Another season, another success story for AMSA
AMSA’s boys soccer played to honor its former coach, who died in June. The Eagles advanced to the MIAA semifinals.
The recently concluded fall sports season was a rousing success for AMSA, with all teams making their respective playoffs. The athletics program that started with small steps seven years ago has grown into a formidable local power.
“It was one of the most successful seasons yet,” Athletic Director George Albuquerque said. “We have to continue to grow and get better every year by facing tougher competition.”
AMSA’s golf team qualified for the state tournament, while the volleyball team and both the boys and girls soccer squads made the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) playoffs.
The boys soccer team followed an emotional road to the MIAA semifinals, dedicating the season to Jason Ferris, the Eagles’ coach who died unexpectedly on June 5.
“It was something tough for the team to overcome because it was [a life event] that they had to deal with for the first time,” Mr. Albuquerque said.
Paul Nardizzi, a recruiter for Framingham State University’s soccer program, stepped in to coach the team. He harnessed the players’ emotions and redirected that energy to performance on the field.
“We wanted to do everything we could to win in [Coach Ferris’] memory,” senior captain Justin Taverna said. “He is still a part of the team and we wanted to make him proud.”
A 1-0 victory over Hopedale on Nov. 5 vaulted the Eagles into the semifinals. Charlie Lane finally found the net in double overtime, pushing AMSA into a matchup with Bromfield.
Patrick Langdon pulled the Eagles within 3-2, scoring with six minutes remaining, but a late tally gave Bromfield a 4-2 victory.
Still, AMSA finished with a 13-4-1 record.
The girls soccer team turned in a second straight exceptional season, finishing 16-1-2. The Eagles beat tough competition all year but their season ended with a 4-3 double-overtime loss to West Boylston on Nov. 5 in the MIAA quarterfinals.
“The team fared extremely well during the challenging season, but the toughest part was how it ended,” Coach Adrienne Masiello said.
AMSA won the Worcester Valley Conference title for the second time and Coach Masiello believes the success will carry forward. She has built a talented team that consists of seven starting sophomores and even has a starting 7th grader, signifying that even better times may be ahead.
The volleyball team made the playoffs for the second straight year. The Eagles’ season ended with a straight-set loss to Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, but they still finished with a 12-4 record.
“We went from not winning anything, not even a set, a few years ago, to having a winning record and making the playoffs for the second year in a row,” senior captain Elysha Sathyaraj said.
The AMSA golf team might have been the biggest surprise of the season, qualifying for the state golf tournament. The Eagles finished 8-4 and, although they were eighth out of 11 teams in the tournament, 8th grader Kevin Macauley hit the shot of the season, making a hole-in-one on No. 3 at Black Swan Country Club, one of the toughest courses in the state.
Now it’s time to see if the winter sports teams can keep pace.
Nick LaPan is a senior at AMSA but is not advanced in math or science. He is, however, advanced in sports. His passion for sports is what really drives...
Megan Scott • Mar 16, 2015 at 9:00 am
I think its funny that you didn’t mention the XC team. We had a very successful season placing highly at many large important meets including districts. We had 2 boys (Ben Maron and Patrick Huie) make states, and our times were the best we have ever had. Its really not reasonable to mention some of those teams when our team had far more success.
Raya Keir • Dec 20, 2014 at 12:07 pm
You know, the cross country team did really well also. Two boys made states for the first time in AMSA XC history. We had a sixth grader on varsity. We had a great record this season.