Watertown High School seniors Ava Lamacchia, Gavin Foley, and Sophia Setouhi signed their letters of intent to play college sports. (Photo by Watertown Athletics)
A boys soccer player and a pair of field hockey players from Watertown High School will continue their careers in college. This week, Gavin Foley, Sophia Setouhi, and Ava Lamacchia signed their letters of intent to play at the next level. Gavin Foley poses with his family after signing his letter of intent to play soccer at Brandeis. (Photo by Watertown Athletics)
Foley, who helped the Raiders boys soccer team reach the Round of 16 in the 2025 MIAA Div.
John A. Ryan Arena remains the place to go locally to catch hockey action. Blink your eyes and one game is over and another begins. On Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. Woburn came to town, coming off a season-opening loss to Wakefield last Saturday. Watertown/Wayland (W/W) found themselves in the same place after losing at Belmont, also on Saturday, 4-1. Two teams therefore eager to get their first win played hard, but Woburn was simply better on this afternoon on the way to a 4-0 victory. Watertown and Wayland continue to rely on one-another in order to field a team, and the collaborative roster for this season is equally split – 11 Raiders and 11 Tanners. It’s a young roster, with one freshman, nine sophomores, six juniors and six seniors. Five captains represent the veteran presence — Wayland junior Adam Capello, Watertown junior Isaac Maillis, Watertown junior Luke Egan, Wayland senior Griffin Wood and Wayland junior Theodore Henrich. And John Vlachos returns for another season as Head Coach.
Watertown Boys Basketball has enjoyed a rich history the past 31 years, all under the stewardship of Head Coach Steve Harrington. Three State Titles (’07, ’09, ’18), as well as appearances in five title games and nine Final Fours. Beyond those numbers are the many young men who have passed through the program and accomplished great things on the Watertown hardwood, and quite often beyond. There is never a time when Watertown basketball goes into a season expecting anything less than competing for the Middlesex League title and a trip to the MIAA Div. 3 Tournament. This year is no different, but the challenges facing this squad as they try and reach those goals are greater than years past. Last night’s 57-46 loss to the Woburn Tanners at the Watertown Middle School inside the Palladino Memorial Gymnasium made that very clear. The Raiders (0-2) fell behind early in this contest, committing way too many turnovers which Woburn (2-0) was more than accommodating converting into points. Junior guard Aiden Brown was the leader among five Tanners on the scoresheet in the quarter, his sweet jumper and smooth stroke counting for 10 points. Raiders junior forward Michael Nshanian did his best to keep the score close, scoring 6 points on a variety of moves, but the Raiders trailed 21-12 after one quarter. The Raiders are minus their big man of the past two years, as Will Carty moved onto prep school over the summer while choosing to repeat his junior year.
Watertown senior Jimmy Shrestha finished second at the Wakefield Lisitano Tournament over the weekend. Here he competes at the 2025 State Meet. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
The Watertown wrestlers had a successful return to the mats when five Raiders placed in the top five at the Wakefield Lisitano Tournament on Dec. 13. Jimmy Shrestha and Hagop Shabazyan each finished second, while Fahad Khan and Billy Werra placed third, and Ruben Kostanyan got fifth place, said Watertown Wrestling Coach Kevin Russo.
The lights are back on at the Watertown Middle School Gymnasium and the 2025-26 Basketball Season is underway. While Boys Hoops travelled to Belmont to open their campaign, the Girls opened at home to begin the the third and final interim season of hoops at the Middle School before beginning play at the new High School Gym in December of 2026. Coach Mike Tempesta, in his third year at the helm, and his young and small (as in only ten dressed) squad got off to a good start with a 63-54 win over the cross-town rival Marauders. The Raiders graduated four seniors, all starters, so change was in the air, but at the same time, not so much. The starting five on this night included senior captain Sophia Setouhi, who played a significant role on last year’s team. It also included returning junior Aisling Brennock, fresh off an excellent Field Hockey campaign and ready to play a more significant role on this year’s team. Brooke Lambo, the third Lambo girl on the way to being a hoops star in Watertown and beyond, returns after a fine Freshman season. And rounding out the starting five were two fabulous freshman, Natalie Haley and Natalia Keuchkarian, who contributed significantly to last year’s 14-8 team as eighth graders, and already seemed ready to take on starring roles. Tonight’s game did not play out like a first game of the season, full of nerves and turnovers and lack of a shooting eye. Well, don’t get me wrong, all those things were in play, but up and down competitive basketball was just as much the theme. Neither team ever led by double digits, and lead changes were as frequent as honking horns at the Common Street rotary. Sophomore Guard Sarah Geller had 7 first quarter points for Belmont on the way to a 16-12 lead after one quarter. But Watertown picked up its defense in the second, especially after going to a 2-3 zone, although they didn’t have an answer for forward Sophia McClendon, who had 8 in the quarter.
The Watertown hockey team seeks another trip to the State Tournament in 2025-26. Here the Raiders celebrate a 4-3 double overtime victory over Pembroke in the MIAA Div. 3 State Tournament. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
The Watertown boys hockey team faces off with Belmont on Saturday in the first regular season game of the year. The Raiders look to return to the State Tournament and make a run as they have in recent years.
The Raiders hope to celebrate more State Tournament wins in 2025-26. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Basketball is back for Watertown High School (well, at Watertown Middle School for one more year). The season tips off for the boys and girls varsity teams on Friday when each face rival Belmont, as both look to return to the MIAA State Tournament. Boys Basketball
In 2024-25, the Raiders boys squad went 15-7, and defeated Oakmont in the first round of the State Tournament. Abington ended Watertown’s season in the Round of 16.
Watertown Field HockeyWatertown Field Hockey Coach Eileen Donahue celebrated win number 700 in 2021. Watertown High School Field Hockey Coach Eileen Donahue received the Coach of the Year award from the National Federation of State High School Associations. Donahue was one of 24 high school coaches from across the country in a range of sports to be selected as 2023-24 National Coaches of the Year by the NFHS Coaches Association. She was the only honoree from Massachusetts. The coaches are nominated by the NFHS member state associations, which often works with the state coaches’ association in its respective state, according to the NFHS announcement, which continued: “The state association then contacts the potential state award recipients to complete a coach profile form that requests information regarding the coach’s record, membership in and affiliation with coaching and other professional organizations, involvement with other school and community activities and programs, and coaching philosophy.”
