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Monty Tech

Local roundup: Blue Knights race to first wins

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The Lunenburg High boys and girls cross country teams picked up their first wins of the season on Wednesday afternoon at Pierce’s Tree Farm.

The Blue Knights took care of visiting Quabbin Regional, with the boys earning an 18-38 victory while the Luneburg girls captured a 17-45 victory.

Both Lunenburg teams are now 1-2 on the season while both Quabbin teams fall to 0-3.

Lunenburg’s Tyler Fortier finished first in the boys race with a time of 18:14, followed by teammate Lucas Pentedemos at 19:07. Lunenburg’s Matt Pilon placed fourth with a time of 19:13.

In the girls’ race, Lunenburg’s Lauren Long took home first place with a time of 21:12. Her teammate Iliana Thomas finished second at 21:58.

Boys soccer

Nashoba 8, Hudson 0: Brayden Batista and Zach Brown each scored twice for the Wolves, while Bryce Gaudet, Brady Mignault, Lucas Messier and Angel Bustillo added single tallies.

Field hockey

Notre Dame Academy 8, St. Bernard’s 0: The Bernardians fall to 0-4.

Shrewsbury 2, Leominster 1: Alana Marchetti scored in the first quarter for the Blue Devils.

Oakmont Regional 2, Westboro 0: The win lifts the Spartans to 2-3.

Golf

Ayer-Shirley 41, Hudson 13:  Reid Ohanesian carded a 1-over 37 at Stow Acres to lead the Panthers (8-0).

Monty Tech 156, Assabet 169: Michael Cannon was the medalist with a 1-over par 36 at Gardner Municipal Golf Course as the Bulldogs improved to 7-1.

Volleyball

North Middlesex 3, Ayer-Shirley 0: The Patriots won by set scores of 25-15, 25-13 and 25-20.

Norah Tesini had eight kills and two blocks, while Emily Archambault added four aces and three kills and Ava Lamonica had three kills.

Monty Tech 3, Notre Dame Academy 1: The Bulldogs (7-3) won by set scores of 25-20, 25-14, 21-25 and 25-22.

Bailey Tetreault had 15 assists, four kills, two digs and an ace, while Deanna Smith added six digs and an ace.

Women’s soccer

Fitchburg State 1, Wentworth 1: Kendra Peretzman scored off an assist from Adrianna Westcott early in the first half for the Falcons (2-5-2), while Skyla Vaudo (10 saves in 66:30) and Cassandra Pendleton (two saves in 23:30) shared time in net.

College sports

This week’s MASCAC weekly honor rolls featured several athletes with local ties getting recognition across multiple sports.

In football Fitchburg State’s Cameron Monette earned a mention after a strong performance in Saturday afternoon’s 21-3 loss at Mass. Maritime. The junior defensive lineman tallied seven tackles on six solo stops and one assisted tackle, as well as two tackles for loss and one blocked kick.

In field hockey former Oakmont Regional standout and current Worcester State netminder Sam Gastonguay landed on the honor roll after a 2-1 win over Wheaton. The senior made four saves in the contest.

Fitchburg State’s Stephanie Sardella earned a spot on the volleyball honor roll after she registered 28 kills, three assists, eight service aces and 33 digs over three matches for the Falcons last week.

Fitchburg State's Stephanie Sardella (4) was named to the MASCAC women's volleyball honor roll this week. (Courtesy Fitchburg State Athletics)
Fitchburg State’s Stephanie Sardella (4) was named to the MASCAC women’s volleyball honor roll this week. (Courtesy Fitchburg State Athletics)

Bulldogs power past Blue Devils

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FITCHBURG — The Monty Tech girls’ volleyball team may have turned some heads with their performance on Tuesday evening.

The Bulldogs dominated visiting Leominster, picking up a 3-1 victory inside Bulldog Gym by set scores of 25-16, 19-25, 25-22 and 25-7.

Monty Tech improves to 6-3 overall on the campaign while the Blue Devils fall to 4-3.

“Today was definitely the best game that these girls have played this season,” said Monty Tech head coach  Sandy Duong. “The girls worked together and even though we lost the second set the girls cranked it up over the final two sets. I was very pleased with what I saw against a good Leominster team tonight.”

Leominster was even through two sets, but saw the wheels fall off from there.

“It wasn’t the way we wanted things to go tonight, but we will chalk it up to being a learning experience. Monty Tech played really well today, they outplayed us tonight,” said Leominster head coach Sam Comeau, whose squad will play Algonquin Regional on Friday. “We have a couple days to get back to practice and try to regroup and bounce back against another strong team in Algonquin.”

