Schools
Redmen Roundup: Tewksbury Edges Stoneham, 4-3 For Second Win
Petti paces hockey team with two goals; Dracut ends girls track team's long winning streak; boys track team loses in final event.
and assisted on a third as the Tewksbury High hockey Redmen built on the momentum from their successful home opener and beat Stoneham, 4-3 Monday afternoon, for their second win in the last three days.
Petti got Tewksbury on the board in the first period, then PJ Mugford, Alex Hamilton and Petti all scored in the second period to extend Tewksbury's lead to 4-1. Stoneham stormed back with two goals in the third period but freshman goaltender Kyle Paquette and the Redmen defense stood tall down the stretch and preserved the win.
"It wasn't our best game," "But it wasn't too bad, either. We let them back in it, but that's our inexperience showing."
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For Petti, who was the team's second leading scorer behind Ryan Doherty last year, it was his second straight game with two goals and an assist, giving him four goals and two assists in just three games so far.
"Obviously we're expecting a lot from him," Doherty said of Petti. "And so far he's delivered. He's just very composed when he has the puck. He's always thinking ahead. As a defenseman, you don't know what he's gonna do."
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Mugford's goal was his second of the season, once again coming on a rocket shot from the blue line on a second-period powerplay.
"He's got an absolute cannon," Doherty said. "Does he shoot the puck hard or what? It's nice to have him out there on the powerplay. He can let it rip."
Hamilton's goal, which was assisted by freshman Ryan Petti, was the first of his career. Mike Casey, Shannon Alukonis and Chris Connors also picked up assists in the game.
Tewksbury out-shot Stoneham, 30-26 in the game, as Paquette turned away 24 of the 26 Stoneham shots and came up with some big saves in the third period.
Tewksbury, now 2-1 on the season, has a week off before playing in a Christmas Tournament in Maine next week.
DRACUT HANDS GIRLS TRACK TEAM ITS FIRST DIVISION 2 LOSS IN ALMOST A DECADE
Monday was a historically disappointing day for the team, as the Redmen lost their first Merrrimack Valley Conference Division 2 dual meet in almost at least eight years. Dracut topped TMHS, 51-35 in Methuen.
Tewksbury took first place in five of the 10 events, but second and third place points went to Dracut altogether too often. Senior sprinters Jess Bridle and Sarah Hogan continued their winning ways, as did senior shot putter Lisetta Jacintho.
Bridle blazed to her second straight win and her second straight 6.3 second clocking in the 50-yard dash, while Hogan won her second straight 300-yard dash in 41.9 seconds. Jacintho won her second straight shot put competition with a winning toss of 31-feet, 8.25 inches.
Tewksbury got two surprise victories, too. Sophomore hurdler Kelly Quigley took first in the 50-yard hurdles in 8.4 seconds, while sophomore middle distance runner Rachel Eatherton came out of nowhere to win the 1000-meter race in 3:38.4.
Eatherton closed a large gap and moved up from third to first on the final lap to win the 1000, pulling Tewksbury to within striking distance with two events to go. A second place finish in the mile run and a win in the 4x400-meter relay could have won the meet for Tewksbury, but Dracut swept the mile and won the relay, sending coach Peter Molloy's girls home with a loss in an MVC Division 2 dual meet for the first time in his eight-year career as Tewksbury's girls winter track coach.
"It was a good run," Molloy said afterward. "It's disappointing, but there was a lot to be happy about today, too. If Rachel Eatherton doesn't come up big for us in 1000, we wouldn't even have been in position to have a chance at it."
Senior captain Jackie Giasullo took second in the 600 with Rebecca Davies third, and Matilda Matovu took second in the shot put. Kiley Sedgwick scored her first career varsity points with a third in the 50-yard dash, while Sam McGouldrick took third in the two mile. Sophomore Jess Amedee continued to impress with a third in the high jump.
BOYS TRACK LOSES TO DRACUT IN THE FINAL EVENT
First year caoch Bill Meuse's boys track team fought valiantly against Dracut, as Brian Amaral and Cory Thomas won the mile and two-mile respectively, to give Tewksbury a three-point lead going into the final event, the 4x400-meter relay.
But Dracut shot out to an early lead in the relay and Tewksbury couldn't recover. The Middies took the final five points and pulled out a 44-42 win, handing TMHS its second dual meet loss of the year.
Amaral raised his record to 2-0 in the 1000-meters with a clocking of 2:50.5, and freshman Anthony Barinelli took third in that event. Thomas then clocked a 4:54.5 in the mile, beating Dracut's top finisher by nearly 14 seconds. Thomas' win set up the relay showdown, but Dracut prevailed.
"It was a tough one," Meuse said. "But we'll learn, we'll rebound. We lost some points where I thought we'd get them but we had some young guys come through for us where we didn't expect them. I'm excited about building this team."
Tewksbury's other winners included sophomore Eddie Matovu, who ran the 50-yard hurdles in 6.9 seconds, and senior Kip Horahan, who won the two mile run in 10:43.7.
Sophomore Dom Rosado continued to impress in the high jump, clearing a personal-best 5-foot-6 to take first place in that event. Rosado also took second in the 50-yard dash in 6.2 seconds.
John Fiorello had another strong outing in the shot put, throwing 45-feet, 11-inches to take second place. Sophomore Steve DeFrancesco was third at 41-2.5.
Roy Felix was second in the 300 (37.80) with CJ Sutherland third. Nick Souza took third in the hurdlles and Khalil Sarraf was third in the dash. Matovu and Joe Poli tied for third in the high jump. Brendan Blair was third in the 600 and Tim Conklin was third in the two mile.
Tewksbury falls to 0-2 on the season, 0-1 in MVC Division 2 meets.
