Published in the September 27, 2018 edition

By DAN NUNN

NORTH READING — The NRHS boys’ soccer team improved to 2-2 with their 3-1 victory over the Ipswich Tigers on September 17. The highlight of the match was senior defender Francis Walsh’s first career goal. Senior captain David Tingley and senior Casey Robarts added goals as well.

The Hornets got off to a terrific start as they scored in the first minute of the game.  On the play, Tingley received a pass near midfield.  He was given plenty of space and was able to find sophomore Mark Tramontozzi at the far post.  Tramontozzi then slid a pass across the face of the goal to Robarts who calmly put the ball in the back of the net. North Reading continued to carry the run of play but weren’t able to pad the lead and the half would end with NRHS up 1-0.

SOPHOMORE John Tramontozzi eyes a teammate for a pass during the NRHS varsity boys’ soccer game at Triton last Friday. The Hornets’ impressive 5-0 victory was their third in a row and raised their record to 3-2. The team is in action today at Hamilton-Wenham and hosts Pentucket on Monday at Arthur J. Kenney Field at 4:30 p.m. (Courtesy Photo)

North Reading firmly took control of the match in the second half with 11 shots on goal. Nine minutes into the half, they increased the lead when Tingley hit a tremendous free kick 20 yards from goal that got over the Ipswich wall and dipped under the cross bar.  

A little over a minute later, the Hornets scored again. Robarts hit a corner toward the near post where sophomore Sam McGeachie “dummied” the ball and allowed it to continue toward the middle of the goal. Walsh found the ball and was able to direct it past the keeper for the 3-0 lead

Ipswich was able to score in the 67th minute, but NRHS kept pouring on the pressure. The Hornets weren’t able to capitalize on their late chances and the game ended 3-1.  

Trounce Triton 5-0

The Hornets jumped above .500 with a lopsided 5-0 win over the struggling Triton Vikings on Friday. Senior Ryan Veneziano scored his first varsity goal in his varsity debut. Senior captain Ben Tayas scored twice and David Tingley and junior Justin Capezzuto added one goal apiece.

North Reading took control right from the opening whistle. They put the Vikings under constant pressure and the ball rarely saw the Hornets’ defensive half of the field. Their first goal came in the 10th minute when junior Cam Chinchillo beat his defender near the goal line and sent a slick pass to Tayas who slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.

In the 33rd minute, Tingley made it 2-0 when he scored on a penalty kick after a Triton hand ball in their own penalty area. NRHS took a 2-0 lead into the second half.

A little over a minute into the second half Tayas picked up his second goal of the game. On the play, sophomore Nick Pasquale sent a terrific cross to Robarts who laid the ball off to Tayas for a tap in. Capezzuto and Veneziano both added goals to close the book on the easy win.

The Hornets looked to continue their winning streak at Newburyport (1-2-2) on Wednesday after press time. They travel to Hamilton-Wenham (2-2-1) on Thursday.