Boys Soccer: 2016 Davenport Division Preview

2016 Davenport Boys Soccer Preview

By HockomockSports.com Staff

2016 Davenport Boys Soccer Preview

Canton

2015 Record: 3-10-4
2015 Finish: Missed playoffs
Coach: Danny Erickson

For the first time in a decade, the Bulldogs missed out on the postseason last year but with a large group of experienced players returning, the 2016 team is looking to start a new playoff streak. Canton graduated just two starters from last year’s team and looks to be in the mix for the Davenport division title this season.

Canton will look to its four captains for guidance with the quartet spread out nicely on the field. Junior Jake Verille and senior Ben Waterhouse will bring skills and versatility to the midfield. Senior Danny Hartnett is experienced and will anchor the back line while classmate Sammy Papakonstantino will be relied upon to be a catalyst up top for the Bulldogs.

“We think we have the technical ability this fall to play some good soccer,” head coach Danny Erickson said. “We were competitive last Fall but couldn’t figure out how to get the ball in the back of the net and get a result. I’m confident that we are ready to take the next step and see the positive results come this Fall.”

Erickson added there is a battle for the starting goalie spot right now between senior Sean Mitchell and junior Abe Garber.

Foxboro

2015 Record: 15-2-3
2015 Finish: Reached D3 South Semifinal
Coach: Joe Franchino

It will be far from easy for Foxboro to replace the 2015 HockomockSports.com Player of the Year Devante Teixeira (20 goals, 16 assists), who graduated, and two-time league all star Joe Morrison (eight goals, 15 assists), now playing full-time with his academy team. But senior Anthony Barreira (18 goals, 12 assists) is back for his fourth year on varsity and the Warriors get former league all star Jeff Melo back to bolster the back line, which will make the transition easier.

Barreira is set to be a top striker in the league and Melo showed during his sophomore year that he can be one of the best defenders in the area. AJ Bubencik’s conversion from a defender to a midfielder will be key for the Warriors this season as well. Sophomore Nic Beigel had a great rookie campaign and will be a key piece for Foxboro this season along with juniors Shawn McNamara and Ryan Kelley. Aaron Wentling and Bobby Harrison will fight for the starting spot in net this season.

“We are not the same team as last year but the quality is still here and my expectations are to win games,” head coach Joe Franchino said.

Milford

2015 Record: 4-13-1
2015 Finish: Missed playoffs
Coach: Brian Edwards

Milford had a strong debut when it joined the Hockomock League in 2013 but were able to capture just seven league wins over the past two years. Brian Edwards has taken over at the helm of the Scarlet Hawks and is looking for a bounce back season in his first year.

The Scarlet Hawks will be relying upon its three captains to make the turnaround. Senior Marcello Panno is one of the most versatile players in the league with Edwards referring to him as a ‘swiss army knife.’ Edwards expects Panno to play roles both offensively and defensively. Defensively, senior Danny Mendoza is going to be tasked with handling top strikers from around the league. Edwards credited Mendoza’s work rate and his ability to make those around him better. Junior Andre Oliveira will be a major part of Milford’s attack this season. Oliveira will be one to watch, especially on the counter attack.

“We expect to see a focus on technical skill and ball movement as opposed to direct play,” Edwards said. “This is an attack which will be geared towards moving the ball in tight spaces against high pressure.”

Edwards also noted the team will focus on a team defensive effort, with an effort to deny opponents space in the final third.

North Attleboro

2015 Record: 1-14-3
2015 Finish: Missed playoffs
Coach: Geoff Burgess

After a rough couple of years, the North Attleboro Rocketeers are hoping a switch to the Davenport Division could be the perfect platform to launch a turnaround. With a good amount of players that saw either starting minutes or valuable time off of the bench back, the Rocketeers will look to ramp up their play, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Juniors Noah Barney and Zach Matracia saw a lot of minutes as outside backs last year and will look to bring that experience back this year. Senior John Brennan will try to anchor the back line from the center of the pitch while the Rocketeers look to find the right fit in the middle to complete the defense. Junior Brendan Matracia will occupy the goalkeeper spot with a good amount of minutes played from his sophomore year under his belt.

“We have gone from being young and green to being a group of seasoned varsity players,” head coach Geoff Burgess said. “It should be a resurgence for the program.”

Offensively, senior captains Leo Charlebois and Conor Danahey will be two of the main options up top. Burgess noted that junior Josh Rodriguez had a strong summer and will be a playmaker this year. In the middle of the pitch, junior Gabe Pinhancos will be complemented by classmate Ryan Pasquel and sophomore Marcus Costa.

Sharon

2015 Record: 10-7-1
2015 Finish: Reached D2 South Second Round
Coach: Bryan Kelly

Even though Sharon lost a strong group to graduation, the Eagles are relying on a new crop of seniors to lead them in 2016. The Eagles also expect to get contributions from juniors, sophomores and freshmen in different areas of the field.