Monty Tech returns to action on Wednesday when it visits Notre Dame Academy of Worcester. .

The Bulldogs jumped out early in the first set on Tuesday, building a 16-9 lead and never relinquished it. Senior Jayda DeCarlo was a force in front of the net for the Bulldogs. DeCarlo finished the match with 17 kills as she propelled the hosts in all three winning sets on Tuesday.

“Jayda had the best game tonight,” said Duong. “In addition to her 17 kills, she also had two aces and four blocks. She has improved so much with her defense. She’s a really special player.”

The Blue Devils bounced back in the second set as Leominster evened the match at a set a piece with a 25-19 win. Leominster’s Marielle Howlett was strong around the net for the guests as she registered multiple kills during the set. Teammates Samantha Grautski and Victoria Miele served well for the Blue Devils.

In the third set, the Bulldogs reclaimed control of the match with a narrow 25-22 victory. DeCarlo and Josany Diaz anchored the Purple and Gold during the pivotal third set victory.

In the fourth and final set, the Bulldogs were ready to put the Blue Devils away. Monty Tech built a 15-5 lead in the blink of an eye. The Bulldogs were ready to go in for the kill and Leominster didn’t have an answer. DeCarlo sealed the victory with a kill to end the match and give the Bulldogs a 25-7 victory.

Bulldogs storm past Bernardians

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FITCHBURG — The Monty Tech field hockey team took its act on the road Friday afternoon, traveling across the city to the St. Bernard’s Activity Center to take on the host Bernardians.

The Bulldogs set the tone early with two first-quarter goals and never looked back, defeating the Bernardians 3-1.

Monty Tech improves to 3-1-1 and returns to action on Saturday morning when it visits North Middlesex Regional.

“We play our home games on turf so it’s an adjustment when we play on a grass field,” said Monty Tech head coach Cassie Skinner. “We’ve had a couple of grass games lately so we’ve had to make the adjustment because it’s a different game. I didn’t think we played out best game today despite coming out with a win.”

The Bernardians fall to 0-2 with the setback.

“That’s a good Monty Tech team. I thought we were a little flat-footed in the first half and there was a lack of communication between the girls but I thought we picked it up in the second half,” said St. Bernard’s head coach Holly Mason. “We are creating opportunities offensively and we are going to eventually start cashing in on those.”

The Purple and Gold wasted little time drawing first blood when Olivia McKenzie beat Bernardians goalie Ava Legendre (eight saves) from in close for a 1-0 Monty Tech lead with 5:28 left in the opening quarter.

The Bulldogs doubled their advantage 2:08 later when Haylie Mahoney found the back of the cage. Mahoney’s goal was assisted by Ella Pirri.

It remained a two-goal advantage for the Bulldogs until the closing minute of the third quarter when Pirri notched a goal of her own, taking a feed from Mahoney and finding the back of the net with 53 seconds remaining in the stanza.

The Monty Tech field hockey team raced past St. Bernard's Friday in Fitchburg. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Michael James LeClair)
The Monty Tech field hockey team raced past St. Bernard’s Friday in Fitchburg. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Michael James LeClair)

The Bernardians, who were held scoreless in their first game of the season against Tahanto Regional last Friday, entered the fourth quarter still looking for their first goal of the season. St. Bernard’s freshman midfielder Emily Terho ended the scoreless streak at seven quarters when she managed to put a scoring bid past Monty Tech goalie Abbie Law (10 saves) with 4:33 remaining in the contest to make it a 3-1 score.

“It’s exciting. That was a great goal. The first one of the season for us,” said Mason. “I told the girls that our goal in the fourth quarter was to break up their shut out and that’s what we were able to do.”

The Bernardians and Bulldogs combined for 18 penalty corners in this one with St. Bernard’s winning the battle 11-7. Despite the advantage, the Bulldogs defense, with strong play from senior captain Lily Sheridan, did a solid job of cutting down on the Bernardians scoring chances.

“I’m happy with the direction, we still need to make a few tweaks here and there but the good news is it’s all fixable,” said Skinner. “Overall, I feel we are playing well as a team.”

The Bernardians also are back on the field Saturday morning when they visit Maynard High.

Local roundup: Tibbetts propels Falcons to OT win

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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).

Bulldogs fend off Worcester Tech

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FITCHBURG — The Monty Tech girls volleyball team had their hands full with visiting Worcester Tech on Monday afternoon. The Bulldogs captured a 3-0 win over the Eagles by scores of 25-22, 25-19 and 25-21.

Despite the end result, it certainly wasn’t easy for the Purple and Gold.

The Bulldogs improve to 4-2 on the season with the win and have won three straight matches. Worcester Tech is now 2-2 overall following the loss.

