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Experienced wrestling team enjoys success

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It’s been a successful year for the Silver Lake High wrestling team so far this season.

The Lakers have enjoyed their share of success, and as of the start of this week, they were 15-10 on the season. On January 31, they picked up wins over Barnstable, Middleboro and Weston in a quad meet. Two days prior, they defeated Scituate 45-29. That put them on a four match win streak and means they have won six of their past seven matches.

Kyle Cipullo (heavyweight) and Chase Perkins (160) have been among the team’s top wrestlers this season. Cipullo got a pin in the team’s win over Scituate to finish the match. Additionally, wrestlers like Will Barkowsky (152), Will Hesketh (220), Scott Snell (106), Cam Turner (170), Michael Voci (182) and Pat Ganley (126) have thrived, posting winning records thus far. Injuries to Hesketh and Barkowsky early in the season put the team in a tough spot but since they have been back, the team has been stronger.

Plus, the team has a female wrestler, Sydney Diauto. She took second place at the Phillips Academy Invitational in the 106.3-pound weight class bracket on January 26. In total, the event features more than 80 competitors. During the regular season, the freshman has won multiple matches on varsity.

Experience is on the side of the Lakers this season. They have 10 upperclassmen on their roster this time around.
   The team is coached by Wayne Reissfelder. A Silver Lake alum himself and Halifax native, he also serves as the Lakers head freshman football coach.

The Lakers have their final regular season meet of the season on Wednesday, Feb. 12 on the road against the Pembroke Titans (6:30 p.m. start time). After that, however, the Lakers will have individual wrestlers compete at sectionals and possibly in the state tournament if they perform well there.

SL boys, girls hockey pick up wins

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For both hockey programs at Silver Lake, last Saturday, Dec. 28 was an encouraging day.

The boys’ hockey team and the girls’ hockey co-op with Whitman-Hanson each had lopsided victories over their respective opponents. For the boys, that win came in a 6-2 fashion against Abington. For the girls, it was a 5-0 victory over Plymouth.

In the victory over Abington, Ryan Solari and Gavin Simpson had their first career varsity goals for the Lakers while Peter Bond earned his first career varsity win in net. Ryan Solari also had a team-high four points in the victory and Bobby Guilford had a team-high two goals. Additionally, Nick Solari put up two points, including a short-handed goal. Plus, Kevin Cardarelli had a goal and an assist in the victory.

The win over Abington was the Lakers second win of the week. With it, they improved to 2-2-1.

The girls win over Plymouth was their first victory of the season, putting their record at 1-4 on the year. In the win–which came in Patriot League action–the team had four different goal scorers. Bridget Cardarelli led the way with a team-high two goals. Additionally, Alyssa Murphy, Emily McDonald and Neve Corkery each put one in the back of the net for the co-op. Kat Gilbert also picked up the win in net for the co-op.

Prior to this game, the girls had their share of offensive struggles. They had not scored more than one goal in a game in their first four contests prior to this win.

The boys next game is this Saturday, Jan. 4 on the road against the Duxbury Dragons at The Bog in Kingston (3:50 p.m. start time). The girls play next on Saturday, Jan. 4 as well. They are set to face Newton North on the road (6:15 p.m. start time).

SL/Pembroke gymnastics Co-op splits season opener

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If their first meet of the season was any indicator, the Silver Lake High girls gymnastics co-op, also known as Pemberlake, is in a strong position this season.

The co-op started off their year with a three-team meet in Pembroke on Friday, Dec. 20. In it, they took on and defeated Whitman-Hanson 131.5-117.95, but fell to Notre Dame Academy in a nail biter 132.1-131.5. With the win and loss, Pemberlake moved to 1-1 on the season.

Lauren Canniff was the top performer of the meet. She won the all-around with a score of 33.2. She tied for first place on the floor (8.5), came in second place on vault (9.2) and on the bars (8.1). Additionally, she finished third on the beam (7.4). This performance earned her Pemberlake’s Gymnast of the Meet award.

