of 333, finishing behind Dover-Sherborn (302), Hopedale (322) and Blackstone Valley Tech (331).

Div. 1 West: North Middlesex’s Andrew Peterson carded an even-par 71 at Franconia Golf Course in Springfield on Monday to take third, while the Patriots’ Shawn Amari shot a 75. As a team, North Middlesex placed third with 305 points on Monday to qualify for the Div. 1 state tourney Oct. 25 at the Renaissance Golf Club in Haverhill.

Minnechaug (298) claimed the team title with Northampton (303) in second.

Div. 3 West: Monty Tech collectively carded a 358 to tied for third, but missed out on the state tournament courtesy of the tiebreaker on Monday at the Country Club of Wilbraham.

The Bulldogs’ Michael Cannon tied for sixth at 86 to advance to the Div. 3 state tournament at The Ledges Golf Club in South Hadley, while teammate Brett Cherubini carded an 88 to tie for 11th.

Lenox took the team crown at 340.

Field hockey

Lunenburg 2, Narragansett 0: Bethie Boone and Caitlin Ware scored to lift the Blue Knights (12-2).

Malden Catholic 5, St. Bernard’s 0: The Bernardians fall to 0-12.

Boys soccer

Gardner 3, Lunenburg 0: The Wildcats (11-2-1) spoiled Senior Night for Lunenburg (9-4-1) as Ricardo Ruiz netted a pair of goals for the Wildcats and Elvis Camejo scored the other goal for Gardner.

Girls soccer

Gardner 1, Lunenburg 0: The loss drops the Blue Knights to 6-5-3.

Nashoba 2, North Middlesex 0: The Wolves improve to 6-5-2 while the Patriots fall to 5-8-1.

Volleyball

Hudson 3, Ayer Shirley 0: Set scores were 25-11, 25-13 and 25-12.

South Lancaster 3, Monty Tech 0: Set scores were 25-12, 25-12 and 25-17.

Men’s soccer

Plymouth State 3, Fitchburg State 2: Prince Banangoy netted his first collegiate marker for Fitchburg State (1-12-1, 0-4-1 MASCAC) and Gabriel Teixeira potted his team-leading fourth goal of the season in defeat. Senior Collin Robson turned aside eight shots for the Falcons.

Local Roundup: Great day of golf for local teams

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Even on a dreary day, it’s hard to beat a good day on the links.

It’s safe to say the Nashoba Regional, Leominster High, Ayer Shirley Regional and Monty Tech golf teams enjoyed their time on their respective course on Thursday.

Nashoba took care of business at Juniper Hill Golf Course, taking home the Mid-Wach A title with a 299 as a team to finish ahead of Westboro (306).

Nashoba Regional won the Mid-Wach A title at Juniper Hills Golf Course on Thursday. (Courtesy Nashoba Regional Athletics)
Nashoba Regional won the Mid-Wach A title at Juniper Hills Golf Course on Thursday. (Courtesy Nashoba Regional Athletics)

Michael Dean was second overall with a 73, while his Nashoba teammates Mason Bowie and Zach Stevens tied for third one shot back.

In Mid-Wach B, Leominster (312) took first at Northern Spy Golf Course, followed by North Middlesex (314) Regional in second, Shepherd Hill (383) third, Oakmont Regional (385) in fourth and Fitchburg (423) in fifth.

Leominster’s Luke Grebinar shot an even-par 71 to take medalist honors, while teammate Daniel Simons was one shot back. Colby Julsonnet tied for seventh at 79.

North Middlesex saw Michael Archambault and Jake Miller tie for fourth at 76, while Andrew Peterson (80) was ninth and Max Caliri (82) was 10th.

Fitchburg’s Henry Bruun claimed sixth, carding a 78. Oakmont was led by Owen Raymond with an 89.

The Panthers claimed the Mid-Wach D championship at Juniper Hills Golf Course in Northboro, topping the leaderboard with a team score of 307, improving 43 strokes from 2021, and cruising past second-place Hudson (372).

Tommy Bergin and Sohil Patel were co-medalists, with each of the Ayer Shirley golfers carding 2-over 74s on the day. Mark McDonald (77) was third for the Panthers, while teammates Reid Ohanesian (82) took fourth and Seth Valliere and Jason Turner (87) tied for fifth.

Monty Tech captured its first-ever Colonial Athletic League crown at Heritage Country Club in Charlton. The Bulldogs finished at 321, fending off Blackstone Valley (329) and Bay Path (334).

Brett Cherubini and Michael Cannon led the way for Monty Tech, tying for first with Blackstone’s Connor Griffin at 4-over 75.

Boys soccer

Nashoba 3, Groton-Dunstable 2: The Wolves (8-4-1) snapped a three-game winless streak, building a 3-0 lead before the Crusaders scored twice in the second half.

Angel Bustillo scored twice and Gabriel Marrow added another for the Wolves, who saw goalkeeper Jamie Fischer made four saves in the victory.

North Middlesex 3, Marlboro 0: Tristan Miner scored twice and Noah Bagley added the other goal for the Patriots (9-4-1), while Jack Harrington chipped in with an assist.

Leominster 2, Shrewsbury 1: Andy Truong (assist) and Michael Halstead scored for the Blue Devils.

Field hockey

Nashoba 3, Westboro 0: Alice Homer netted her first varsity goa and Ali Vanasse and Tatum Dyment also scored.

