Girls Soccer Tops O’Bryant High, 4-3
The improving Chelsea High girls soccer team put it all together to earn a 4-3 victory over O’Bryant High of Boston last week at Chelsea Stadium.
“This was an exciting game,” said CHS head coach Randy Grajal. “The game was pretty even throughout the whole match.”
The Lady Red Devils grabbed an early lead thanks to a goal by freshman Yahira Jovel Rivas, who was assisted by senior Alessandra Campos. O’Bryant quickly scored to bring the contest back to level. The teams remained deadlocked at 1-1 until Jovel Rivas once again reached the back of the O’Bryant net, with an assist this time from senior Keara Chavez Trejo. The visiting Lady Tigers continued the game of cat-and-mouse, scoring the next goal to make it 2-2 at the half.
The Lady Red Devils scored soon after the intermission on an own-goal by O’Bryant when a Lady Tiger deflected a corner kick by Campos into her own net. However, O’Bryant once again came back to knot matters at 3-3. Both teams then engaged in a back-and-forth tussle to break the standoff, but with five minutes on the clock, CHS sophomore Angie Villata Cruz delivered a shot from 40 yards out and the ball bounced over the O’Bryant defender to account for the game-winning tally.
“We were able to settle down on defense and hold the score until the final whistle,” said Grajal. “It was a great team win overall.”
CHS Girls Volleyball Ready for Tourney
The Chelsea High girls volleyball team was set to open play in the MIAA Division 2 State Tournament yesterday (Wednesday) at Norwood in a first-round contest.
The Lady Red Devils, who compiled a sterling 16-2 record during the regular season (which rates as one of the most successful seasons of any athletic team in Chelsea High history) and finished in second place behind undefeated Lynn Classical in the Greater Boston League, entered the tourney as the 37th seed in D-2, while Norwood is seeded 28th with a record of 8-12.
The winner of the Chelsea-Norwood matchup will advance to the Round of 32 and will travel to fifth-seeded Duxbury on a date and time to be determined.
CHS head coach Gloria Rodriguez and her crew have been hard at work in preparation for their tourney contest this past week. Rodriguez highlighted some of her players’ fine-tuning on aspects of their game ahead of the post-season.
“Hazel Martinez has improved and has learned how to do a float serve more consistently,” said Rodriguez. “Angelica Ayala continues to improve on her hitting techniques and serves. Alanna Taylor now has a strong deep float serve, and has been consistently serving aces against her teammates.”
CHS Football Tops Somerville, 19–6; Hosts O’Bryant Tonight
The Chelsea High football team, which picked up its third win of the season with a 19-6 triumph over Somerville last Thursday, will be shooting to make it two in a row when the Red Devils host O’Bryant High this evening (Thursday) at 6:00 at Chelsea Stadium in a non-playoff encounter under the MIAA’s state tournament format.
The Red Devils (3-5) are the 36th-ranked team in Division 7 per the MIAA’s rating system, while O’Bryant (7-1) is ranked 26th in D-7. Only the top 16 teams in each division qualify for the post-season football playoffs.