Billerica Memorial High School Soccer

Billerica Memorial High School Soccer is the boys' and girls' soccer program of Billerica Memorial High School. Soccer was never played at the old Howe High School; the boys' varsity team was started in September 1972 by the teacher William Altieri and within eight years had won five league championships and a share of the 1980 Division 1 state title, the only state championship in the program's history. The girls' varsity team followed in the fall of 1982, ten years after Title IX, and under Tom Severo, its coach for thirty seasons, it won four Merrimack Valley Conference titles between 1991 and 1996, went 55 regular-season games without a loss and reached the Division 1 North final in 1994 and 1996. The boys' team has won its league, or a division of the Merrimack Valley Conference, at least thirteen times, and reached the Division 1 North final again in 2011.

The boys' team began as a teacher's project. The Boston Globe wrote in 2014 that Altieri, then a 29-year-old teacher, had talked the school's administration into starting a team in 1972, and the 1973 yearbook recorded that "with lots of energy and dedication but little experience, the B.M.H.S. soccer team was initiated on Sept. 13, 1972." Seniors of that year remembered being "a member of B.M.H.S.'s first soccer team"; before it, soccer at the school had been an intramural and gym-class game, and the 1971 and 1972 yearbooks list "intramural soccer" and "seventh period soccer" among the seniors' activities. In 1973 the team joined the Northern Soccer League and finished 8-4-2, in fourth place, missing the state tournament by a last-game loss to Wilmington. In 1974, with John Amato as assistant coach, it went 13-1-4 and 11-0-3 in the league, beat Wilmington for the league title, reached the state tournament for the first time, beat Medford 4-0 in the second round in the "Mud Bowl" at Belmont, and became the first team from the Northern Soccer League to reach the state quarterfinals. The 1975 team went 12-2-2; a 4-3 loss to Lawrence in the last seconds ended a run of 21 league games without a defeat, Wilmington took the league title and Saugus put Billerica out of the Eastern Massachusetts tournament. The 1976 team, coached by Altieri with George Roach and Mr. Amato, won the Merrimack Valley Soccer League without a loss, 13-0-3.

The team of 1977 won the Merrimack Valley Conference at 13-1-2 and went to the Eastern Massachusetts tournament as the fifth seed. It opened its season under the lights at Lampson Memorial Field in the annual Billerica-Bedford Cup game, which it won for the third straight year in 1978 to retire the cup in Billerica. In the tournament it shut out Falmouth, Arlington and Brockton, and its semifinal against Wakefield at Boston College's Alumni Field went scoreless through regulation, two overtimes and twelve sudden-death periods before officials stopped it; finished two days later at Masconomet Regional High School, it ended 1-0 for Billerica after 180 minutes, which the yearbook called "the longest high school soccer game in Massachusetts history." Needham won the Eastern Massachusetts final 2-0, and no state final was played that year. After a second-place finish in 1978, the 1979 team went 16-2-2, scored 60 goals in 20 games and posted nine straight shutouts, and won the conference for the third time in four years.

The 1980 team was the best in the program's history. It went 14-1-1, won the conference's West division, gave up four goals in 16 regular-season games and was seeded first in the Division 1 North tournament. It beat Waltham 1-0 at Boston University, Winchester 1-0 and Lexington 2-1 for the Division 1 North title, then beat Springfield Cathedral 2-1 on a goal with eight seconds left in the state semifinal on an icy artificial field at Westfield State College. The state final against Wellesley at Boston University was scoreless through regulation. The yearbook's account says Wellesley scored in the fifth overtime when a ball cleared by Billerica's goalkeeper struck a Wellesley player and rebounded into the net, but the MIAA's list of state champions records the 1980 Division 1 title as shared by Wellesley and Billerica, and the Boston Globe has called the team "co-state champions." Its goalkeeper was named an All-American. The 1983 team won another conference title at 15-1-2 and lost to Wakefield in the third overtime of its first tournament game, and the 1984 team went 13-3-2 and lost 1-0 to Lexington in the second round. Altieri, who later coached at Dennis-Yarmouth, was succeeded in the late 1980s by James Kelly, whose teams of 1987 to 1989 qualified for three straight tournaments, and in 1991 by Joe LoDuca, whose first team went 12-4-1. The 1994 team, only 7-4-7 in the regular season, posted 11 shutouts and reached the sectional semifinals.

