Xintaropoulos fuels Billerica boys to soccer win
The Billerica High boys soccer team continued to shine in Merrimack Valley Conference action Saturday.
The Indians blanked host Andover, 4-1, as goalkeeper Riley Donovan was outstanding in net, making 12 saves. Offensively, Jason Xintaropoulos paved the way with two goals. Ryan Jacob had a goal and two assists. Dylan Gray also scored for Billerica.
NM 1, HAMPSHIRE REG. 1 >> Rowan Mccarthy had the lone goal for North Middlesex in a non-league tie.
Tyler Jastrab set up Mccarthy’s goal. Adam Ippolito was solid in net for the Patriots.
ST 3, GR. LAWRENCE 0 >> Senior goalie Nick Gerasimov posted his fourth shutout of the fall in leading the Rams to the CAC victory on Homecoming Saturday.
Junior Niko Georgoulis tallied a goal and assist to fuel the offense. Also scoring goals were junior Jayden Perez and junior Nick Palmerino. Assists were collected by Jack Bourque, Ethan Melanson and Shane Mac Arthur. Also starring were David Vitale, Corey Kirchner and Kaleb Molina.
WA 4, GROTON-DUNSTABLE 0 >> A balanced scoring attack and a foursave performance from goalie Jack Bussey propelled the Ghosts to the non-league win.
Westford Academy goals were scored by Lucas Albuquerque (unassisted), Kavi Soman (assisted by Brenton Halio), Grady Jondro (assisted by Shuban Bala) and Srikar Navuduri (assisted by Alex Xiang). The Ghosts received strong play from Xiang, Soman, Griffin Conway, Nihal Mark and Albuquerque.
Girls cross country
LHS SHINES >> Lowell’s Sabrina Cady ran 12:10 for ninth place during the junior/senior race at the Frank Kelley Invitational in Wrentham.serena Nguyen finished in 12:42 to take 25th and grab the last medal.
In the sophomore race, Ella Machado ran tremendously, finishing second in a time of 12:00.4. In the freshman race, the Red Raiders finished sixth behind Abby Meade (6th, 13:08) and Makyla King (7th, 13:10). Also running well were Anna Samel, Rowda Amin, Katherine Belli and Linh Dang.
GRYPHONS STAR >> Greater Lowell Tech finished 14th in the 5K championship race at the Frank Kelley Invitational.
Seniors Kailey Nichols (86th, 22:14) and Melanie Reyes (87th, 22:15) finished in tandem as well as freshman Olivia Stack (120th, 23:13) and senior Joyce Phillipe (122nd, 23:15. Freshman Toula Stavrou (157th, 24:34) also impressed.
Boys cross country
MOREAU WINS >> Greater Lowell Tech’s Devin Moreau captured the 5K championship race at the Frank Kelley Invitational to lead the Gryphons to eighth place.
Juniors Seamus Tully (25th, 16:28) and Edward Yeboah (79th, 17:42) ran strong with freshmen Ethan Levesque (67th, 17:28) and Matthew Guerin (104th, 18:12).
Girls soccer
INNOVATION 2, ST 2 >> Innovation and host Shawsheen Tech battled to a draw during a CAC Upper Division clash in Billerica.
Innovation Academy took an early 1-0 lead on a penalty kick by Milena Strickland, but Shawsheen evened the score soon after and the half ended 1-1. Keira Frazier gave Innovation a 2-1 lead midway into the second half, but Shawsheen kept the pressure on and evened the match. Gianna Hebert and Arlee Roun played well defensively for Innovation.
Football
LEOMINSTER 21, WESTFORD 13 >> Westford Academy (2-2) committed four turnovers in Friday’s loss.
Jessie Moran gave the Ghosts the lead, scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Kicker Ryan Kyle provided the extra point, adding to the momentum. But Leominster found its footing in the second quarter, tying the game 7-7 at halftime before adding a pair of touchdowns over the next two quarters.
“We let them hang around and they capitalized,” said Westford coach Bruce Rich Jr.
The Ghosts turned the ball over four times, including a game-shifting turnover on the 2, leading to their undoing.
“It’s tough to win games when you turn the ball over,” said Rich. “We can’t blame it on the rain. The other team needed to play in those elements as well.”
Westford quarterback Jake Cullen went 13-for-24 passing for 190 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown pass to Quinn Reynolds. The signal-caller also rushed for 150 yards. Junior wide receiver Alex Wilson caught eight passes for 82 yards. Westford’s defensive line applied ample pressure on Leominster’s QB all night, with Chris Sell, Henry Arnold, Jack Nelken and Chris Butts, getting the job done.
“We need to have a better week of practice to prepare for league play,” said Rich, whose team takes on DCL opponent Waltham next week. NARRAGANSETT 21, LITTLETON 12 >> Zach Milner rushed for 200 yards on 31 carries, including a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough as Littleton (22) on Friday. Milner was also a defensive standout for Littleton, making 12 tackles, including seven solo.
“Tough loss for us,” said Littleton coach Asante Easter. “I feel as if we were in striking distance the entirety of the game. We just had too many self-inflicted wounds.”
Trailing 14-12 at halftime, the Tigers had a chance to take control in the fourth quarter before coming up just inches short on a pivotal series. Gansett took full advantage scoring on the ensuing possession. A holding penalty on Littleton’s next drive stopped them.
“I think we could have had better awareness of our down, distance and field position,” said Easter. “The holding penalty we committed killed our momentum on what looked like a successful drive to make it a one score game. And we had three timeouts left to give us a shot.” LUNENBURG 11, AYER-SHIRLEY 8 >> A 37-yard fourth quarter field goal proved to be the difference as the Panthers were edged.
“I was proud of the team’s resolve,” said Ayer Shirley coach Bill Wright. “But unfortunately, we came up short end in the last 20 seconds.”
Ayer-shirley staked an early lead, as quarterback Bobby Manchester feed Manny Gambino with an 18yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. James Gauntlett added the two-point conversion run, giving A/S the 8-0 lead. Lunenburg bounced back in the second quarter, scoring off a 14-yard end zone jaunt followed by a two-point conversion run, knotting the game up 8-8 at halftime.
“JT Bresnahan played great defensively,” said Wright. “Bobby Manchester showed is metal by hanging in the pocket and taking some big hits.”
SALEM 21, ALVIRNE 10 >> Aiden Mills rushed for 105 yards, including a 70yard TD strike in the first half, as Alvirne (2-3) was edged.
Trailing 21-8 at halftime, the Brocos hung tough with a stellar Salem (5-0) team.
“Salem is a good team,” said Alvirne coach Matthew Lee. “They’re not undefeated by accident.”
Sophomore quarterback Ethan Dudley did a nice job leading the offense. Alvirne’s air attack was complimented by Ryan Rocheleau, picking up 76 yards receiving. The Broncos defense was bolstered by Ayden Kelly’s 11 tackles and Cam Steed’s seven tackles.
“Our kids battled to the very end,” said Lee. “The effort was great, our kids played hard. We had some mental mistakes that just proved costly.”
NT 28, MANCHESTER-ESSEX 16 >> The Vikings picked up a quality win Friday night thanks to a quick-strike offense and solid defense in Westford. Nashoba Tech (2-2) pulled away with a 14-point fourth quarter.