Published September 19, 2019

By DAN NUNN

NORTH READING — Senior captain Cam Chinchillo scored the lone goal as the Hornets earned a monumental 1-0 victory over the Division 2 and CAL powerhouse Masconomet Chieftains on September 10. It is the first time NRHS has beaten Masco since 1996.

“Obviously, this is a satisfying win,” said head coach Mark Bisognano. “Masco has been such a dominant program in the CAL. This is their first league loss since 2015 and only their second league loss since 2012. They have been the gold standard in this league for a very long time. This was a team win for sure and we played our hearts out.”

The Chieftains pinned a seemingly tentative and nervous Hornet squad in their own end for the first 12 minutes. But after a timeout, North Reading settled in and in the 32nd minute, the offense struck.

WILL CARPENTER makes a diving save to preserve a 1-0 win over Masconomet. It was the first victory for the Hornets over Masco in 23 years. (John Friberg Photo)

On the play, senior captain Justin Capezzuto brought the ball off the wing and found Chinchillo at the top of the penalty area. Chinchillo spun off his defender, touched the ball around the on-rushing keeper and slotted it home.

In the second half, Masco pushed hard for the equalizer. But sophomores Kiernan Schulz and Cody Cannalonga and juniors John Tramontozzi and Nick Pasquale stood tall on the back line. With under 10 minutes remaining, the Hornets flipped the game. NRHS was able to maintain possession deep in the Chieftains end until the final whistle to earn the superlative win.

Crush Amesbury 3-0

Sophomores Aiden Nadeau and Landon Philips and junior Sam McGeachie scored as the Hornets picked up their third victory in four matches with an easy 3-0 win over the Amesbury Indians on Thursday.

Senior captain Will Carpenter earned his third shutout and the defense led by junior John Tramontozzi has only been scored on once in their first four games.

NRHS controlled possession during the first half. But despite the control, the Hornets were only up 1-0 at the half thanks to a Nadeau header from 10 yards away.  The lead quickly expanded at the start of the second half when Phillips scored his first goal of the season in the 42nd minute.

Not long after, McGeachie scored straight off a corner kick for an “Olimpico” goal. The rest of the game was a little chippy as Amesbury received three yellow cards and a red card but North Reading was still able to cruise to victory.