“This is a good win for us. It’s a league win, so that’s really important. I thought we played scrappy in all three sets,” said fourth-year Bulldogs head coach Sandy Duong. “I knew that this one today was going to be a good team to play and experiment where I like my players. I know these girls have the capability to play well together no matter where they are on court.”

The Bulldogs may have captured victory in all three sets, but that doesn’t mean the Eagles didn’t make them work for every point.

“Overall, the girls showed some real fight. They overcame every obstacle in their way,” said Duong. “We trailed a few times today and the girls found a way to battle and reclaim the lead.”

In the opening set, Monty Tech fell behind 10-5, but rallied back. Solid play at the net by Jayda DeCarlo, Bailey Tetreault and Ella Swanson and solid service Deanna Smith helped the Bulldogs battle back to tie the set at 11-11.

Trailing 15-11, Monty Tech responded with an 8-2 run to take a 19-17 lead. The run was highlighted by an ace from Isabella Sayarath.

With things tied at 20, the Bulldogs were ready to put the set away as they scored five of the final seven points including an ace from Josany Diaz that gave the Bulldogs a 25-22 win.

In the second set, the lead changed hands a total of 11 times with 10 ties before the Bulldogs put away the Eagles and put a stranglehold on the match. The set was highlighted by some strong service from Olivia Puczynski and kills from Joy Ellsworth and Smith.

The final set turned out to be a carbon copy of the first two as Worcester Tech refused to go quietly.

After Monty Tech jumped out to an 8-2 lead, the Eagles battled back, eventually tying the set at 10-10.

Neither team could create much separation on the scoreboard as a Monty Tech serve into the net tied the score at 15-15. An ace and a kill by Worcester’s Audra Merkelis helped pull the Eagles even with Monty Tech yet at 19-19 later in the set.

From there, the Bulldogs regrouped and refocused. The hosts responded with a 6-2 run to secure victory. The final point of the match came courtesy of DeCarlo, whose used her height to deliver a kill and end the match.

DeCarlo finished the match with three aces, seven kills and three blocks while Diaz had   an ace, a kill, a block and 14 assists to lead the Bulldogs.

Monty Tech is back in action Thursday afternoon when it travels to Upton to take on Blackstone Valley Tech.

Bulldogs’ opener suspended at halftime

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FITCHBURG — The Monty Tech and Narragansett Regional football teams found themselves matched up against another opponent on Friday evening in Mother Nature.

The Bulldogs and Warriors squared off under the lights of Bulldog Field to kick off the 2023 season and battled through 24 minutes of action. A Warriors touchdown with two seconds left in the half gave the guests a 20-13 lead heading into halftime.

With lighting off in the distance, the referees announced that halftime would be extended to a half an hour. During the extended halftime, lighting continued followed by heavy rain. It was shortly after 8 p.m. that the game was declared a suspended contest, to be picked up at the start of the third quarter when it resumes.

According to Bulldogs head coach Anthony Secino, the two teams are aiming for this Sunday to finish the game with a time to be announced.

“It could be early morning or possibly late afternoon,” Secino said

Following a turnover on downs to open the ballgame by the Monty Tech offense, Narragansett wasted little time drawing first blood as senior quarterback Corey Henderson called his own number on the team’s second play from scrimmage and beat the Monty Tech defense as he broke off an 81-yard touchdown run to give the Warriors the early lead, 6-0.

The Warriors kickoff went out of bounds, giving the hosts great field position to start their next drive at the Warriors’ 42. Monty Tech needed just five plays to find pay dirt as quarterback Dylan Huntoon connected with Aiden LeBlanc all alone down the left sideline as he hauled it in and crossed the goal line from 20 yards away to tie the score at 6. Ryan Quinn’s conversion run attempt was stuffed short of the goal line to keep the score tied.

Narragansett struck once again before the end of the quarter when Henderson capped a six-play, 63-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run with 5:47 remaining in the first quarter. Henderson’s conversion pass attempt fell incomplete.

Monty Tech claimed the lead early in the second quarter, putting together an impressive 11-play, 65 yard drive that Huntoon concluded with a six-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 12. Ron Harris added a successful kick to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the season.

Narragansett reclaimed the lead on the final possession of the half when Henderson once again found the end zone using his legs as he ran it in from  five yards away. Max Kauffman completed the conversion pass to Michael Casavant to make it 20-13 with two seconds left in the half.

“We didn’t tackle very well tonight,” said Secino. “I thought we moved the ball well offensively but we have to clean some things up defense when resume this game,”

Both teams elected to not play out the final two seconds of the half as the officials sent the two teams off the field just moments before the skies opened with heavy rain.