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St. Bernard's

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: Nashoba’s Balewicz breaks running record

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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.

Football notebook: Wins hard to come by for local teams

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Success has been hard to come by on the gridiron for local teams this fall. Save for a trio of teams that have combined to go 5-1 through two weeks of the high school season, the remaining six schools in the Sentinel & Enterprise’s coverage area have gone winless in a dozen contests.

Still, there have been plenty of bright spots for local competitors. Here’s a look at four notable storylines that came out of Week 2.

High-flying Patriots

North Middlesex has looked unstoppable in its two victories, roaring to a 42-7 win Friday night over Greater Lowell Tech. The combination of quarterback Michael Reardon and Cade Callahan continued to be unstoppable as they combined for three touchdowns for a second consecutive week, while Reardon also connected with tight end Darien Crawford on a 10-yard scoring strike in the win.

Not to be outdone, the Patriot defense not only prevented points from being scored, but put some up itself. Connor Burson found the end zone on a 27-yard fumble recovery and Brady Reardon, younger brother of the North Middlesex QB, intercepted a pass and went 85 yards for a touchdown.

Blue Knights rally to remain unbeaten

Lunenburg is 2-0 after rallying to top Sutton, 22-18, on Saturday. Down 18-13 in the third, Hunter Matson hit Matt Agnese for an 88-yard scoring pass to put the guests ahead. Eric Smith added the point after and Andre Jacobson closed things out in the fourth quarter by bringing down Sutton’s Cam Benedict in the end zone for a safety.

Matson and Agnese were dominant through the air, with the former throwing for 194 yards, 182 of which were to the latter.

Bernardians take to the air

St. Bernard’s put things together on a pair of crucial passing plays late in Friday’s 22-20 overtime loss to Northbridge. And to anyone who follows the Bernardians, it’s fairly uncommon for the team to take to the air at all, let alone on back-to-back snaps.

Senior quarterback Salvi Bilotta connected with Quinn Carlson late in the fourth on a 3-yard touchdown to pull the Bernardians within two. Bilotta, who completed four passed on the day for 50 yards, then hit Jameson Williams on a short pass for a successful two-point conversion.

Still, the Bernardians (1-1) didn’t deviate too much from their run-heavy offense, racking up 357 yards on the ground as a team.

Hard-running Blue Devil

Leominster High is off to an 0-2 start, but it’s not for a lack of determination in the ground game. In fact, running back Xavier Cora has been one of the bright spots for the Blue Devils thus far, especially in Friday night’s 28-27 loss to Doherty in Worcester.

Leominster celebrates after a touchdown run by Xavier Cora (5) during Friday's game against Doherty. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Nick Mallard)
Leominster celebrates after a touchdown run by Xavier Cora (5) during Friday’s game against Doherty. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Nick Mallard)

The junior ran for 117 yards on 19 carries, taking on the workhorse role in the second half as the Blue Devils began running the ball more. He scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of 1 and 14 yards in defeat.

Cora was also a dependable target out of the backfield against the Highlanders, catching three balls. He pulled in a touchdown pass from Lopez in Leominster’s Week 1 loss to St. John’s.

Bernardians fall in season opener

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FITCHBURG — Better late than never for the St. Bernard’s field hockey team.

After multiple postponements, the St. Bernard’s field hockey team was able to finally play its first game of the season and the first with Holly Mason on the sidelines Friday afternoon.

The Bernardians welcomed Tahanto Regional to the St. Bernard’s Activity Center and unfortunately for the hosts, things didn’t go quite according to script as the Stags came away with a 1-0 triumph.

“I thought the girls did great today. It was our first game after having our first three games cancelled. I thought there were a lot of positives for us to build on,” said Mason. “It’s all about the process and not the result. I saw a lot of good things that we can build off as we move forward.”

Bernardians junior goalie Ava Legendre, making her first varsity start in net, was solid for the hosts as she stopped seven of the eight shots she faced. Her counterpart, Tahanto goalie Prinsa Kamnang turned away six shots on to earn the shutout victory.