Angelo Mara, who had coached the girls' junior varsity for eight years, coached the boys' varsity from 1995 to 2004 and won five conference titles: the Merrimack Valley Conference in 1997, decided by a 3-0 win over second-place Dracut in the last game of a 15-2-1 season; its Division II in 2000; and its small-school division in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In 2003 he was named the Lowell Sun's coach of the year. In 2002 the town finished a new soccer field, with new baseball and softball fields, at the Marshall Middle School, built with the help of a gift of $50,000 from Tom Glavine, and the boys played their senior night game of 2003 under the lights at the Marshall field. John Vassallo has coached the boys' team since the middle 2000s; the yearbooks picture him as coach from 2006, and the Boston Globe dates his tenure from 2008. His 2008 team won the conference and lost to Newton North on penalty kicks after two overtimes, and his 2011 team reached the Division 1 North final, which it lost to Masconomet. The team won the conference again in 2015, and in 2023 it opened 11-1 with the longest winning streak in its history, rising to 14th in the Globe's statewide poll. In the fall of 2024, seeded 17th in the Division 2 tournament, it beat Westwood on penalty kicks in the preliminary round.

The girls' varsity team played its first season in the fall of 1982, coached by Pat Minishak and Tom Severo. It started 2-4, then ran off seven straight shutouts, among them a scoreless tie with an Andover team that was then unbeaten, and finished 8-6-2, just short of the state tournament. Paul Powderly is pictured as coach of the second team, which also went 8-6-2. Severo took over in 1984, and that fall the team went 10-6-2, finished second in its division and reached the state tournament for the first time, losing 1-0 on a penalty kick to the top seed, Newton North. The 1987 team beat Chelmsford for the first time and won its opening tournament game against Acton-Boxboro 3-2 after two days, nine overtimes and 162 minutes, the longest Eastern Massachusetts tournament game yet played in girls' soccer. That was the first of fifteen consecutive state tournament appearances, through 2001.

From 1991 to 1996 the girls' team was one of the strongest in the state. The 1991 team went 16-0-2 in the regular season, won the Merrimack Valley Conference, broke Andover's five-year winning streak with a 3-1 win at Billerica, and lost the sectional semifinal to Framingham in the second sudden-death overtime. The 1992 team went 17-0-1, set school records for wins, shutouts and fewest goals allowed (six), and repeated as conference champion, and the 1993 team, 14-1-2, won a third straight title. An unbeaten streak that began in 1990 reached 55 games, 50 wins and five ties, before Bishop Fenwick ended it in 1993. The 1994 team, 18-2-1, beat Bishop Fenwick and Acton-Boxboro to reach the Division 1 North final for the first time; the 1995 team lost in the semifinals; and the 1996 team, 18-2-1, won the conference again and beat Peabody and Beverly before losing 3-1 to Winchester in the Division 1 North final. In the four seasons from 1993 to 1996 the girls went 100-4-6. Later teams reached the state tournament semifinals in 2003, when the program also received the MIAA's sportsmanship award for girls' soccer, shared the conference title in 2005, and in 2006 set a state tournament record with a goal ten seconds into a quarterfinal. Severo won his 300th game in 2007 and left in 2014 to coach the boys' team at Shawsheen Valley Technical High School, with a record at Billerica of 342-128-75; he was elected to the Massachusetts State Coaches Soccer Hall of Fame in 2011 and died in 2025. Tom Foley was coaching the girls' team by 2018.