Just behind her, Ava Dorsey took second place in the all-around (33.1). Dorsey took first place on vault with a 9.6 and first on bars with an 8.3. She also tied for third place on floor (8.2).

Canniff and Dorsey were not the only first place finishers for the co-op. Sam Raleigh tied for first place on the floor (8.5) while Stella Lane had a first place finish on the beam (7.7).

Maizie Condon was second on floor (8.3), Sarah d’entremont took second on beam (7.7), Ciara Dalrymple came in third on vault (8.6) and Cam McGrath tied for third on floor (8.2)

On Thursday night of this week, the team competed at the Patriot League Invitational at Hanover High School. Their next team meet is set to take place on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at home. They will face off against both Marshfield and Hingham (7:00 p.m. start time). In Hingham’s first meet of the season, they scored 128.3, but fell to Hanover who put up 132.

Girls win basketball opener

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The Silver Lake High girls’ basketball team has a new head coach, and they will look to bounce back from a rebuilding year under him.

Now the Lakers coach is Tony Pina, who also coaches softball at Silver Lake. The former Carver Crusaders head coach won 150 games during his decade-long tenure with the girls team–and it only took him one game to get his first win as the Lakers head girls basketball coach.

The Lakers kicked off their season against the Duxbury Dragons on Friday, Dec. 13 with a 42-26 win to improve to 1-0 on the season. In the win, Lily Gustafson, a junior, and Kiley O’Brien, a sophomore, led the way; they scored nine points apiece. The Lakers also showed off their depth in the victory as eight different players scored points for the team.

The Lakers starting five in their first game of the season featured: junior Riley Dunphy as point guard, junior Molly Terbush as shooting guard, junior Erin deMacedo and sophomore Kiley O’Brien as their two forwards as well as senior Holly Reeder-Morning as their center. As a sophomore, Reeder-Morning was a Patriot League All-Start and led the team in scoring. She missed much of last season recovering from a knee injury.

Off the bench, Gustafson provides the team with a boost–as she exemplified in the team’s opening win against Duxbury. Additionally, they will look to senior Jordan Carroll, juniors Lily Noonan and Natalie Bouchard, and sophomores Reese Colon and Samantha Kelly for contributions and to provide depth.

As of Wednesday, the Lakers were 1-2 on the season. They fell 54-36 to Norwell on Monday, Dec. 16 and one day later, they fell 45-31 against Pembroke.

The Lakers next contest is a non-league matchup this Friday at home. They will host the Marshfield Rams (6:30 p.m. start time).

WHSL girls’ hockey co-op ready for new season to begin Dec. 12

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After undergoing a rebuild last season, the Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake girls’ hockey co-op appears to be in a position to take a step in the right direction, led by a Silver Lake-heavy team.

A young team last season, the Skaters had just two seniors on their roster. They got off to a slow 0-7-0 start, but enjoyed better results as the season progressed, picking up at least a point in the standings in six of their final 12 games to finish the season at 4-13-2.

The team enjoyed most of its success last season offensively–primarily from the stick of senior captain Alyssa Murphy, a Kingston native. A Patriot League All-Star last year, she had 42 points on the season (27 goals, 15 assists) and nearly half of the team’s 62 goals.

On top of that, Lilly Ulvila (9 goals, 3 assists) of Kingston showed promise as a freshman last season, finishing second on the team in goals scored; junior Ellie Grady (7 goals, 6 assists), also from Kingston, ranked third on that list. Outside of Silver Lake, Emily McDonald (6 goals, 9 assists), a junior at Whitman-Hanson, was also a key offensive contributor as a sophomore last season, ranking second in total points.

Junior Kat Gilbert, a Halifax native, returns in net for the third straight season. Before high school, she had not played goaltender full-time, so she will continue to gain experience. Defensively, however, the Skaters likely won’t have a ton of depth after two captains to graduation on that side of the puck.

The Skaters first game of the season was this Thursday, Dec. 12 on the road against Bishop Stang. Their next game is this Saturday, Dec. 14 on the road against the Canton Bulldogs. That game will take place at the Canton Ice House (7:55 p.m. start time, according to My Hockey Live).