Senior captains Ian Camilli and Shali Patel will lead from the heart of the field at center midfield while fellow captain Benjamin Stamm will be a viable attacking option. Sophomore Ethan Kantor will take over the starting job for Andrew Filipkowski, a 2015 HockomockSports.com Best XI selection that graduated. Shubojit Roy-Chowdhury will be the anchor of the back line as a center defender. Head coach Bryan Kelly is looking for breakout seasons from Oliver Hu, Jacob Tevin, Jeremy Cabral, Marques Benton Jr., Spencer Hall, Andrew Reyes-Jones and Michael Baur.

“[On top of our seniors and juniors] there will be several sophomores and freshman called up throughout the season who will only add to the strength of the team,” Kelly said.

Stoughton

2015 Record: 9-8-3
2015 Finish: Reached D2 South Second Round
Coach: Aaron Salter

After another successful campaign, the Black Knights are hoping to push their postseason streak to three straight years. Stoughton will face the challenge of graduating seven seniors, including some key pieces from each part of the field, but there the group of returning players should give the Black Knights plenty of optimism.

Stoughton has scored over 30 goals in back to back seasons (38 in 2014, 31 in 2015) and will look to make their offense a strong suit again this year. The Black Knights are returning three of their top four scorers, including sophomore Fabio Ponce De Leon (eight goals, two assists), Jordan Asnes (five goals, five assists) and Loubensky Lucas (five goals, one assist). Lucas has been finding the back of the net for three years and head coach Aaron Salter notes he’s had a strong preseason thus far.

“I felt last year we didn’t kill off enough games and left teams with life still in them,” Salter said. “This year we will be hoping to close out games much easier.”

Defensively, the Black Knights are hoping experience will help anchor the back line. Tyler Melo will be a factor in the midfield while Goddy Fombe and Noah Schulze both emerged as strong options on defense last season. Salter admitted there were players in new spots last year but now with a year under their belts, they have developed the awareness and look strong in the preseason.

Monday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 05/09/16

Today’s games are listed below.

Baseball
Attleboro, 3 @ Franklin, 4 – Final – Franklin rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh, the second scored by Jake Lyons (1-3, BB) on a wild pitch as the Panthers walked off with the win. Junior Tyler Gomes went 2-3 with a pair of RBI and Mike Skaza also added two hits for Franklin. Nick Santucci added a double, a walk and two runs scored. Ryan Morse earned the win after pitching a scoreless top half of the seventh. Bryan Woelful pitched a scoreless sixth in relief while sophomore Jake Noviello got a no decision after five innings of work, striking out seven with four walks. Attleboro’s Nate Tellier pitched six innings, striking out eight and scattering six hits. Jon Dunn went 3-3 with a walk for the Bombardiers, James Weir went 2-4 with two RBI and Patrick Collins had two hits, including a double.

Canton, 12 @ Foxboro, 5 – Final – Kevin Powers knocked in four runs and Mike McMahon had four hits as Canton’s offense tied its highest output of the season. McMahon was 4-5 with three runs scored and a stolen base while Powers had two hits, including a triple and a run scored. Joe Peccia added three RBI, connecting for a home run and three runs scored, Joe Bires knocked in a pair of runs and Jim Jenkins also had an RBI. Daniel Harnett went 1-2 with an RBI sacrifice fly and sophomore Matthew Casamento was 3-4 with two runs scored. Powers got the win on the mound, throwing four innings with seven strikeouts and two earned runs allowed. Steve Gorham pitched the final three innings with four strikeouts.

Mansfield, 6 @ King Philip, 7 – Final – Senior Jake Cavanagh took the mound in the seventh inning with the Warriors clinging to a one run lead, inheriting runners at second and third with just one out. But Cavanagh got out the jam, inducing a grounder to short and a fly ball to center to notch his first save of the year. Will Weir, Kyle Guenthner, Jake Lannigan and Jon Rolfe each had two hits for the Warriors. Rolfe got the win on the mound for KP, going 5.2 innings.

Sharon, 0 @ Milford, 8 – Final – Milford junior Blake Hill needed just 81 pitches in a three-hit complete game effort, striking out eight on the mound to earn the shutout win. Hill helped his cause at the plate, going 2-4 with two RBI and a triple. Sophomore Aidan Wilde also had two hits for the Scarlet Hawks, going 2-3 with a double and three RBI.

Taunton, 5 @ North Attleboro, 0 – Final

Oliver Ames, 12 @ Stoughton, 2 – Final – Oliver Ames’ Josh Minuskin led the way with four hits for the Tigers while Chris Romero recorded three hits in the game.

