Soccer: Tech girls turn up pressure on defense in scoreless tie

The Lynn Tech girls soccer team had a tough time summoning up some offense, but the defense was spot-on in a scoreless tie against Northeast Regional Monday at Fraser Field.Brenda Guevara and Priscilla Imul were rock-solid in the back for the Tigers (0-9-2). Goalie Coral Gonzalez, who fielded 33 shots in Tech?s last game against Rockport, had a much quieter night in net with three or four stops.?The defense was tenacious,” Tech assistant coach Fernando Medrano said (Medrano is filling in for coach Jeremy McKeen, whose wife recently gave birth to their third child).?It was an amazing game,” Medrano said. “The teams were very evenly matched. We had a few opportunities, but we couldn?t convert.”Swampscott 5, Shawsheen 2At Billerica, Jaymie Caponigro scored three goals and Meghan Hartmann and Ellie Wright each added one for the Big Blue, who improve to 9-2-1 and qualify for the state tournament with the win. Sam Rizzo was in net.Bishop Fenwick 4, Matignon 0At Matignon, the Crusaders (8-2) had goals from Danielle DelTorto, Abbey Rocker, Rachel Cambria and Jenny Nasser. Merry Harrington and Emily Rocker combined for the shutout with Harrington the busier of the two with four saves.Lynnfield 2, North Reading 1At North Reading, Kelly Look headed the ball off a corner by Emily Scollard in the ninth minute to give the Pioneers (8-1-2) a 1-0 lead. Lexi Yannone made it 2-0 midway through the second half, but North Reading got that one back less than a minute later.Hannah Travers didn?t have that many shots on net, but she had to come out hard for the ball several times to prevent breakaways.The win qualifies the Pioneers for the state tournament. Last year, Lynnfield won the Cape Ann League title and reached the Division 3 North final before losing to Newburyport in penalty kicks. The two teams meet again on Wednesday.BOYS SOCCERSt. Mary?s 4, Austin Prep 0At Reading, St. Mary?s (10-1, 7-0) hopped out to an early lead on consecutive headers from Cristian Chavez, the former off a throw-in from P.J. Hatchouel, who picked up his first varsity assist. Chavez struck again at the 36:22 mark, directing home a feed from Kevin Esper, who capped the scoring early in the second half off a rebound forced by Noah Camelo.Dan Hennessey finished off a beautiful cross from Dan Montoya 6:31 into the second half for a 3-0 lead, which proved more than enough insurance for goalkeeper Erik Whitcomb (six saves), who earned his sixth shutout.The Spartans ran their winning streak to 10 games while staying undefeated in Catholic Central League play.Lynnfield 2, N. Reading 2At Lynnfield, the Pioneers nearly escaped with two points but instead settled for an impressive draw against a strong Hornets teams.Kuba Jablonka gave Lynnfield (4-3-4) a 2-1 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the second half before the visitors found the equalizer late in the 76th minute. The hosts fell behind 1-0 just 10 minutes into the game before Nathan Huebschman tied things in the 20th minute.Pioneers defenseman Zach Bisconti played a strong game from the center of the field in front of goalkeeper Nick Colucci, who made double-digit saves.Northeast 3, Tech 0At Wakefield, the Tigers (2-8-2) found themselves in a 2-0 hole by the half despite strong play from Samire Usuman at outside midfield and Gilmer Mendez on defense.Malden Cath. 5, Fenwick 1At Fenwick, the Crusaders (4-5) avoided a shutout on a late goal from Oliver Botthos.