After graduating most of his starters last spring, Revere boys soccer head coach Gerardo Rodriguez expected a rebuild this season. But that hasn’t been the case. Instead, his Patriots are rolling.
After knocking off Greater Boston League rivals Somerville, 3-1, on Tuesday, Revere is the winningest team in the league standings at 12-1-1. The Patriots are technically third behind Chelsea and Malden, but have more wins than both schools and haven’t lost since a season-opening 3-2 decision against Central Catholic.
“I thought it would be a winter rebuild for sure, but a lot of our young talent has been good,” said Rodriguez, who added 18 new players ahead of this season. “Toward the end of September, it started to feel like we could do something if we clean some things up. We’re very skilled and very technical. The way we play is on the ground, and we’re pretty fit.”
As far as season objectives go, Revere is hoping to make it to the second round of the state tournament, at least, and is already set to host the first Greater Boston League playoff against an opponent yet to be determined.
Meanwhile, a pair of senior captains are helping Revere defy expectations. Geronimo Agudelo, who scored twice against Somerville, has 19 goals, while Francisco Navarerette has 15.
“They’re definitely the reference point for the team,” Rodriguez said. “Once they have their one-v-ones, they have the greenlight to go do their thing. They play with freedom.
“It doesn’t suit us to put the ball in the air,” added Rodriguez, referring to crosses and long balls over the top. “We play out of the back. The community in Revere is more suited to this – the profile of player is Moroccan, Latino, South American … cultures where we play on the ground. I like that, and they like that, and so we try do that to squeeze the maximum potential out of the group playing that way.”
Rodriguez said his players are aware of the growing target on their backs. Having one of the best records in the state comes with opponents that are increasingly up for the game.
“Momentum plays a part if you’re doing things well,” Rodriguez said. “In the first loss to Central Catholic, we had a chance to tie, and I’m almost glad we didn’t, because it gave us a chance to learn from our mistakes. The loss gave us a reality check. So momentum helps, but holding people accountable is more my way of doing things. Even if we’re doing things right, we can always improve.”
Newburyport’ ruthless streak
The Newburyport girls soccer team improved to 13-1-1 after a 7-0 dismantling of Essex Tech. Sophomore Kayleigh Bonavita recorded a hat-trick, while junior Ruby Reardon had a brace for the Clippers, who have produced 11 consecutive clean sheets and have scored at least six goals in each of their last four games.
Vaunted OA
Oliver Ames boys were the top seed in the Division 2 state tournament last year and are once again cruising this season. The Tigers downed Stoughton 4-1 on Tuesday evening behind goals from Jack Donahue, David Iconaru, Dylan Fisher and Ryder Mercieri to improve to 13-0-2.
Oliver Ames has been dangerous on both sides of the ball. The goal the Tigers surrendered against Stoughton was the first conceded in seven games, while the attack is rolling with 42 goals scored.
