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Girls’ soccer wins first-ever state title

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They say it’s tough to beat a team three times in a season.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ soccer team proved why.

Down 1-0 late in the Div. 2 state final to Silver Lake, a team the Panthers hadn’t scored against in their previous two meetings, they finally broke through — erupting for three goals in the final 11 minutes to capture their first-ever state title.

“I’m at a loss for words,” said 26-year W-H head coach David Floeck. “We’ve worked so hard. This is a tremendous accomplishment for them.”

Senior Olivia Borgen, who was knocked out of the Panthers’ state semifinal win Wednesday with a sprained right ankle, snuck home the equalizer in the 69th minute.

“She is gutsy,” Floeck said. “She has been in a [walking] boot all the way until we got on the bus for the game. She said, ‘Coach, I’m taping it. I’m going to give everything I got.’”

“I just needed to give it my all,” Borgen said. “It was the last game. Even if I was in a boot 30 minutes before I came here, I just needed to push through and give it my all. We’ve worked so hard to get here. I’m just so proud of this whole team.”

It remained tied until the 77th minute when Lakers goalkeeper Emma Hudson got called for a foul, taking down a W-H senior captain Nora Manning in the box. The result? A penalty kick.

Fellow senior captain Ava Melia buried it for a 2-1 lead.

“Its just the best feeling ever,” Melia said. “I could not be happier. This team deserves it.”

Manning sealed it with a goal of her own in stoppage time.

“I’m so excited,” Manning said. “It was our goal from the beginning of the season. It feels so amazing to finally achieve that.”

Volleyball sinks Hingham punching tourney ticket

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Lily Welch vs Hingham. / Photo by: Sue Moss

Last Friday was Lily Welch’s mother’s birthday. 

That wasn’t all she ended up celebrating. 

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ volleyball senior captain registered 17 kills and eight total blocks to power the Panthers to a 3-1 upset win over Hingham. 

“[She’s] unstoppable,” said W-H head coach Samantha Richner of Welch. “Her athleticism just drifts. She gets up so high, but she’s also a player that works hard. Lily wants to be the best and she does it 365 all year.” 

“I literally just cried,” Welch said. “I’m so happy. We’ve never beaten Hingham. They’re an amazing team, they’ve been an amazing team. This just shows how talented we are.” 

It sure does. 

Welch and the Panthers got the home crowd into it early, setting the tone and taking the first set, 25-14. 

However, the Harborwomen turned the tide in the second set, sinking W-H, 25-18, and opened the third set on a 7-1 run. But the Panthers battled back to take set, 25-22, and never looked back. W-H clinched the win with a 25-14 victory in the fourth set. 

“When our girls are up and they play they’re game, they’re unstoppable,” Richner said. “We know the talent we have and I think they’re sick and tired of getting beat by these teams. They know what had to do and they did it.”

Fellow senior captain Abby Martin added eight kills, while classmate Riley Scott tallied 12 digs in the win, which secured W-H a spot in the Div. 2 state tournament. 

The Panthers are back in action Friday, Oct. 22 when they host Duxbury at 5:30 p.m.

“We want to be the first team to win a state tournament game at Whitman-Hanson,” Welch said. 

Gray courting success for W-H girls’ volleyball

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Caroline Gray leads the team with 167 assists. / Photo by: Sue Moss

“She’s a freshman!”

The chant echoed from the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ volleyball team’s bench shortly into the third set of its sweep over Silver Lake last week. 

That freshman is Caroline Gray, who was doing what she’s done all season: dominating. The first-year Panther was in the midst of a 10-point serving streak to put the Lakers away. She also went on a nine-point run in the first set, to go along with 21 assists from her setter position. 

Volleyball is in Gray’s blood. Her dad, Josh, was the head coach at W-H from 2012-16. And you bet she tagged along with him. 

“I always used to go to the games and after school I’d go to the practices and help out there,” Caroline said. “It was really cool.”

Not only did she attend practice, but she took the court, too. 