Softball
Attleboro, 0 @ Franklin, 12 – Final (5 inn.) – Clara DeCarvalho belted a three run home run and Julia Arms, Olivia DiGiacomo and Maddie Connelly all knocked in a pair of runs in Franklin’s big win. DeCarvalho went 2-4 with four RBI on the day while Connelly was 2-4, Arms went 2-2 with a walk and DiGiacomo was 1-3. Alex Niss added two hits at the plate for the Panthers. Kim Moulton and Amanda Mandall connected for a 6-3-2 double play, halting a threat from the Bombardiers. Caroline D’Aprile tossed three shutout innings with four strikeouts while Emily Sawyer pitched a scoreless final two innings.

Foxboro @ Canton, 3:45

King Philip, 6 @ Mansfield, 1 – Final – King Philip scored a pair of runs in each the fourth and fifth innings and capped it with another run in the seventh inning. Kali Magane pitched five innings, allowing just two hits and one unearned run while Jenn Hutynan pitched the final two innings, allowing just one hit. Magane helped her cause by knocking in a pair of runs in the top of the fourth and then Hailey McCasland knocked in Christa Wagner and Elise Pereira knocked in McCasland. Sydney Phillips knocked in a run with a triple in the seventh. Liz Mackin, Rachel Carafa and Megan Letendre each had a hit for the Hornets, who received a strong pitching performance from Maddie Letendre. Letendre struck out seven while scattering six hits.

Milford, 12 @ Sharon, 0 – Final (6 inn.) – Milford’s Kelley Reichert took a no hitter into the sixth inning, eventually finishing with a one-hit complete game shutout effort, striking out six for the Scarlet Hawks. Megan Jacques went 2-3 with a double and two RBI, Emily Hartman had a triple and an RBI, Jess Tomaso had a triple and two RBI and Kate Irwin was 2-3 with two stolen bases for Milford.

North Attleboro, 2 @ Taunton, 7 – Final – North Attleboro became the first team to score an earned run on the Tigers, plating a pair in the fourth inning. But Taunton pitcher Aimee Kistner only allowed five hits in the game with five strikeouts and the Tigers played “outstanding team defense” according to head coach Dave Lewry. Meghan Navarro was a perfect 4-4 at the plate with an RBI and Jaime Brown went 3-3 with three RBI. Katie Van Zandt was 2-3 with an RBI and Becka Lajoie added a base hit RBI for Taunton. North Attleboro’s Jordan Sharpe (single) and Liz Morehouse (double) were both knocked in by a Kaylea Sherman double for North Attleboro’s runs.

Oliver Ames, 10 @ Stoughton, 4 – Final – Victoria Ziner and Jamie Gottwald combined for 12 put outs in the field, backing up a complete game effort from pitcher Kayla Georgeu. The Tigers had 11 hits spread out through the lineup. Ziner was 2-3 with three runs scored, a stolen base and an RBI, Gottwald was 2-2 with two walks, a triple, an RBI and three runs scored, Missy Krim went 2-4 with a double and a run scored, Katie Pursley had two hits, two RBI and two runs scored for OA. Emma Papargiris and Jordyn Leite each knocked in two runs for the OA, Caroline Mahoney had an RBI and Rachel Han scored a run.

Boys Lacrosse
Canton, 5 @ Norwell, 15 – Final

Foxboro, 6 @ Cohasset, 13 – Final

Franklin, 7 @ Grafton, 10 – Final

Taunton, 7 @ Milford, 5 – Final – Taunton rallied three times from deficits (2-0, 4-2, 5-4) to earn the program’s first varsity win and it’s first Hockomock League win. Freshman Ryan Williams played his best game according to head coach Kris Metea, limiting the Scarlet Hawks to just one early goal in the second half. Williams made 14 saves, with six of his nine second half saves coming in the final quarter. Senior Jason Stern recorded a hat trick to pace Taunton’s offense while sophomore Cam Welby scored twice and had one assist. Eighth grader Tommy Joyce recorded two points with a goal and an assist, junior Lee Gobin scored once and senior Kyle Hebert had an assist.

Girls Lacrosse
Franklin, 4 vs. Notre Dame Academy, 15 – Final

King Philip, 14 @ Holliston, 8 – Final

Mansfield vs. Hingham, 4:00

Milford, 21 @ Taunton, 13 – Final – Abbey Kingman led Taunton’s offense with four goals while Lindsay Sneyd scored a hat trick, Kayla Philips and Bre Conlon each found the back of the net twice and Layne Kingman and Tatum Speicher each scored once.

