Massachusetts high school tournament highlights for Nov. 17

Of the 13 teams that did advance to the finals Friday and Saturday, there were four No. 1 seeds, five No. 2s, three No. 4s, and Rockland, the lone five-seed to punch its ticket thus far.

Tuesday’s matches will have a chance to send a few low seeds along, including the No. 11 West Springfield boys, No. 10 Concord-Carlisle girls, No. 10 Southwick girls, and No. 8 Belmont girls.

Find all of Tuesday’s matchups, plus the entire soccer finals schedule, in our playoff index. Find Monday’s scores here. And read all of the day’s coverage:

Goals

Emerssyn Cage, Longmeadow, 2

Gui Cardoso, Hopedale, 2

Morganne Kilmer, Medfield, 2

Annabel Manganello, Duxbury, 2

Colby Trudeau, Northbridge, 2

If you’ll allow us an excited announcement, here at Globe Schools we’ve been working behind the scenes to create a fresh way to keep you apprised of all things high school sports in Eastern Massachusetts.

Debuting soon will be Varsity News, a weekly newsletter written by yours truly (Brendan Kurie) that will hit your inbox every Wednesday, both recapping the week that was with all the highlights, results, and trends. We’ll also preview the weekend ahead, looking ahead to the biggest games. Think of it as a big-picture weekly Takeaways for your inbox.

Sign up to receive this free newsletter here.

▪ Canton announced the hiring of Heather Poliferno as softball coach. Poliferno, a former player at Westfield State, has coached Sharon for the past eight seasons, and has also coached 12U, 14U, and 16U teams with Brand New Ballgame out of Wrentham.

“Heather immediately made a positive impression on everyone here at CHS during the hiring process,” said Canton athletic director Danny Erickson. “Her passion for both softball and student athletes shined through. We are very excited to see the difference she can make here.”

▪ Alyssa Young has been hired by her alma mater as the coach of the Middleborough/Apponequet co-op gymnastics team.

“I’m excited to return to Middleborough and help guide a new generation of Sachem gymnasts,” Young said. “My goal is to build a program where athletes feel supported, challenged, and proud to represent their school.”

Young has been coaching for 16 years, starting at World Class Gymnastics before moving to Gym Hutt Gymnastics in Lakeville, where she serves as program director and head coach of the DP and Xcel competitive teams.

▪ Jim McAdam, who led Austin Prep to the 1989 Division 2 boys’ hockey championship and went on to become the first hockey coach at Bentley to win 100 games, died Thursday at the age of 86. He grew up in Everett, but spent his last 50 years in Lynnfield.

Visitation will be Tuesday (4-7 p.m.) at McDonald Funeral Home in Wakefield, followed by a funeral mass on Wednesday (11 a.m.) at St. Maria Goretti Church.

▪ Austin Prep senior Fope Ayo, who hails from Methuen, announced her commitment to Michigan on Monday. The 6-foot-3-inch center, who also plays with Mass Rivals, chose the Wolverines over Miami, South Carolina, and Stanford.

▪ Elyse Ngenda, a senior guard at New Hampton (N.H.) who hails from Bedford (N.H.) but played with Mass Rivals, announced her commitment to play women’s basketball at Stanford. The 2024-25 New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year is No. 95 in ESPN’s Class of 2026 rankings. She also had offers from Northwestern, Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia.

▪ Middleborough senior Tyler Zamora announced his commitment to play baseball at St. Anselm. Zamora who also plays with the East Coast Eagles, was a South Shore League All-Star as a pitcher and outfielder.

▪ Northfield Mt. Hermon and Bay State Jaguars girls’ basketball stars Larea Jean-Ross and Molly Sisson, who started her high school career at Old Rochester, made their commitments official, with Jean-Ross set to play for Union and Sisson headed to Eastern Michigan.

▪ Western New England graduate student De’Andre Harris, a Boston Latin graduate from Weymouth, became the university’s all-time leading receiver after a six-catch, 211-yard performance against Nichols. Harris broke Steven Fedorchak’s mark of 2,531 yards from 2017-21, with a 75-yard touchdown grab. He finished the game with 2,694 career receiving yards.

▪ Roger Williams senior Nathan Tassey, a Whitman-Hanson graduate, won the NCAA Division 3 Mideast Regional Cross-Country Championship for the second straight year, finishing the 10K course in 25 minutes, 5.5 seconds. He won by six seconds to lead the Hawks to an eighth-place finish. Also part of the Hawks’ contingent were Kyle Tarpy, a junior from Haverhill who finished in 27:17.0, and Ryan Cotugno, a senior from Melrose who finished in 27:47.

▪ Cameron Thompson, a Dover-Sherborn graduate, will be the first UMass Dartmouth runner to compete at cross-country nationals in 22 years. The senior was an All-Little East First Team selection for the second-straight season and finished 15th at the NCAA East Regional in 25:04.3.

▪ Harvard sophomore Kieran Corr, a Winchester graduate, was named FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week, as well as Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week, after hitting the winning 53-yard field goal with five seconds left to beat Penn, 45-43. Orr was 6 for 6 on point-after attempts, helping Harvard secure at least a share of a third straight Ivy League title.

▪ Colgate freshman Andrew Alekseyenko, a Rivers graduate from Brookline, was named Patriot League Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Week after averaging 19.0 points and 4.5 rebounds over two games, including posting a career-high 21 points against No. 14 Illinois.

▪ Holy Cross junior Joe Nugent, a Tabor graduate from Berkley, was named a Patriot League men’s basketball honorable mention after averaging 20.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in a 1-1 week for the Crusaders.

▪ Emerson sophomore Jessie Silk, a Beaver Country Day graduate from Newton, was named NEWMAC women’s basketball Offensive Player of the Week after guiding the Lions to a 2-1 week while averaging 21.3 points and 13 rebounds per game, adding 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. She was named All-Tournament at the Wesleyan Classic and currently leads the NEWMAC in scoring and rebounding.

▪ Rhode Island College junior Abby Wager, a Mansfield graduate, was named Little East women’s basketball Player of the Week after leading the Anchorwomen to a 3-1 record. The guard averaged 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.3 blocks, and 2.3 steals per game.

▪ Keene State junior Grace Seabury, a Wakefield graduate, was named to the All-LEC field hockey second team after recording 25 points (8 goals, 9 assists), finishing second in the league in assists.

▪ Husson senior Riley Mahoney, a Quabbin graduate from Oakham, set the program record for a 1-meter six-dive score with a 225.05, besting her own mark of 219.30, to earn Little East Conference Diver of the Week honors.

Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.