“I practiced down balls from some of best hitters on the team,” she said. “It helped me a lot advance in the sport. I got to get ahead of my age.”

Her dad had a few pointers for her coming into first high school season, too. 

“He just said take control of the court,” Caroline said. “Communicate all the time and be confident in yourself because you want to be assertive on the court and know what you’re doing.” 

She sure does. Caroline has tallied a team-high 167 assists through the Panthers’ first 10 matches, in which they’re 7-3. She had 42 of them in a 3-2 win over Hanover and another 38 in a 3-1 triumph over Pembroke. 

“With Caroline, you just see endless potential,” said W-H head coach Samantha Richner. “She works hard. She always wants to improve her game. You can tell she cares a lot about it.”

Setter is a spot Caroline has grown into. She was both an outside hitter and setter in club volleyball. Then she heard the high school team was graduating both of its setters and switched exclusively to the position last winter. 

“After losing Sophia [Berardinelli] and Caileen [Hurley], who we on the team for four years, we were worried going into the season,” Richner said. “But Caroline’s filled those shoes well.”

W-H senior captain Lily Welch agrees. 

“We thought a setter was something that we would lack and struggle with this year and she stepped up huge,” Welch said. “I think her success comes from hard work.”

She’s seen Caroline’s commitment to the game up close. 

“Her dad ran clinics for us last spring and Caroline and I had a lot of late nights working together in the gym,” Welch said. “Our chemistry definitely comes from those nights and she barely missed any volleyball during the summer either.”

W-H is back in action Friday, Oct. 8 when it hosts Plymouth South at 5 p.m. 

“I just want to enjoy the season and get to know all the players even more and we really want to go to the tournament,” Caroline said.

Keeping score in Week 4

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The first month of the fall sports season is over at Whitman-Hanson Regional High. 

Here are the scores from Week 4: 

Boys’ cross country (3-1) ran past Plymouth North, 21-36, on Wednesday, Sept. 29. Senior captains Nathan Tassey (17:36) and Gordon Johnson (17:56) placed first and second, respectively, while sophomore Logan Bourgelas finished third with a time of 18:20. Also scoring for the Panthers were sophomores Alex Keheyias (seventh, 19:06) and Gavin McCarthy (eighth, 19:07).

Girls’ cross country (2-2) dropped a nail-biter to Plymouth North, 27-28, on Wednesday, Sept. 29. Senior captain Myah Kamperides led the way for W-H with a second-place finish, clocking in at 20:53. Also scoring for the Panthers were freshman McKenna McCarthy (fifth, 22:09), senior captain Sarah Boulger (sixth, 22:20), freshman Adrianna Kelly (seventh, 23:05) and sophomore Caroline Poth (eighth, 23:49.)

Football (0-4) was shut out by Hingham, 35-0, on Friday, Oct. 1. Senior Rocco Ruffini led the defense with nine tackles, including three for loss. Junior Matt Phelps had an interception, while classmate Will Frazier had a tackle for loss and fumble recovery. 

Field hockey (1-5-1) picked up its first victory of the season with a 3-0 shutout win over Duxbury on Thursday, Sept. 30. Senior Ally Ayers opened the scoring in the first half with her third goal of the season, while classmate Joli Flamos and sophomore Paige Cosgrove added some insurance. 

Boys’ golf (2-8) opened the week with a 247-267 loss to Marshfield on Monday, Sept. 27. Senior captain Pat McBroom was again the team medalist, carding a 6-over 42. … On Wednesday, W-H fell dropped a 223-248 decision to rival Duxbury. Despite the loss, McBroom was the match medalist with an 1-over par 35. … On Thursday, the Panthers were clipped by Plymouth South, 253-267. Freshman Cooper Britton led the charge on the day for the home team, shooting his best round of the year with a 6-over par 40 in the loss. 

