CHS Boys Soccer Earns 3–3 Tie in Season Opener
Coach Mick Milutinovic’s Chelsea High boys soccer team battled back from one-goal deficits on three occasions, with the dramatic third goal coming in the final two minutes, to earn a hard-fought and exciting 3-3 tie with Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Medford on the turf at Chelsea Stadium this past Tuesday evening.
The Red Devils’ season got off on the wrong foot (no pun intended) when they conceded a goal to the Mustangs in the first two minutes on a corner kick.
“It was poor defending and clear that we weren’t awake yet,” noted CHS assistant coach William Estrada.
However, three minutes later Chelsea notched the equalizer when Cristian Lopez received the ball on the left hand side of the midfield, ran up 25 meters, and crossed into sophomore Jose Joj’s path for a one-time strike into the bottom left corner.
Medford retook the lead 10 minutes after that when a ball went over the top of the Chelsea defense from the Medford center back to a Mustang forward, who found himself with space in between two CHS defenders and delivered a nice strike into the back of the CHS net.
The Red Devils continued the see-saw battle when they struck back five minutes later in similar fashion. Midfielder Kevin Garcia collected the ball deep in Chelsea’s half and pinged a ball all the way to Joj, who was through on goal, one-on-one, and slotted the ball beneath the keeper to make it 2-2.
The teams settled down for the middle of the match until Medford broke the deadlock with a goal with nine minutes remaining. However, the Red Devils refused to quit and notched the game-tying tally with two minutes to play.
With the ball bouncing on the left side of the field, Lopez sprinted to get to it and sent a crossing pass into the box, where Joj headed it into the back of the Medford net to complete his hat trick and secure the hard-fought draw.
“Medford is a physical team and we played into their game,” noted Estrada. “Despite it not being one of our best performances, we were still disappointed with the result. We could have won the game if not for a few defensive errors.
“After losing nine seniors from last year, going into the season we were concerned with how we will build this year’s team to, at the very least, match last year’s success, with the hopes of having a deeper run in the state tourney,” Estrada continued. “But when tryouts came around, we were pleasantly surprised with the amount of talented players who arrived to the tryouts in late August to add to our returning 12 players from last year’s squad.”
The 2023 edition of the Red Devils will be led by captain Christian Flores Mendoza, who is a junior. Seniors on the squad are Oscar Erazo Beltrand, Arquimides Felix Barrero, Cesar Montiagudo Flores, Italo Pineda Cuellar, and Marlon Rivera; juniors are Ever Aguilar Hercules, Luis Hidalgo, Edwin Mendoza, Bryan Molina Mendoza, Christian Palacios Sanchez, Israel Romero-Rojas, and Leonardo Saravia Castaneda; sophomores are Jose Joj, Cristian Lopez, and Jorge Sanabria Vasquez; and the lone freshman is Jorge Perez Jr.
Milutinovic and his crew travel to GBL rival Lynn Classical today (Thursday) and will host non-league opponent Phoenix Charter Academy on Monday under the lights at Chelsea Stadium at 6:30. They will entertain GBL rival Everett next Thursday evening at Chelsea Stadium at 5:30.
The Red Devils will play 18 contests in the regular season, with two matches against each of their seven GBL foes (Somerville, Malden, Medford, Everett, Revere, Lynn English, and Lynn Classical) and four matches with non-league opponents Phoenix Charter, Excel Academy, Madison Park, and Boston International.
New Season, New Coach for CHS Football Team; Red Devils Open Friday
The Chelsea High football team will kick off its 2023 season under the direction of new head coach David Roque tomorrow (Friday) evening under the lights at the Saugus High School field.
“I’m excited to get my first season as head coach started and I’m proud of the group of players we have this year,” said Roque. “We are a young team this year, but very committed to working hard and improving with each practice. We scrimmaged at Southbridge High School and then scrimmaged at home versus O’Bryant High School.
“Both scrimmages were a good match up for us. It helped us identify where we need to shift our focus as coaches in order to be well-prepared for Saugus this Friday,” Roque said.
The 2023 edition of the Red Devils will be led by a quintet of captains, Justin Reyes (Senior Captain), Jhostin Salmeron (Junior Captain), Angel Mejia (Sophomore Captain), Jaiven Diaz (Senior Captain), and Wilson Villalta (Senior Captain).
Other members of the squad are: Jadiel Arias (Senior), Komi Ballo (Sophomore), Leeandro Castro (Sophomore), Anthony Cortave (Senior), Edmilson Da Cruz Andrade (Sophomore), Duane Davis (Senior), Evan Ferriera (Sophomore), Michael Fortune (Junior), Michael Gibson (Sophomore), Derrick’s Hernandez (Sophomore), Jayden Hernandez (Sophomore), Yostin Hernandez (Sophomore), Theodore Joseph-Seale (Senior), Rahim Kissaro (Senior), Alivia Lavigne (Freshman), Angel Lino (Sophomore), Angel Martinez (Freshman), Cristian Mazariegos Mejia (Senior), Jason Melendez Lemus (Freshman), Anthony Melo (Sophomore), David Meraz (Freshman), Segendi Michael (Senior), Igor Oliveira (Freshman), Dary Peguero (Freshman), Mirvens Pierre (Sophomore), Nathan Pleitez Gamboa (Freshman), Jeffry Ramirez (Sophomore), Joshua Ramirez-Leiva (Sophomore),, Victor Rivera (Sophomore), Raul Rosario (Sophomore), Ezekiel Sala Martinez (Freshman), Tommy Santana (Senior), Ugali Thomas (Sophomore), Justin Toro (Senior), Juan Lopez Mendez (Freshman), Dean Motta (Sophomore), Erick Sanchez Rodriguez (Sophomore), and Daniel Calix (Senior).
After tomorrow night’s contest, Chelsea will host Lynn Tech next Friday under the lights at Chelsea Stadium at 6:00.
CHS Girls Volleyball Ready for 2023 Season
The Chelsea High girls volleyball team, under the direction of new head coach Gloria Rodriguez, opened its season yesterday (Wednesday) against Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Lynn English.
Rodriguez said she is looking forward to the 2023 campaign in her first year at the helm of the girls volleyball program.
“We played in a pre-season jamboree at Malden against four teams, Revere, Medford, Essex, and Everett, and we won against Revere and Everett,” said Rodriguez. “I’m proud to be coaching many talented girls on the team. These girls are constantly playing volleyball with any free time they have. I know they put in lots of effort and are only striving to improve.”
The 2023 Lady Red Devils will be led by a trio of captains, Yareliz Gonzalez Falcon, Valerie Ramirez, and Hazel Martinez. Other members of the varsity squad are Anais Artica, Angelica Ayala, Aisha Ghelle, Keiri Hernandez Romero, Ashley Martinez, Eva Molina Regil, Emily Rojop Lopez, Tatiana Sanabria Herrera, Alanna Taylor, and Treasure Williams.
Rodriguez and her crew will play 18 matches in the 2023 season, with two contests against each of their seven GBL opponents (Somerville, Malden, Medford, Everett, Revere, Lynn English, and Lynn Classical) and four matches with non-league foes Latin Academy (2), New Mission, and East Boston.
After yesterday’s encounter with English, the Lady Red Devils will trek to Latin Academy tomorrow (Friday), to Somerville on Monday, and to Everett next Wednesday.