Local roundup: Fitchburg State blanked by Mitchell

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The Fitchburg State men’s soccer team suffered a 2-0 road setback to Mitchell College Wednesday afternoon in non-conference action.

Mitchell broke a scoreless stalemate with just six seconds remaining in the opening half when senior Nicholas Ghiradi settled a loose ball in front of the net and buried a shot into the right side of the net for his second marker of the season.

Following the intermission, the Mariners doubled their advantage in the 57th minute of action with newcomer Flavio Alvarado receiving a feed from Ghiradi and deposited a shot into the upper left corner for his team-leading fifth goal of the campaign.

Fitchburg State (1-10-1, 0-3-1 MASCAC) threatened at the 69:13 mark with newcomer Lucas Barbosa  putting a shot on frame, but Mitchell goalkeeper Dylan Kinsella turned the shot aside to preserve the lead.

Sophomore Luke Speers stopped four shots for the Falcons.

Boys soccer

Lunenburg 4, Tyngsboro 4: Tim Smith scored twice, while Cole Keefer dished out a pair of assists for the Blue Knights (8-3-2). Mason Keefer added a goal and an assist, while Eltaher Kholief netted Lunenburg’s other goal.

AMSA 5, Monty Tech 1: The Bulldogs fall to 0-7-2.

Girls soccer

AMSA 4, Monty Tech 0: The loss drops the Bulldogs to 2-8.

Field hockey

North Brookfield 3, Monty Tech 2: Anneliese Kusske and Lindsay Blauser netted markers for Monty Tech (9-4-1).

Leominster 7, Shepherd Hill 1: The Blue Devils improve to 11-2.

Lunenburg 3, Fitchburg 0: Caitlin Ware scored twice and Maddie Salovardos potted a single goal for the Blue Knights (10-1). Malia Ruggiero made two saves in the victory.

Jill Souza made six saves for Fitchburg (5-5-2).

Golf

Monty Tech 166, Blackstone Valley 167: The Bulldogs (12-0) capped an undefeated regular season with the victory at the Highfields Country Club, led by Ryan Hebert and Michael Cannon, who carded matching 6-over 41s.

Volleyball

North Middlesex 3, Leominster 0: Set scores were 25-17, 25-14 and 25-13.

Nora Tesini had three aces, three kills and three blocks in the win, while Bella Perritano had six kills and three aces.

Local roundup: Seniors lead the way for Blue Devils

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The Leominster High golf team picked up a 31.5-22.5 victory over Shepherd Hill at Gardner Municipal Golf Course on Senior Day for the Blue Devils on Thursday afternoon.

Senior Colby Julsonnet shot a 1-over 36 to lead the Blue Devils (11-4, 8-2 Mid-Wach B).

Classmates Connor DelGreco, Sean Rakip and Casey Carlin also contributed to the victory.

Big day for North Middlesex: The Patriots earned a trio of wins, topping Groton-Dunstable (196-223), Oakmont Regional (196-253) and Fitchburg (196-256).

Andrew Peterson led the way for the Patriots (16-1), carding a 1-over 36 at Northern Spy Golf Club. Conner Lavery finished with a 38, while Shawn Amari came in at 39 for North Middlesex.

Oakmont falls to 5-8 on the season, while Fitchburg drops to 0-12.

Nashoba 188, Algonquin 190: Colin Ruschioni carded a 1-under 35 at Stow Acres to lead the Wolves (10-3).

Quabbin 36, Lunenburg 18: The loss drops the Blue Knights to 1-9 on the season.

Football

Blue Knights prevail: Lunenburg High was awarded a forfeit victory after Gardner High pulled out of Friday night’s game due to concerns for player safety with a lengthy list of injuries already hobbling the team. The forfeit lifts the Blue Knights to 3-2.

Boys soccer

North Middlesex 2, Groton Dunstable 1: Tyler Jastrab and Marlon Artuso scored for the Patriots, with Jack Harrington and Andy Torpey dishing out assists in the victory.

Fitchburg 2, Littleton 0: The win lifts the Red Raiders to 8-3-2.

Nashoba 1, Hudson 1:  The Wolves (5-3-1) rallied from an early deficit to earn the draw.

Westboro 1, Leominster 0: The loss drops the Blue Devils to 5-5-1.

Girls soccer

Littleton 9, Fitchburg 0: The Red Raiders drop to 0-11-1.

Hopedale 4, St. Bernard’s 1: The Bernardians fall to 1-6-1.

Assabet Valley 2, Monty Tech 1: The loss drops the Bulldogs to 2-7.

Leominster 1, Hudson 1: With the tie, the Blue Devils are 6-5-2.

Volleyball

Fitchburg 3, Worcester South 1: Fitchburg (3-8) won by scores of 14-25, 25-3, 28-26 and 25-22.

Chiali Moua dished out 15 assists and added eight aces in the win, while Jade Vue had nine assists and five aces. Keishla Troche chipped in with six kills and three aces and Sumi Yang had five aces and a pair of kills in the victory.

Boys cross country

Lunenburg 26, Maynard 30: Lunenburg took third through sixth improve to 3-2. Tyler Fortier,  Zach MacLure, Simon Garcia and Matt Pilon led the way for the Blue Knights.

Girls cross country

Lunenburg 19, Maynard 43: Abby Rodriquenz won the race in 21:52 to lead the way for Lunenburg (5-0), while Breanna Bajko, Evee Mabon, Lauren Long, Karynna Long and Angelina Brackett took third through seventh, respectively.