Boys’ soccer (0-6-2) allowed two goals in the final four minutes and fell to Cohasset, 2-0, on Monday, Sept. 27. … On Thursday, Tony Reis’ club suffered a 5-2 setback against Marshfield. Freshman Jah Estrela scored his first career goal and senior captain Jayden Stafford (also an assist) added another in the loss.

Girls’ soccer (6-2-1) received a pair of goals from senior captain Nora Manning to down Scituate, 4-0, on Wednesday, Sept. 29. Fellow senior captains Olivia Borgen and Ava Melia added single tallies of their own in the win. … Then, behind two goals from junior Kayla Cassidy and another from Melia, W-H topped Marshfield, 3-2, on Friday. 

Girls’ volleyball (6-3) went three-for-three. On Monday, Sept. 27, W-H swept Silver Lake, 3-0 (25-9, 25-16 and 25-9). Freshman Caroline Gray tallied 21 assists, while senior captain Lily Welch led the Panthers with nine kills. … On Wednesday, Samantha Richner’s team swept Scituate, 3-0. The set scores were: 25-22, 25-23 and 28-26. Welch led the team with six solo blocks and 15 kills and Gray added 28 assists in the victory. Senior captain Abby Martin and classmate Riley Scott led the team in digs with 16 apiece. … On Friday, W-H best Marshfield, 3-1. The set scores were: 25-18, 25-21, 17-25 and 25-8. Welch tallied 12 kills and six total blocks and sophomore Riley Codero notched 21 assists at setter in the triumph. 

*Express weekly roundups include scores from Sunday to Sunday. 

Season Preview: Cheer team aiming high

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The cheer team. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The cheer team is aiming for another state title.

For the Whitman-Hanson Regional High cheerleading team, this fall has been a long time coming.

“We’ve been waiting for this season for what seems like forever,” said fourth-year head coach Alyssa Pietrasik. “I am so ecstatic to be back with the team, but more importantly I’m ready to work.”

As, too, are the cheerleaders — led by senior captains Jazzy Gomes, Tiffany Joyce and Samantha Sicuranza.

“They each bring unique and different leadership to the team and truly want what is best for the program,” Pietrasik said. “They lead by example and are the first three to put in the extra time and effort to make the team successful.”

To prepare for this autumn, the team spent the the summer reading the book “Wolfpack” by Abby Wambach, which details new rules for athletes to follow in sports.

“In essence, its the idea of crashing through the glass ceiling of old rules and coming forward as your most authentic and true self to better your team,” Pietrasik said. “This season the message is just that. This is a new team and the possibilities are endless. They can achieve any single thing they set their mind to. In a way, our focus is that mindset, the rules and possibilities you create for yourself are more important than anything else.”

On the mat, Pietrasik said her team’s strength is its stunting.

“It is something I’ve been working on with them since for the last few years and this year we really seem to have a well-balanced team for it,” she said. “Mentally, their strength is in their mindset, they are workers, they want to win, and they want to bring back the legacy that is W-H cheerleading. I’m so excited to see where that drive takes them.”

The cheerleaders, who can be spotted cheering on the football team at games, opens their competition season on Saturday, Oct. 23 with the Duxbury Invitational.

“The goal, as always, is to build a team that becomes a family and make lifelong memories as we do it, but this season we also are really gunning for another league and state title,” Pietrasik said. “This team has a hunger for it. They are ready to put in the work.”

Season Preview: Girls’ volleyball on a mission

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The Panthers. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The girls’ volleyball team is aiming to make the tournament.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ volleyball team’s mission is simple this season.

“Our goal this season is to be successful and have a winning season,” said third-year head coach Samantha Richner, whose club finished 3-10 last fall. “We will achieve that by working hard, day in and day out. We have a dedicated group this season and I am confident they will be successful.”

Senior captain Lily Welch is the engine that powers the Panthers. She led the team with 73 kills and 29 blocks last season.

“Lily has always been an impressive player” Richner said. “She is extremely dedicated to the sport and is constantly improving her game. Lily is strongest in the front row, but is a well-rounded player who plays all the way around the court.”

