Beat Austin Prep 5-1 on Senior Night

Published October 31, 2019

By DAN NUNN

NORTH READING — In their last CAL game of the season, the NRHS boys’ soccer team took on visiting Pentucket on Friday.

There was plenty on the line for both teams. The Hornets needed two points in their last three games to get into the tournament. Pentucket came into the game with 22 points trailing Masco by three points. Masco had concluded its CAL schedule and Pentucket had one other game remaining, so with two more wins, the Sachems could secure the CAL Kinney Division outright or tie and win a share of the title with Masco.

“Masco has won the title outright every year since 2011 and because they are leaving the CAL for the Northeast Conference next year this would be the last chance to break that streak,” said North Reading head coach Mark Bisognano.

SAM McGEACHIE scored the Hornets’ first goal during their clutch 2-1 victory over Pentucket on Friday. (Nancy Carpenter Photo)

So, with both teams giving it everything they had, the first half was fast and physical, but clean soccer with each side getting some good chances to score.

The Hornets had the first chance in the 12th minute when Cam Chinchillo cut inside from the left wing and took a shot that grazed the top of the crossbar and went harmlessly out of play. North Reading also had two great chances from their freshman forward Josh Stanieich as he had two tremendous shots in the first half. Both were labeled just inside the left post but both were kept out by fantastic diving saves by the Pentucket keeper.

Will Carpenter made a fantastic save of his own in the 27th minute when he elevated to protect the top part of his goal and keep the game scoreless.

In the 33rd minute, the Hornets earned a corner kick. Ryan McKinney took the corner and found Aidan Nadeau’s head. The Nadeau header was deflected and Sam McGeachie beat the keeper to the loose ball and broke the scoreless tie.

Unfortunately, the lead didn’t last very long.

RYAN McKINNEY fends off a Pentucket defender. The senior captain helped create NR’s first goal on a corner. (Mary McGeachie Photo)

In the 37th minute, Pentucket was awarded a free kick 20 yards out on the right side of the field. They played a driven ball to the far post that had eyes. It managed to avoid a pile of players and spun into the net just inside the far post.The game went to the half tied 1-1.

The second half was evenly played with neither team able to generate many chances.

The Hornet D turned in what has become expected: a great performance. Led by the play of John Tramontozzi, Gilly Silva, Nick Pasquale and Kiernan Schulz and bolstered by the return of Cody Cannalonga, the Hornets kept the Sachems to the perimeter and limited their chances on goal.

As the half wore on, the Hornets started to take control of the game. Stanieich continued to frustrate the Pentucket defense and the Hornets were enjoying the majority of the possession.

Finally, with just more than five minutes remaining in the game, McKinney found Nadeau unmarked 35 yards from goal in the middle of the field. Nadeau took the space in front of him and unleashed a dipping shot from 25 yards out that was just under the crossbar and into the goal to give the Hornets the lead and the eventual win, punching their ticket to the postseason and dashing Pentucket’s dream of a Cape Ann League title.

The Hornets went on to tie Danvers 1-1 on Monday and beat Austin Prep at home during Senior Night 5-1. Seniors Chinchillo and Michealangelo Tsaparlis joined Stanieich (2) and Gavin Tingley on the scoresheet.

With that, North Reading ended their regular season with a 10-7-1 record.

The tournament pairings will be announced on Friday. Follow the Transcript on Twitter @nrtranscipt for updates.