CHS Volleyball Team Wins Three Matches
The Chelsea High volleyball team enjoyed a successful week, winning three of its four matches by shutout scores and battling to a fifth set in its lone loss.
In a 3-0 blanking of Somerville this past Monday, the Red Devils received what CHS head coach Gabriel Morales termed a “great game” from Guidaysis Castro Santiago and Jasmine Varela.
Jocelinne Moran punctuated the win with an exclamation mark when she delivered a match-winning ace.
Last week, the Red Devils shut out Cambridge and Lynn English by scores of 3-0.
In the Cambridge contest, libero Brandon Rodriguez had 15 digs and served four aces. Setter Bryan Vicente had five aces and eight digs and outside hitter Jasmine Varela added four aces.
The lone setback of the week came to undefeated Lynn Classical in an exciting match that went to five sets.
Morales and his crew were scheduled to host Everett yesterday (Wednesday) and will travel to Malden today (Thursday) and to Revere next Monday. They will return to their home court next Wednesday to host Medford.
CHS Boys Soccer Edged by NE Voke
The Chelsea High boys soccer team only played one game this past week, coming out on the short end of a 3-2 decision to Northeast Regional, the Red Devils’ former chief rival for many years when Chelsea was a member of the Commonwealth Athletic Conference.
Chelsea grabbed a 2-0 advantage on a goal by Jordan Peña, assisted by Juancarlos Suarez and an own goal by a Northeast defender.
On the first goal, Suarez took the ball away from a Northeast player and delivered a nice, long-driven pass to Peña, who went in 1 v. 1 with the Northeast goalkeeper. Jordan finished nicely, striking a powerful, low shot into the back of the Golden Knight net on which the Northeast keeper did not have a chance.
Chelsea’s second goal came about when Jeferson Ruiz, who was pressing high in the field, caused a mistake between a Northeast center back and his keeper, which resulted in the own goal.
However, the Golden Knights rallied to score three unanswered goals thanks to a defensive mistake by Chelsea, a free kick from the 18 yard box, and an own goal by a Chelsea player.
“It’s always a tough battle when we play our Northeast rivals,” said CHS assistant coach Luis Cruz, a former star player for the Red Devils who engaged in many fierce battles with the Golden Knights. “Unfortunately we lost 3-2. We were winning 2-0 in the first half, but we conceded three goals in the second half.
“Once again it was our defensive mistakes that cost us the game,” Cruz added. “It was a very frustrating game. We kept making crucial mistakes in the back and that cost us the game.”
Head coach Mick Milutinovic and his crew were scheduled to play at Lynn Classical this past Tuesday and will host Somerville today (Thursday) at 4:00 at Chelsea Stadium. They will entertain Everett next Tuesday at the stadium and travel to Malden next Thursday.
CHS Girls Soccer Team Continues Working Hard
Although the Chelsea High girls soccer team came up short in its three contests this past week, CHS head coach Randy Grajal has been seeing many positive signs from his squad.
Last Monday the Lady Red Devils dropped a 3-0 decision to East Boston.
“The girls continued to work on playing together and this game was a very even match that allowed the team to work on their passing and creating opportunities on goal,” said Grajal. “Unfortunately we were not able to capitalize on those opportunities.”
In the aftermath of a 6-0 loss to Medford last Tuesday, Grajal noted, “The team battled the whole game and we had periods of time during the game when the team showed great passing and moving the ball around the field.”
Chelsea then took on Lynn English and came up just short by a score of 1-0.
“This was a great game,” said Grajal. “The team played a very good game against an evenly-matched team. Our goalie, junior captain Katie Arias, had some crucial saves during the game. At the same time, senior midfielder Maria Julissa Santiago Mejia took control of the midfield and pushed the ball forward and created opportunities to score.”
The contest was a nil-nil deadlock until the final five minutes when English capitalized on an opportunity to put home the decisive tally.
“This was a heartbreaker for the girls because they fought and fought throughout the whole game,” Grajal added. “We are all committed to getting better and we will keep working to improve each and every day.”
Grajal and his crew were scheduled to meet Lynn Classical this past Tuesday and will journey to Somerville tomorrow (Friday). They will make the short trip to Everett next Tuesday and return home to face Malden next Thursday.
CHS Cross Country Teams Top English
The Chelsea High boys and girls cross country teams hosted Lynn English last week and emerged triumphant on their home course at Admiral’s Hill.
On the boys’ side, senior Ian Padilla outran the field to finish in first place in a time of 18:59. Teammate Alejandro Zepeda came across in third place in 19:48, just one second behind an English runner.
After English grabbed fourth place, the Red Devils then took the next four spots to clinch the meet. Johnny Maldonado took fifth place in 20:18, followed by Ruben Padilla in 22:02, Austin Freeman in 22:09, and Juan Alfaro in 22:15.
Nate Nadeau grabbed 10th place in 23:47 and Jimmy Merino finished in 15th place in 29:58.
The final score gave the Red Devils a 22-39 victory.
For the girls, Gizelle Rodriguez finished first in 22:24 and Darily Sanchez was second in 26:18.
Coach Sam Fogel and his crew were scheduled to host Medford yesterday (Wednesday) and will make the short trek down Broadway to Revere High School next Wednesday.