Middle hitter Abby Martin and right-side hitter Meg Stone, both of whom are seniors, also captain the Panthers.

“When Abby gets a kill, she gets a kill,” Richner said. “Abby’s hits are a line drive, making them very difficult for our opponents to receive. Abby is a beast at the net with not only her strong hits, but her ability to block our opponents.

“This is Meg’s first season back since her injury, but you wouldn’t know it. Meg is a lefty right side, making her a difficult player for our opponents to read.”

So, as you might expect Richner said her team’s strength is its front row.

“We have multiple power house hitters that we can and will be using to our advantage,” she said.

Junior outside hitter Caitlin Leahy and senior libero Izzy Baker are also key returnees.

As for departures, reigning league all-star Sophia Berardinelli, who paced the team with 162 assists, 142 digs and 30 aces, leaves the biggest void. But freshman setter Caroline Gray has made it a seamless transition, according to Richner.

“She has made a seamless transition to our team and we are lucky to have her,” Richner said.

W-H is back in action Friday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. on the road at Marshfield.

“I am just looking forward to watching the girls play this year,” Richner said. “We have a tight-knit group and it is fun to watch them play and interact on the court. They have great potential this season and we are excited to see how far these players can take their talents.”

Bright spots in rough Week 2

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The second week of the fall sports season is in the books at Whitman-Hanson Regional High.

Here are how the teams fared:

Boys’ cross country (1-1) fell to Marshfield, 21-39, Tuesday, Sept. 14. Senior captains Nathan Tassey (16:53) and Gordon Johnson (17:10) paced the Panthers finishing third and fourth, respectively.

Girls’ cross country (1-1) also fell to Marshfield on Tuesday, Sept. 14 by the final score of 15-50. Senior captain Myah Kamperides (20:14) and freshman McKenna McCarthy (20:24) placed eight and ninth, respectively, to lead W-H.

Field hockey (0-3-1) opened the week with a 2-1 loss to Plymouth North on Monday, Sept. 13. Senior Lauren Dunn knotted the score at 1-1 for W-H, before the Blue Eagles pulled ahead for good. … On Wednesday, the Panthers dropped a 5-1 decision to Hingham. Senior Madelyne Guidaboni had the their lone goal. … On Friday, senior Ally Ayers stuck for a pair and senior captain Olivia Phelps added a single tally as W-H earned a 3-3 tie against West Bridgewater.

Football (0-2) was shut out by Foxboro, 38-0, on Friday, Sept. 17. Junior Will Frazier carried the ball 11 times for 53 yards. On defense, the linebacker duo of junior Evan Casey and senior Jake Guiliani combined for 13 tackles, including three tackles for loss.

Boys’ golf (0-4) suffered a 274-304 setback against Plymouth North on Monday, Sept. 13. W-H senior captain Pat McBroom was the match medalist with a 3-over par 39. … The following day, Brian Dempsey’s club was clipper by Hanover, 248-258. McBroom led all scorers once again, carding a 2-over par 36. Fellow senior captain Matt Casarano turned in a 5-over par 41. … The Panthers closed the week with a 236-306 loss to Hingham on Wednesday. McBroom led the way for W-H with a 4-over par 40.

Boys’ soccer (0-1-2) fell to Plymouth North, 3-0, on Tuesday, Sept. 14. … On Thursday, W-H played to a 2-2 draw against Hanover. Senior Adam Sousa scored both Panthers goals, the first assisted by sophomore Ethan Fostello and the second, unassisted, a strike from 35 yards out.

Girls’ soccer (2-1) dropped its first match of the season, 3-1, to Plymouth North on Tuesday, Sept. 14. Senior captain Nora Manning scored for W-H. … The Panthers rebounded on Friday for a 1-0 win over Hanover. Junior Kayla Cassidy scored the winner two minutes into the second half off a feed from senior captain Olivia Borgen. Freshman Ava Patete stopped seven shots for the shutout.