Silver Lake football wins turkey day title

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Dominant is the best word to describe the Silver Lake High football team’s Thanksgiving day performance.

The Lakers hosted the Pembroke Titans on Thursday, Nov. 28 — and beat them with ease. The Lakers came up with a 54-0 victory.

At halftime, the Lakers led 21-0. Their first touchdown came on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Ben Lofstrom to Sean Waters in the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, a 16-yard rush from Matt Gabra put the team up by two touchdowns. And then senior captain Will Hesketh, a center and linebacker, punched in a one-yard touchdown run later in the quarter; Hesketh broke his leg in the first game of the season, and this was his first game back. All three extra point kicks were good; during the game, both Waters and Drew Keiran kicked for the Lakers.

Midway through the second half, Owen Thompson scored on a five-yard touchdown run following a 30-yard run to put the team in scoring territory. Dylan Landers then intercepted Pembroke and had a five-yard touchdown reception from Lofstrom.

Shortly after, the Lakers got another defense stop and Lofstrom connected with Waters for a 30-yard touchdown. Before the third quarter ended, Bobby Shields also had a 14-yard touchdown catch.

In the fourth quarter, Lofstrom connected with Waters on one last touchdown: a 22-yard pass. It put Waters at over 1,000 receiving yards on the season. As a thrower, Lofstrom exceeded 2,000 yards passing.

The Lakers defense was sharp in the contest. They finished the year strong, producing back-to-back shutouts against Nauset and Pembroke.

The Lakers finish their season at 6-5 with this win. With the loss, Pembroke finished the year at 1-10. This also means the Lakers hold a 10-4 lead in the all-time series and have won four of their last five Thanksgiving Day matchups.

Winter sports refresher

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With winter sports season starting up this past Monday at Silver Lake High, here is a refresher of how each of the varsity teams fared last season.

Boys Basketball

The Lakers made it to the Division 2 South sectional playoff bracket, but fell to Tech Boston on the road 80-50. The senior-heavy team finished their season at 13-9.

Girls Basketball

The Lakers underwent a rebuilding year, going 5-15 on the season.

Gymnastics

The co-op with Pembroke had yet another strong season; they earned their fourth straight Patriot League title. Ava Dorsey, a freshman last season, earned the Patriot League MVP award.

Boys Hockey

For the third straight season, the Lakers made it to the Division 3 South sectional playoffs via the Sullivan Rule. They went 8-11-4 last season and lost their top two scorers to graduation.

Girls Hockey

The co-op with Whitman-Hanson had a down year, going 4-13-2. However, the team was on the younger side and showed growth throughout the season. After starting the year at 0-7-0, they went 4-6-2 in their final 12 games.

Swimming

On the girls side, Alexa Connors earned Division 1 State titles last season. She got one in the 200 (1:50.84) another in the 500 freestyle (4:53.14). A senior this season, she has an opportunity to defend those titles once again.

Track

Both track teams enjoyed positive results last season; during the regular season, the girls went 4-1 and the boys went 3-2. Each team had their share of contenders at the state meet and Riley Paskow went to All-States for the girls; she came in 13th place in the 600 meter at the event.

Wrestling

The Lakers sent a pair of wrestlers to the Division 2 state tournament last season, including Kyle Cipullo (195), now a junior.

Football rolls over Nauset Warriers

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The Silver Lake High football team might not be in the playoffs anymore, but they did have a strong performance against a playoff-caliber team.

Last Friday night, the Lakers hosted the Nauset Warriors and shined on both sides of the ball en route to a 28-0 victory. With the win, the Lakers improved to 5-5 on the season.

An early interception by Drew Keiran gave the Lakers the ball around midfield, and they capitalized on the field position. Ben Lofstrom capped off the drive with a short touchdown run and Keiran’s extra point made it 7-0 Lakers.

In the second quarter, Keiran had another interception, once again giving the Lakers solid field position. This time, they scored on a 35-yard touchdown run by Matt Gabra; Keira hit the extra point, putting the Lakers up 14-0.

Defensively, the Lakers had three first half interceptions; Owen Thompson got one on a deep ball as time expired.

