Virtually every high school athletic team goes through a rebuilding period at one point or another.
For the Gloucester High boys soccer team — which was tasked with replacing a superstar talent (Gino Tripoli) in addition to numerous other graduating pieces — one of those “rebuilds” was bound to happen this fall. Deploying a new-look roster with many fresh faces in key spots, the Fishermen understandably took their lumps to begin the season, including enduring a five-game winless stretch, with their only point coming via a 2-2 draw with Saugus.
But since then, Gloucester has begun to find its groove — and a huge piece to that has been the stellar goalkeeping and leadership from senior captain Stefano Numerosi.
One of the few mainstays in the lineup from last year’s Division 3 state quarterfinalist squad, Numerosi has been lights out over the last week. He’s recorded three straight clean sheets in net, helping his team to wins over Winthrop (1-0) and Salem (4-0), as well as a huge scoreless draw against Northeastern Conference powerhouse Masconomet.
“Stefano’s biggest attribute during this time of the season is his calmness when crunch time in a game rises,” said Gloucester head coach Armando Marnoto. “The pressure doesn’t affect him, (and) that permeates throughout the team.”
A tall, athletic shot stopper between the posts, Numerosi has had plenty of lockdown performances throughout his varsity career. But this recent stretch has to be among his best, as he’s faced 22 shots in those past three games and stopped them all. His reliability as the last line of defense has helped Gloucester inch closer to .500 at 3-4-2.
Numerosi will look for another strong outing when Gloucester hosts Saugus on Wednesday afternoon (4:30 start).
Sports Editor Nick Giannino may be contacted at 978-675-2712 or ngiannino@northofboston.com.