Girls’ volleyball (2-1) fell to league power Quincy, 3-1, on Wednesday, Sept. 15. The set scores were: 25-23, 8-25, 21-25 and 11-25. Senior captain Lily Welch racked up 19 kills and three solo blocks for W-H, while freshman Caroline Gray tallied a season-high 30 assists. … The Panthers rebounded on Friday for a 3-1 victory over Plymouth North. The set scores were: 25-21, 25-9, 11-25 and 25-20 in their league match. Gray had 23 serves, two of which were aces, to go along with 18 assists, seven assisted blocks and two solo blocks. Senior captain Abby Martin also tallied seven assisted blocks and seven kills, while Welch added seven kills of her own.

*Express weekly roundups include scores from Sunday to Sunday. 

Season Preview: At Whitman-Hanson, football is all about family

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First-year head coach Zack Botelho is building a family atmosphere. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The football team is looking to use its family atmosphere to its advantage amid a tough stretch of games.

Hanover, Foxboro, Rockland, Hingham, Silver Lake, Marshfield, Plymouth North, Duxbury and Abington.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High football team’s schedule is tough.
But at the end of the day, it’s all about what you make of it — and football is the ultimate team sport.

“They like playing the underdog role a little bit,” said first-year head coach Zack Botelho, who takes over for Mike Driscoll. “They’re like, ‘We’re in this together, we believe in us more than anyone else does.’ They’ve developed our little saying this year: only the family.”

Senior captain Will Stafford is no doubt the vocal leader of the Panthers.

“He doesn’t miss the weight room, he’s at everything — he’s the perfect kind of energy guy that we need,” Botelho said of his running back. “I had an opposing coach say during our passing league that he was the best leader of all the teams there because kids actually follow him.”

And with a new coach, comes a new playbook, but the Panthers still plan to be a run-first team. And why not when you have backs like Stafford, junior Will Frazier and senior Andrew Cloutman?

“We’re going to sprinkle in the passing game when we can,” Botelho said. “Spread it out when we can, take what the defense gives us in the passing game and we’ll dial up a few shots.”

Junior Cam Burrows is back under center and has plenty of additional targets at his disposal, including seniors Collin Briggs, Jake Guiliani and Bobby Hunter and juniors Evan Casey and Braden Kain.

Seniors Malcom Alcorn-Crowder, Rocco Ruffini and junior Maddox Colclough anchor the offensive line.

And while Botelho comes to W-H after a stop as Old Colony’s offensive coordinator, he believes the defense will be his new team’s calling card — at least for now.

“We’re playing a simple, not a lot of thinking, a whole lot of playing sort of defense,” Botelho said. “We’re going to attack and make big plays.”

Alcorn-Crowder (34 tackles, 11 for loss and four sacks last season), a lineman, and linebackers Casey and Guiliani and Cloutman, a safety, key the defense.

Despite the daunting schedule, W-H plans to hang tough this season.

“I want them to know that, when the going gets tough, they can lean on each other and if they compete, good things are going to happen so really just nonstop competing ness from kickoff to final whistle,” Botelho said.

W-H returns to the field Friday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. when it hosts Rockland.

“We’re going to play with outstanding effort, excellent attitudes,” Botelho said. “It’s one of our goals to be playing our best football at the end of the seasons. We’re building for something, we’re going to get better every single time.”

Season Preview: Girls’ soccer taking things a day at a time

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Senior captain Nora Manning fights for the ball against Hingham. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The girls’ soccer team is focused on improving daily.

For a program that has qualified for 21 straight state tournaments, you would likely assume the Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ soccer team sets the bar high.

Or maybe not?

“Honesty, we haven’t talked about any of it,” said 26-year head David Floeck when asked about his club’s goals. “Not to sound cliché, but we’re just trying to get better every day.”

So far that’s what they’ve done. Following a 3-1 start to the season — with their only loss coming against Plymouth North — W-H played to a 2-2 draw against unbeaten Hingham on Monday, Sept. 20 at Dennis M. O’Brien Field.