The teams have played on several of the town's fields. Night games of the 1970s, such as the Bedford Cup games, were played at Lampson Memorial Field, which the Recreation Commission reported in 1976 was "in constant use for football, soccer and lacrosse," and the boys played night games of the 2000s at the Marshall Middle School. The high school's own Billerica Memorial High School Athletic Fields, among them Alumni Field, which seniors of 2020 remembered as "the muddy & rocky Alumni field," hold its practice and game fields for soccer. For the school's other fall sport with a long rivalry, see Billerica Memorial High School Football; for its winter counterpart, see Billerica Memorial High School Hockey.

References

1. Warrior 1971: seniors list "Intramural Soccer" and "Soccer Team '71" among their activities
2. Warrior 1972: "Seventh period soccer" and soccer among senior activities
3. Warrior 1973: "the B.M.H.S. soccer team was initiated on Sept. 13, 1972"; Coach William Altieri
4. Warrior 1974: Soccer in '73, 8-4-2 in the first season in the Northern Soccer League, fourth place
5. Warrior 1975: Soccer 74, 13-1-4, league champion, first state tournament, first Northern Soccer League team in the state quarterfinals
6. Warrior 1976: the 1975 season, 12-2-2; 21-game unbeaten league streak ended; Eastern Massachusetts loss to Saugus
7. Warrior 1977: the 1976 varsity, first in the Merrimack Valley Soccer League at 13-0-3; coaches Altieri, Roach and Amato
8. Warrior 1978: the '77 team opens under the lights at Lampson Field in the Billerica-Bedford Cup game; Eastern Massachusetts final loss to Needham
9. Warrior 1978: EMASS Soccer Tournament, 13-1-2 MVC champions; the 180-minute semifinal against Wakefield
10. Warrior 1979: the 1978 varsity, second in the MVC, Bedford Cup retired, Eastern Massachusetts loss to Braintree 3-2
11. Warrior 1980: the 1979 team, MVC champion at 16-2-2, 60 goals in 20 games, sixth straight tournament
12. Warrior 1981: the 1980 team, 14-1-1, Billerica's fifth championship in seven years
13. Warrior 1981: Soccer Tournament '80, Division I North champions, state semifinal at Westfield State and the final with Wellesley
14. MIAA boys' soccer tournament program, fall 2025: past state champions, 1980 Division 1 Wellesley and Billerica co-champions; no games in 1977
15. Boston Globe, September 23, 2014: Bill Altieri, who started the Billerica team in 1972 and coached its 1980 co-state champions, at Dennis-Yarmouth
16. Warrior 1983: the first girls' team, 8-6-2, coaches Pat Minishak and Tom Severo
17. Warrior 1983: the 1982 boys' varsity, 8-6-4, fourth place
18. Warrior 1984: the 1983 girls' team, 8-6-2 in its second season
19. Warrior 1984: girls' soccer team photograph with Coach Paul Powderly
20. Warrior 1984: the 1983 boys, MVC champions at 15-1-2, with Coach William Altieri; overtime loss to Wakefield
21. Warrior 1985: the 1984 girls, 10-6-2, first state tournament, 1-0 loss to Newton North
22. Warrior 1985: the 1984 boys, 13-3-2, second in the MVC; tournament win over Lynn English and loss to Lexington
23. Warrior 1987: the 1986 girls' team shuts out unbeaten Andover and ties Westford
24. Warrior 1988: girls' soccer beats Acton-Boxboro 3-2 after nine overtimes; first win over Chelmsford; Coach Tom Severo
25. Warrior 1988: boys' soccer, Coach James Kelly; tournament loss to St. John's Prep
26. Warrior 1989: the 1988 girls, 10-5-3, first win over Westford, tournament loss to Beverly
27. Warrior 1989: the 1988 boys' team coached by Jim Kelly, 12-5-3
