Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/watertown-sports/)
The Watertown Field Hockey team will face Gloucester in the State Tournament, followed by a the Raiders Boys Soccer against St. Mary’s. Here the Raiders attack the Swampscott net in the Oct. 29 Round of 32 win. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Tuesday will be State Tournament time at Victory Field when two Watertown High School teams host postseason games.
The Super Bowl is practically a national holiday. Halloween comes pretty close. Come 5 p.m., you’re either getting ready at home for the doorbell to ring with trick-or-treaters, you’re putting on the final touches of a costume for yourself for a party or for your trick-or-treating children – or, you are turning off the lights and going to dinner. It’s a crazy and hectic end of almost two months of candy sales, Halloween programming on TV and outrageous front yard decorations. One thing you don’t expect to have happen on Halloween is a high school football game. But, the calendar says Happy Halloween on Friday night once every seven years, and Friday Night Football is a pretty special thing as well. So, Watertown football kept its game on Friday night rather than moving it up a day as some communities did, and it was an important game to boot.
Watertown sophomore Ave Anderson, right, celebrates scoring against Swampsott in the State Tournament Round of 32 at Victory Field on Wednesday. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Watertown Field Hockey knows who they are and what is expected of them. When they lose (and that’s rarely) it’s big news. If they win, but by only a certain margin, it’s news. When they give up a goal, for goodness sake, it’s news. It’s an understatement that the weight of expectation is heavy. But you would never guess that it affects those who put on the uniform and play for Coach Eileen Donohue. They simply buy in and practice hard and play hard and believe that they will be rewarded for the commitment and the sweat and the effort.
Another beautiful Fall day at Victory Field brought out some lovely play from the Raiders field hockey team on Oct. 23, as they thoroughly controlled this game from start to finish, winning their final regular season home game 7-0. Just a minute in a wicked slapper from 15 yards out by Kaylee Master made it 1-0. Less than three minutes later senior co-captain Sophia Setouhi, who was flying around the field on this day, made it 2-0 after some nifty moves. Freshman Lola Venezia finished the first period scoring on a rebound shot that got past the Burlington goalkeeper to make it 3-0 after one period. Now, it should be said that the Burlington goalie was impressive throughout the half, coming aggressively out of her goalie crease, anticipating plays and trying to cut off angles to potential shots on goal.
There is no substitute for practice, and in football there is a lot of it. At the high school level, except for an occasional day off here and there, it’s play Friday night, watch film on the weekend, practice Monday through Thursday and then play again on Friday. And football practice can be monotonous, running the same play over and over again until it’s executed to perfection. But, in the end, it’s all worth it, especially when everything clicks on the field on game day! That was the case for the Raiders the last time they got to play on their home turf in a shutout of Brookline way back on September 26. Then it was on the road against Stoneham, Wakefield and Melrose. The Raiders played Stoneham tough, but could only muster 12 points in defeat. Then it was a loss to Wakefield 27-17. But the biggest loss was last week, and it wasn’t on the scoreboard. At Melrose, Watertown’s Junior QB Coleman Keuchkarian-McKeen injured his knee in the first quarter and Watertown went on to lose 21-0. A much bigger loss was losing Keuchkarian for the season with a torn meniscus. Of course, as big a blow as it is for the team, it’s crushing for the player, who had established himself throwing and running the ball,
So, you can imagine what practice was like this week trying to prepare for Burlington, 3 and 0 in league play and 6 and 0 overall. And trying to incorporate a new offensive system.
It’s great to score goals if you’re a soccer team, but those weren’t the only goals Watertown Boys Soccer thought about this past off-season. They had a vision of a successful season with lofty goals, and were on a mission to live up to their own challenge. They practiced all summer long. Five days a week. Sometimes all seven days. Captain-organized practices, rain or shine, throughout the summer heat.
Thank you. Thanks for your dedication to the program. Thanks for contributing to four straight State titles. That’s what Thursday was about as Watertown’s Field Hockey program recognized their seniors prior to taking on Arlington at Victory Field. This year’s roster has only two seniors, co-captains Ava Lamacchia and Sophia Setouhi. Ava plays defense and Sophia is a forward, and like so many others who have passed through the program in recent years, they have contributed in so many ways, and enjoyed the ultimate fruits of their labor — championships. This season has been a bit different than recent years, if for no other reason than the Raiders have lost — twice. But, their ultimate fate is far from being determined, and Coach Donahue will make sure each player gets the best out of themselves. On this day, Watertown was clearly the best team, as they controlled the play from start to finish, never allowing a shot on freshman goalie Natalia Keuchkarian. What the Raiders did do is pressure the Arlington goalie. And, as has been the case in one or two other games this season, an opposing goalie stood on her head, making save after save, some of the spectacular variety, and that kept the final score at a modest 4-0.
The following announcement was provided by Westfield State Athletics:
Earlier this week, Westfield State first-year forward Caroline Andrade (Watertown, Mass./Watertown HS) was named as the National Field Hockey Coaches Association’s national Offensive Player of the Week for NCAA Division III for the week ending October 5. Andrade tallied five goals and three assists in a 3-0 week for the Owls, and has been a major factor in the Owls current eight-game winning streak. “I was excited,” said Andrade, on learning of the award. “But I think it’s’ really about the team connecting, more of a team effort and seeing passes.”
Andrade missed the first six games of the 2025 season for the Owls when an injury she suffered during high school basketball flared up before the start of the season. Andrade came off the bench in her first two games in the lineup for the Owls, scoring shootout in a overtime win against Johnson and Wales before being inserted into the starting lineup. “I was a little rough and rusty at first, and it was difficult not knowing exactly how my teammates played even though I had been watching all season,” said Andrade.