“I don’t think we’ve been playing as well as we’re capable of playing,” said Floeck, whose Panthers finished 9-2-2 last season. “I thought tonight our intensity was on a different level than it had been all season and that’s what we need to compete. We can’t play the Hinghams or Plymouths without this type of intensity level.”

Senior captain Olivia Borgen put the Panthers in front 2-1 early in the second half with her second goal of the night — this one on a penalty kick.

“We need her,” Floeck said of Borgen, who is committed to play at Penn State. “She is the engine that makes us go.”

That’s where it stood until four minutes remaining when the Harborwomen, who ended the Panthers’ season last year in the Patriot Cup semifinals, knotted it up at two apiece.

“When you get that close you’re definitely hoping to squeak one out,” Floeck said. “But it was another Whitman-Hanson Hingham battle.”

It was the first one for W-H freshmen goalkeeper Ava Patete, who made 13 saves to keep the Harborwomen at bay.

“This was a huge night for her,” Floeck said. “Neither goal was anything she could have done [to prevent]. She made a ton of saves tonight and more importantly in an atmosphere with two great teams going at it, big crowd cheering, the pressure of the game and she really did a phenomenal job.”

Senior backs Megan Bizier and Skylar Jordan and classmate Ava Melia, who is headed to play at Bryant University, locked down the backend.

As for the offense, junior Kayla Cassidy, Stonehill-bound senior captain Nora Manning and classmate Jenna Lindstrom will chip in plenty this season.

The Panthers are back in action Friday, Sept. 24 at 3:30 p.m. on the road against Silver Lake.

“We have to keep it going,” Floeck said. “And if we do, we think we can get on to something special and in those (league title and state title) conversations.”

Season Preview: Tournament is field hockey’s goal

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The Panthers. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The field hockey team is shooting to make the tournament.

Olivia Phelps, Lauren Dunn, Joli Flamos, Mary Kate Ryan, Rosie MacKinnon and Paige Cosgrove are all back for the Whitman-Hanson Regional High field hockey team

So why not set the bar high this fall?

Phelps and Ryan, are two former Patriot League All-Stars and team MVPs, Dunn has established a knack for finding the back of the net, MacKinnon is a force on defense and Cosgrove, a sophomore, is already a first-liner.

“We would like to make the tournament,” said Todd Humphrey, who is in his ninth year coaching the Panthers.

Phelps, a senior captain, scored a team-high six goals and was named the Panthers’ MVP last season. Dunn, also a senior, added four goals and two assists.

“[They] are quite the tandem,” Humphrey said of his forwards. “[They’re] super fast and always looking for each other on the field.”

The sophomore Cosgrove joins them on the top line at forward this season.

“She has great skills for her age,” Humphrey said. “A true playmaker. A good passer and shooter.”

Ryan, a senior captain, and Flamos, also a senior, are back at midfield. They’re two of 17 seniors on the roster.

“[Ryan] has always been excellent at reading offenses and creating turnovers,” Humphrey said. “Joli has always been a great two-way player and we expect to see that again this season from her.”

Seniors Ashley Sawtelle and MacKinnon, a captain, will anchor the defense in front of first-year goalie, junior Reagan Heath.

“Ashley was voted by her teammates as the most improved player last season,” Humphrey said. “Rosie is strong, fast, agile and mentally tough.”

This is Heath’s first year on varsity.

“She is quick, has good lateral movement and she has a good directional kick,” Humphrey said.

The head coach added he’d like to see his team, which finished 2-9-1 last season, turn the ball over less this autumn.

“We have the talent to move the ball up the field and create offensive opportunities.,” Humphrey said. “We need to be mindful of maintaining ball possession.”

 The Panthers, who are hoping to build off last season’s 1–0 Patriot Cup win over Marshfield, are back in action Friday, Sept. 17 at 3:30 p.m. on the road at West Bridgewater.

 “We had our first playoff win last year,” Humphrey said. “We would like to make the tournament and see where that takes us.”