Fall sports 2016: A new start for the Fisherman

As students transition into the new school year, many are also preparing for their upcoming fall sports seasons.

Field Hockey

Following last year’s season, the field hockey team hopes to extend their success into this season.

Last year, the team finished with a record of 12-4-1 to qualify for the state tournament. After an upset by Weston High School in the second round of the tournament, the Fisherman are looking to advance even farther.

Having only graduated two seniors last season, the team currently has nine returning varsity starters. With a team that has played together for two years now, the Fisherman are expected to advance farther into the tournament.

The team is lead by seniors Rachel Alexander, Sam Cominelli, and Sammy Orlando as well as junior Marisa Enes. As a junior, Alexander lead the team in scoring, having scored seventeen goals. Currently, Alexander only needs about twenty more goals to break the GHS record, which is 56.

Cominelli, a returning offensive midfielder, assists in most of the plays on the field. From offensive to defensive corners, Cominelli helps to score and stop goals. Orlando plays as a defensive midfielder to prevent girls from traveling down the field.

Marisa Enes, who has been starting on varsity since her freshman year, is returning to the defensive line. Last season Cominelli and Enes were names 2015 All Stars while Alexander was named as an All Conference selection.

The team didn’t start off the year as strongly as they had hoped, but they are hoping to remain at the top during regular season play. The team won in a scrimmage against Rockport with a score of 3-0. Other scrimmages against Hamilton-Wenham and Ipswich resulted in a loss and tie, respectively.

The first game for the Fisherman against the Saugus Sachems proved to be a challenge, having to play on grass rather than the usual turf. Despite the challenge, the fisherman proved to be a force not to be reckoned with after winning with a score of 3-0.

Two goals were scored by senior forward Nicole Tocco as well as one from Sam Cominelli. The Fisherman now look to playing Peabody on Monday at 6:30pm.

Girls Soccer

The girls soccer team is looking to turn their team around in this upcoming season. With the aid of new assistant coach, Alex Egmont, the team is looking to make the tournament this year.

According to head coach Allison Smith, Egmont brings new blood to the team and assists in many of the drills the team has been doing.

“We want to be competitive with teams like Winthrop and Lynn,” said Smith. “We also want to be able to run with teams at the top of the conference.”

Last season, the girls’ soccer team lost only one senior. With a strong team that has been playing together for two years now, the team is looking to make the tournament.

“We’re hoping to go at least .500 this season,” said Walsh. “If we make the tournament that’s just the cherry on top.”

The soccer team started the year strong with a 3-0 win in a scrimmage against Rockport. Goals were scored by sophomores Jesse Alexander and Lauren Wood as well as junior Kaitlin Marques with an assist from junior Danielle Larrabee.

Last Wednesday, the Fisherman lost to the Ipswich Tigers in their home opener. While the game ended with a score of 1-0, it was not an easy accomplishment for the Tigers. Sophomore goalie Maisie Grow made many difficult saves in net.

With the Ipswich game behind them, the team is looking ahead towards the rest of their season. The team this year is led by seniors Rachel Nearis, Haley Blanchette, and Alexia Marnoto. Last year, Marnoto was named an All-Conference center midfielder as a junior.

“We’re definitely off to a better start than last year,” said Nearis. “Everyone has a really good attitude.”

The team’s next game will be held tonight at 4:30 against Winthrop at Newell Stadium.

Boys Soccer

Last year, the boys soccer team finished their season with a record of 7-7-2, ending regular season play with just enough wins to compete in the state tournament.

This year, the team has only three returning seniors and is relying heavily on juniors and sophomores. The team is led by senior captain John Victor as well as juniors Joe Kibango and Chris MacDonald.

Senior Thiago DaSilva will be instrumental in helping score many of Gloucester’s goal this season as he assisted many plays in the 2015 season.

In the net is Bevan Worrell, who will be starting his first season in the net after taking over for his brother, Treigh.

Their first game of the season against Manchester-Essex ended in a loss for the Fisherman. The Hornets dominated play in the first half to lead to a final score of 3-0.

The team will be playing their next game tonight at Winthrop at 5:30pm

Girls Cross Country

With many strong runners returning this season, the girls cross country team is hoping to receive their sixth consecutive Division 6 Sectional Championship title.

Last year, senior runner and captain Carly Curcuru along with junior Christina Jones qualified for All States.

Curcuru was also named as a spring sport female All-Star in the Gloucester Daily Times. In the All-State Meet, she ran in the final leg of the 4x800m relay to set a new school record. She was also crowned the NEC mile champion.

Along with Curcuru is senior Sierra Rudolph who was one of the best high jumpers in the state during the spring track season. She medaled in not only the Division 1 State Meet, but also the All State Meet after completing a jump of 5 feet 4 inches.
The Fisherman competed in their first meet against Peabody last night where they lost with a score of 22-37.

Boys Cross Country

After a successful season last fall, the boys’ cross country team is looking to bring that success into this season, despite the loss of two prominent seniors.

The boys team is looking for their sixth straight Division 6 Sectional Championship win this fall.

Their first runner, captain Kyle Manley is returning for his final season as a senior. Last year, Manley qualified for the All State meet where he finished in the top 25.

Other prominent runners include Swiss exchange student, Lorenzo Furlani. Furlani is expected to be the team’s second or third runner, along with senior Eric Cillufo.

Members of the team have predicted that they will finish their season with a score of 5-1 or 6-0, depending on how their meet against Marblehead goes.

Last year, the team lost to Marblehead with a score of 40-21 and has proven to be the team’s toughest competitor.

“We should be good until Marblehead,” said Manley. “That’s when we’re going to have to battle.”

The team opened up their season last night against Peabody at Ravenswood Park. The meet ended in a win for the Tanners with a score of 18-43.

Golf

The Gloucester High School golf team is beginning the season being lead by new head coach Dave Gillis.

Last year, the team were the champions of the Northeast Conference south division, finishing their season with a record of 9-1.

While the team may have graduated some significant seniors, the team came out with a win in their first meet last Thursday.

The meet against Lynn English ended with a win in all eight matches. Wins came from sophomores Colby Mitchell (5.5-3.5), Robby Horne (6-3), Ryan Muniz (8-1), Ben Oliver (9-0), Timmy White (9-0), and Anthony Sanfilippo (9-0) as well as senior Ryan Strescino (8-1), and freshman Luke Sargent (9-0).

Gloucester finished the match with an overall score of 63.5, compared to Lynn’s score of 8.5.

“We’ll definitely do better than last year,” said senior Dylan Viau. “I think we lost some good seniors but we have a couple good sophomores.”

The golf team will be playing their next match tomorrow at 4:00 against Salem.

Football

While the Fisherman football team may have graduated most of its starting lineup last season, a couple key players are returning to the field for their final season. Senior captains Christian Sanfilippo and Jermaine Edwards help to lead the team along with Nate Young and Eric Cameron.

Last season, Sanfilippo rushed for over 1,000 yards, the first junior in Gloucester High School history to do so. Sanfilippo is expected to do just as well this season if not better.

Along with Sanfilippo is Edwards, to helped to assist in some keys plays in their tournament game against Beverly last season. He made two runs to allow for the game winning touchdown to be scored. The game ended with a final score of 19-15.

The team advanced to the Division 3 Northeast Semi-Final where they lost to Marblehead with a score of 27-0.

The team has also made new changes to their lineup, such as placing senior Kyle Aquipel at middle linebacker and senior Ryan Gabriel in the middle of the defensive line.
The Fisherman now look to their next opponent, Beverly, on Saturday at 1:00pm at Beverly High School.