WALTHAM HIGH: Hawks close in on tourney berth

Waltham High field hockey coach Denise Nugent said she entered the week looking for at least one victory to help bolster the team's state tournament cause.

Her squad wound up emerging from the three-match gauntlet undefeated at 1-0-2 after a 2-1 victory over Chelmsford Friday afternoon at Harding Field.

The week started with a pair of comebacks as Waltham rallied from a 4-1 deficit against Concord-Carlisle for a tie on Monday and from a 2-1 deficit against Arlington for a tie on Wednesday. That put the Hawks in position to take a huge step toward the tourney with a victory Friday and they did so with their biggest triumph of the season.

``It ended up being a very good week for us,'' said Nugent, whose squad (6-4-3) can clinch a playoff berth with a victory against Newton South at Harding Field tomorrow. ``We wanted to win one of the first two games, but if we had to take the two ties we could have. I thought they really came through and learned something with the comeback (against C-C) and they showed that on Friday.''

After a scoreless first half, sophomore Erika Shay scored an unassisted goal off a rebound with 21 minutes left in the game. The Hawks took a 2-0 lead with about nine minutes left when junior Stacy Burns picked off a pass 35 yards out and raced in for the breakaway goal.

``She accelerated right to the circle and put it in from the right side on a hard shot,'' said Nugent. ``It was an absolutely fantastic goal.''

Chelmsford halved the deficit with six minutes to go, but the Waltham defense held strong from there behind good efforts from seniors Jenni Pescatore, Laura Marmion and junior Colleen Monaghan. Nugent also praised the play in the midfield and offensive end from seniors Dana Centofanti, Brianna Sorrentino, junior Allie Hickey and Shay.

Junior Natalie Viyaran faced 12 shots in the victory.

Boys Soccer
Waltham 3, Newton South 1
The Waltham boys soccer team completed the long road back to state tourney pace as it rallied from an early deficit for a season sweep of South at Weeks Playground on Friday.

Senior Johnny Asturias had the game-winning goal in the second half and played a very strong game to spark the Hawks (5-5). Waltham also got tallies from junior Kleymar Garcia and junior Dennis Ntaguzena.

``We were down early and we kept our composure,'' said Waltham coach Kelvin Bernard. ``They came back and played marvelously after that.''

Bernard also praised the play of senior goalie Scott Hall.

Waltham next travels to Boston Latin this morning.

Girls Soccer
Newton South 3, Waltham 0
A hand ball in the box in the second half and big effort from Newton South goaltender Samantha Tye was too much for the Waltham girls soccer team to overcome at Veterans Field on Friday.

``We had a lot of opportunities to score early,'' said Waltham coach James Martinez. ``But we hit the post, and Newton South has a great, great goalie. She made incredible saves. Newton South is a tough team.''

Martinez credited juniors Alina Bahlavorni and Shayla Martin with holding down the fort in the midfield, senior Casey MacNeil and junior Meghan Millian with playing solid defense and sophomore Kara Walsh for pressing the offense.

Waltham (1-8-2) looks to bounce back this morning against Boston Latin at Veterans Field.

Girls Volleyball
Newton South 3, Waltham 0
Although the Waltham girls volleyball team had leads in all three games, it couldn't avoid a sweep against South at Connors Gym in a 25-22, 25-16, 25-14 loss on Friday.

Senior Kate Logan had seven digs and four kills, senior Natasha Aviles had five digs and four kills and senior Melanie McCluskey had five digs for the Hawks (2-10).

``Defense was definitely our strong point in the match,'' said Waltham coach Lauren Lewicki. ``That was what kept us in it.''

Waltham hosts Acton-Boxboro on Wednesday.