The Lakers started the second half with the ball and Jake LaFerrara caught a touchdown pass from Lofstrom to complete a 60-yard drive. Nauset blocked the Lakers extra point attempt, making it a 20-0 game.

With Gabra excelling on the ground, the team also moved the ball downfield early in the fourth quarter. In the red zone, Lofstrom then hit Sean Waters with a short touchdown pass. The Lakers went for two and Waters caught another pass from Lofstrom, giving the Lakers a 28-0 lead.

The Lakers defense continued to shut down Nauset and Kyle Cipullo blocked a punt, giving the Lakers the ball back; with the game out of reach, they put in their second offense.

The Lakers have one last game left on their schedule: the annual Thanksgiving Day bout against the Pembroke Titans (10:00 a.m. start time).

Pembroke is the home team this year but surely, the Lakers have to be the favorite to win this one. Pembroke is 2-8 this season and coming off a 42-6 loss to Dedham, a team who did not make the playoffs this season.

Volleyball team rebuilding

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Once again, experience will not be on the side of the Silver Lake High girls volleyball team this season as they continue to rebuild, but opportunities for playing time will be abundant.

The Lakers are coming off a 4-16 season where they fared much better in the second half of the year than they did in the first; while they started the year at 0-8, they won four of their last 12 matches of the season. However, most of that team is no longer with the program as the Lakers graduated nine of their 13 players from last season.

That said, the majority of the roster will not have varsity experience for the Lakers this season. Even so, it will not be a completely new team.

The Lakers are expected to return four seniors this season who have varsity experience. Highlighting this group would be middle hitter Catherine Donovan, who led the team in both kills (80) and blocks (85) last season, as she played in 60 of the team’s 72 sets.

Outside of Donovan, setter Julia Tarantino, who led the team with 188 assists last season, and outside hitter Lindsey Bernasconi, whose 14 aces serving, were each regulars for the Lakers in 2018. The two of them both played in more than 50 sets as juniors. Plus, middle hitter Natasha Tierney gained some valuable experience on varsity, competing in eight sets for the Lakers last season.

The Lakers are scheduled to open up their season on the road against another rebuilding team: Bridgewater-Raynham. Last season, B-R went 0-19 and dropped 57 of the 61 sets they played. That game will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4.

The Lakers first home game of the season will come one week later on Wednesday, Sept. 11, against Pembroke at 5:15 p.m., a Patriot League team who went 12-8 last season.

Hughes commits to play Division 1 baseball for Fordham University

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Yet another member of the Silver Lake High baseball team will one day be an NCAA Division 1 college baseball player.

Halifax native Nolan Hughes still has another season as a member of the Lakers baseball program, but after that, he knows where he is going to play. Earlier this month, he committed to play college baseball at Fordham University in New York City’s Bronx borough. Hughes will be attending the school on a partial scholarship for baseball.

As a junior last season, Hughes was dominant on the mound for the Lakers. He went 7-1, posting a 1.02 ERA. He also tossed a one-hitter against Whitman-Hanson, helping the Lakers capture their Patriot League Keenan Division title.

Coming to the decision now ensures Hughes will not have to worry about it during the school year. For him, it was a long process. Initially, Hughes committed to Bryant last September. However, when Bryant’s coaching staff left for Rutgers University in New Jersey, Hughes decided to look elsewhere for a place to play.

The Lakers have had plenty of talented baseball players over the years, who ended up playing college baseball. Currently, Kingston native Anthony Videtto plays Division 1 college baseball at UMass Amherst, as does Halifax native Jason Johndrow, a member of the University of Hartford’s team.

Hughes is not the only active member of the Lakers baseball program committed to a Division 1 school either. His classmate Mike Quigley, another talented pitcher, is committed to UMass Lowell.

Fordham, where Hughes will presumably start his NCAA career in 2021, is coming off a strong season. They went 38-24 last season, including 20-4 during their home games.

Meanwhile, the Lakers baseball team went 15-6 last season, fell in the first round of the Division 1 South playoffs, but is expected to have a plethora of returning talent this season.