“I thought Ava did a great job. She made some big saves and kept us in the game. He’ll continue to improve the more experience she gets,” said Mason. “I thought we were the better team on the field today even if the results didn’t end in our favor. We will play them again later in the season.”

With the game scoreless heading into the fourth quarter, the Stags finally solved the Bernardians defense and Legendre when Chloe Cogswell took a feed from Mihika Chalasani and slipped a shot past Legendre from in front of the net just 40 seconds into the final quarter.

The Bernardians pressed for the game-tying goal. Senior captain Bradley Walz, juniors Megan Richard and Isabella Dee along with freshman Emily Terho led the St. Bernard’s offense that managed eight penalty corners, five of which came in the game’s final four minutes.

“This was the first time we’ve used out new formation and the first time we’ve had the chance to play 11-on-11 because we don’t have enough girls in practice to be able to do that,” said Mason. “We had some opportunities to tie the game and score a goal but couldn’t take advantage. As the season progresses, we’ll be able take advantage and find the back of the net.”

Also playing well for the Bernardians on Friday were senior captains Ava Dondero, Ava Goldsmith and Karina McCormick.

The Bernardians return to action Friday when they host crosstown foe Monty Tech at the Activity Center.

Bernardians impress in defeat

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FITCHBURG — St. Bernard’s girls’ volleyball head coach Andrea McGahan said that she wanted to use Wednesday’s season opener against Notre Dame Academy as a measuring stick for her young team.

McGahan’s squad showed the head coach that the Bernardians shouldn’t be taken lightly this fall.

St. Bernard’s gave the visitors from Worcester everything they could handle, pushing them to five sets before falling 3-2 inside a sweltering Activity Center.

Despite the loss, the Bernardians head coach saw some good things from her team. Things that she and assistant coach Kelly Monaghan can build off.

“These were some tough conditions to play in. The gym was very hot and the floor was very slippery but the girls pulled it together and played really well,” said McGahan. “I’m proud of the effort today. The girls played competitively. There were lots of positives today.”

The unseasonably warm temperatures over the past few days made conditions tough inside the St. Bernard’s Activity Center as both teams did their best to battle the heat and the opposition.

“Fatigue can become a factor,” said McGahan. “It’s difficult because it’s tough to stay focused and the ball gets slippery. You have to do your best to try to maintain that focus.”

The Bernardians got off to a great start, picking up a 25-22 win in the first set. Strong play from Hadley Monticup, Brennah McDonald, Natalie Corso and Isabel Spitale propelled the hosts and allowed them to draw first blood.

NDA (1-0) battled back and captured the next two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-20 to take a 2-1 lead in the match and push the Bernardians’ backs against the proverbial wall.

In the fourth set, St. Bernard’s came out and showed resiliency as it picked up a 25-19 victory.

Trailing 11-8, the Bernardians barked back and went on the attack. Aces from Jenna Frost and Spitale and a huge block by Corso highlighted a Bernardians run.

With the home team leading 24-19, St. Bernard’s Clair Norton delivered an ace to give the Bernardians the win and tie the match at two sets apiece.

In the deciding set, St. Bernard’s opened fast with the first two points before Notre Dame responded with seven of the next 11 points. An unforced error by Notre Dame pulled the Bernardians even 7-7 but unfortunately for the hosts, they couldn’t taste the lead the rest of the way as NDA ended the match with an 8-1 run to seal the deal.

“To be able to win that fourth set and force a final set, the girls showed us something,” said McGahan. “That’s not easy to do. I really have nothing bad to say about how we played today. I’m really proud of them and how hard they worked.”

The Bernardians will try again on Friday when they return to action, traveling to Ayer-Shirley, which opened its season on Wednesday with a 3-0 victory over Collegiate Charter of Lowell.

Local roundup: Patriots rally to top Blue Knights

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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.