Sharon, 20 vs. Norton, 3 – Final

Boys Tennis
Attleboro, 0 @ Franklin, 5 – Final – Franklin freshman Dan Barrow didn’t drop a single game at third singles, winning 6-0, 6-0 to spark the Panthers. Junior Rahul Herur won 6-1, 6-0 at first singles and classmate Eli Brooks battled back for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win at second singles. James Johnston and Tom Mancini won 6-1, 6-0 at first doubles and Tyler DiPalma and Derek Wu won 6-1, 6-2 at second doubles for Franklin.

Canton, 1 @ Foxboro, 4 – Final

Mansfield, 2 @ King Philip, 3 – Final – King Philip took care of business in doubles play and secured the victory with one win at singles to beat Mansfield. Sam Colella and Ryan Gemelli continued their strong season with a 6-2, 6-2 win at first doubles and Justin Rohan and Marco DiStefano won 6-1, 6-0 at second doubles. Garrett Schneider clinched the win with a convincing 6-0, 6-2 win at second singles. Mansfield’s Benny Lin notched a 6-4, 6-4 win at first singles and Gus Daganhardt picked up a 7-5, 6-2 win at third singles.

Sharon, 5 @ Milford, 0 – Final

Taunton, 0 @ North Attleboro, 5 – Final – North Attleboro won all five matches in straight sets to beat Taunton. Senior Mitchell Dyer won 6-0, 6-1 at first singles, junior Zack Pfeffer won 6-0, 6-3 at second singles and junior Barsomo Nuay won 6-0, 6-1 at third singles. The team of seniors Jeff Yao and Nick Lockavitch won 6-0, 6-3 at first doubles and senior Jake Fontes and junior Daniel Zhang won 6-3, 6-1 at second doubles for Big Red.

Stoughton, 1 @ Oliver Ames, 4 – Final – Oliver Ames was paced by three seniors in singles play to pick up the win. Thomas O’Leary won 6-1, 6-2 at first singles, Greg Weinstein won 6-1, 6-1 at second singles and Jared Hedlund won 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 at third singles.

Girls Tennis
Franklin, 5 @ Attleboro, 0 – Final – The Panthers didn’t drop a game at first singles or doubles on their way to the sweep. Hannah Sweeney won 6-0, 6-0 at first singles and the team of Anja Deric and Katelyn Davenport won 6-0, 6-0 at first doubles. Steph Schiavo won 6-4, 6-1 at second singles and Madison Derby won 6-4, 6-4 at third singles. Franklin’s Hailey Strier and Kristina Stoyanova won 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 at second doubles.

Foxboro, 4 @ Canton, 1 – Final – Foxboro only dropped one game in all three singles matches combined to get the win. Diana Prinos and Lexi Nelson both won 6-0, 6-0 at first and third singles respectively while Sophia Prinos won 6-0, 6-1 at second singles. Diana Hickox and Michaela McCarthy added another win for the Warriors, winning 6-3, 6-4 at second doubles. Canton’s Tiffany Ha and Sarah MacQuarrie rallied for a 2-7, 7-6, 6-1 win at first doubles for the Bulldogs.

King Philip, 3 @ Mansfield, 2 – Final – King Philip took a pair of wins from doubles and won at third singles to edge out the Hornets. Juniors Corinne Palumbo and Megan Davenport won 7-5, 6-4 at first doubles and junior Carly Adams and senior Kelly Masse won 6-2, 6-0 at second doubles. Sophomore Meghan Sepich helped clinch the win with a 6-3, 6-2 win at third singles. Mansfield junior Paulina Martin won 6-0, 6-0 at first singles and senior Kathleen Giffels won 6-3, 7-5 at second singles for the Hornets.

Milford, 1 @ Sharon, 4 – Final

North Attleboro, 5 @ Taunton, 0 – Final

Oliver Ames, 5 @ Stoughton, 0 – Final – Oliver Ames senior captain Jackie Sulkala earned the Tigers first win, winning 6-0, 6-2 at second singles and OA rolled. Riley Spillane won 6-3, 6-0 at first singles and Olivia Groebe won 6-4, 6-4 at third singles. The team of Lark Warner and Valeria Tueme won 6-2, 6-3 at first doubles and Rachel Stryke and Claudia Ferrara teamed up for a 6-3, 6-3 win at second doubles for OA.

Boys Volleyball
Milford, 3 vs. Taunton, 1 – Final – After losing a close first game, Milford responded with a dominant second game scored a 23-25, 25-9, 25-22, 25-20 win over the Tigers. Senior Ryan White had 11 aces for the Scarlet Hawks along with 19 assists, six digs, six kills and six service receptions while senior Mike Haver had eight kills, four service receptions, a pair of digs and a block. Senior Juan Ruelas added six kills, five assists, a pair of digs and service receptions and a block for Milford and classmate Nick Roy had six kills, three digs and two aces. Junior Danny Zwonik also had two kills and two aces, along with a block, a dig and a service reception for Milford.