28. Warrior 1990: the 1989 boys, 9-6-4 under Jim Kelly, third straight tournament
29. Warrior 1990: the 1989 girls, 12-3-3, best season to date, third straight state tournament
30. Warrior 1991: the 1990 boys, 7-4-6, missed the tournament by one point
31. Warrior 1992: the 1991 boys, 12-4-1 under first-year coach Joe LoDuca
32. Warrior 1992: the 1991 girls, MVC champions at 16-0-2, semifinal loss to Framingham in overtime
33. Warrior 1993: the 1992 girls repeat as MVC champions and set school records
34. Warrior 1994: the 1993 girls, 14-1-2, third straight MVC title; unbeaten streak ended at 55 games
35. Warrior 1995: the 1994 girls, 18-2-1, first trip to the Division I North final
36. Warrior 1995: the 1994 boys, 7-4-7, 11 shutouts, sectional semifinal
37. Warrior 1996: the 1995 boys, 5-11-2 under new Coach Mara
38. Warrior 1997: the 1996 girls, MVC champions, 18-2-1; tournament wins over Peabody and Beverly, loss to Winchester
39. Warrior 1998: the 1997 boys, 15-2-1, MVC champions after a 3-0 win over Dracut
40. Warrior 1999: the 1998 boys, 12-2-4, second in the MVC, quarterfinal loss to St. John's Prep
41. Warrior 2001: the 2000 boys, MVC Division II champions at 7-1-5
42. Warrior 2002: the 2001 girls qualify for the state tournament for the 15th consecutive year
43. Warrior 2003: the 2002 boys, MVC Small School champions, 10-5-3, quarterfinal loss to Beverly
44. Warrior 2004: the 2003 boys, MVC Small School champions under the lights at the Marshall field; Coach Angelo Mara Lowell Sun Coach of the Year
45. Warrior 2004: the 2003 girls reach the state semifinals, 15-3-3, MIAA sportsmanship award
46. Warrior 2005: the 2004 boys win a third straight MVC Small School title; Coach Angelo Mara retires after ten seasons and five MVC titles
47. Warrior 2006: the 2005 girls, MVC co-champions at 13-3-2
48. Warrior 2007: the 2006 boys' team, 9-6-3; team photograph with Coach Vassallo
49. Warrior 2007: the 2006 girls, 12-3-3, state tournament quarterfinal
50. Warrior 2008: the 2007 girls, 13-5-1, and Coach Severo's 300th win
51. Warrior 2009: the boys' team wins the Merrimack Valley Conference at 10-5-3 and loses to Newton North on penalty kicks
52. Billerica Town Report 1976, Recreation: the Lampson Memorial football field "in constant use for football, soccer and lacrosse"
53. Billerica Town Report 1984, schools: honors for the soccer team among the year's athletic achievements
54. Billerica Town Report 2002, Recreation: new baseball, softball and soccer fields at the Marshall Middle School, with a $50,000 gift from Tom Glavine
55. Billerica Town Report 2016, BMHS: boys' soccer among the 2015-2016 Merrimack Valley Conference champions
56. Boston Globe, November 10, 2020: Tom Severo, Billerica girls' coach from 1984 for 30 seasons (342-128-75), wins his 400th game at Shawsheen
57. Boston Globe, May 16, 2025: obituary of Tom Severo; 55-game unbeaten streak, 100-4-6 from 1993 to 1996, Division 1 North finals of 1994 and 1996
58. Boston Globe, December 11, 2011: boys' soccer All-Scholastics; Masconomet defeats Billerica in the Division 1 North final
59. Boston Globe, October 9, 2023: Billerica boys at 11-1, longest winning streak in program history, under coach John Vassallo
60. Boston Globe, November 4, 2024: No. 17 Billerica beats Westwood on penalty kicks in the Division 2 preliminary round
61. Warrior 2019: boys' varsity soccer, Coach John Vassallo
62. Warrior 2019: girls' varsity soccer, Coach Tom Foley
63. Warrior 2020: girls' varsity soccer, Coach Tom Foley, assistant Kristen Yohn