The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 47

The D15 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2007 on Globe School football preview 1 1 in i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Schedule Plf fflllfffl. TODAY'S GAMES Offense driving MVC showdown 111! Vi'fl MftMf Wfl L'; i'-'-1- 1 i .1 IIIIIIIMIIIIIMIIIIIIMIIIIIMIiniMIIIIIIIIIMII This week's picks Wilmington over Amesbury With Ernie Mello on my fantasy high school football team, I'm sitting pretty in first place. Dorchester over Latin Academy How about this for rankings 1) Dorchester; 2) Everett; 3) Boston College; 4) New England Patriots. Bridgewater-Raynham over New Bedford Now that they've finally decided B-R's new field doesn't require as many toilets as Gillette Stadium, the Trojans can concentrate on the business of winning games. Catholic Memorial over Hartford (Vt.) Mike Buttimer gets one wish after kicking the game-winner Friday and it's to check out foliage in Vermont? What's up with that? Division 1 GREATER BOSTON Medford at Cambridge, Waltham at Maiden, 7.

NONLEAGUE Manchester West (NH) at Everett, Catholic Memorial at Hartford Brockton at St. John's Prep, Durfee at Attleboro, Somerset at Dartmouth, Maiden Catholic at Burlington, 7. Division 1A ATLANTIC COAST Marshfield at Whitman-Hanson, Falmouth at North Quincy, Plymouth South at Nauset, 7. DUAL COUNTY Acton-Boxboro vs. Boston Latin at White Stadium, Newton South at Wayland, Tyngsboro at Concord-Carlisle, Bedford at Lincoln-Sudbury, 7.

MERRIMACK VALLEY Dracut at Central Catholic, Andover at Billerica, Methuen at Haverhill, Tewksbury at Chelmsford, 7. NONLEAGUE Lowell at Westford, 7. Division 2 BAYSTATE Walpole at Milton, 7:30. H0CKOMOCK Franklin at Canton, Mansfield at Stoughton, 7. MIDDLESEX Melrose at Stoneham, 6:30.

NONLEAGUE Bishop Feehan at La-Salle, Silver Lake at King Philip, Bishop Stang at Dighton-Rehoboth, 7. Division 2A PATRIOT Middleboro at Rockland, Duxbury at Hanover, 7. SOUTH COAST Seekonk at Appo-nequet, Bourne at Old Rochester, Case at Fairhaven, Greater New Bedford at Wareham, 7. NONLEAGUE Hingham at Bishop Fenwlck, Danvers at Peabody, Beverly at Revere, Amesbury at Wilmington, Ipswich at Triton, North Reading at North Andover, Lynn Classical at Marblehead, 7. Division 3 SOUTH SHORE Hull at East Bridge-water, 7.

TRI-VALLEY Dover-Sherborn at Bellingham, Millis at Westwood, Holliston at Medway, Medneld at Ashland, Hopkinton at Norton, 7. NONLEAGUE Littleton at Martha's Vineyard, Archbishop Williams at Norwell, Saugus at Watertown, 7. Division 3A BOSTON NORTH South Boston at Boston English, Madison Park at West Roxbury, Charlestown at East Boston, 6. NONLEAGUE Northeast at Blue Hills, North Shore at Lynn Tech, Southeastern at Weston, 7. Division 4 BOSTON SOUTH Brighton at Hyde Park, O'Bryant at Burke, Latin Academy at Dorchester, 3.

CATHOLIC CENTRAL (SMALL) Ma-tignon at Marian, Cathedral at Lowell Catholic, 7. NONLEAGUE Trinity Catholic at West Bridgewater, i GREG BAKERASSOCIATED PRESS Cristiane celebrates after US midfielder Leslie Osborne (12) deflected the ball into her own goal past Briana Scurry (1) to put Brazil ahead, 1-0, in the Americans' semifinal loss. Women's World Cup soccer Staff picks by Bob Holmes. Last week 3-1 (season, 8-9). razilians crash TOMORROW'S GAMES By Ricky Popolizio GLOBE CORRESPONDENT For most teams, the final weekend of "summer" football means the final weekend of nonleague play.

Conference competition is heating up, with the first official fall games sure to showcase some of the best matchups of the year. The Merrimack Valley Conference features two rivalries tonight, No. 10 Andover at No. 5 Billerica and No. 20 Tewksbury at un-ranked Chelmsford.

The first matchup is the most intriguing and will pit teams that have averaged nearly 30 points per game (Billerica 29, Andover 28.3) this season, but Billerica's defense has held opponents to an average of justl6pointsto Andover's 2 1 The X-factor in this game is home field, which belongs to the Indians (3-0). The home team has won the last six games in the series, with Andover taking last year's meeting, 34-22. Andover (2-1), which leads the series, 29-16-2, but hasn't won an MVC championship since 1975, is the underdog but can't be counted out. Both teams are healthy and aware of the playoff implications. "We are looking for a Thanksgiving-type crowd and the school is just off the chart as far as spirit goes," said Billerica coach Peter Flynn.

"The whole community is just so excited. It's awesome going down the corridor, you see banners and everybody is talking about the football game Friday night. Two excellent, quality teams going at it. It's going to be an awesome MVC contest, for sure." Billerica sits atop the MVC with victories against Burlington, Wo-burn, and Methuen. The Indians have made it look easy at times, building a 26-9 advantage at one point against Woburn in Week 2.

Senior Kenny Mangie made several highlight-reel grabs that day and scored three of his seven touchdowns. "Mangie has come out of the woodwork for us," said Flynn. "He's having a great year and is a definite difference-maker in whatever facet of the game he is involved." Timmy Morrison, who is responsible for running the Indians' offense and getting Mangie the ball, has been equally up to the task. "He has a mastery of our offense," said Flynn. "His check calls have been absolutely 100 percent on target.

He's got a tremendous arm and reads the defensive coverages instantaneously, and as do our receivers who have choice routes. They are in synch." Another key contributor has been Chris Muraca, an outside linebacker and the leader of Billerica's defense. "He makes all our check calls on defense," said Flynn. "He gets us in the correct formation. Our O-line has matured and is doing an excellent job.

They work so cohesively. Their check calls are so important because when we go to our four- or five-wideout sets, they have to be on target. They are firing on all cylinders." Andover coach Ken Maglio acknowledged Billerica's front line as being a tough test. "The left side of the line is huge, but we have some tough kids, so hopefully they School roundup Scurry can't stop tide; Solo angry By Stephen Wade ASSOCIATED PRESS rffW 1 HANGZHOU, China rt The way Brazil and LaLmU sensational striker Marta played, it didn't matter who was in goal for the United States. Marta scored two goals and the Brazilians put on a dazzling display of soccer yesterday, out-hustling the Americans at nearly every turn to cruise toa4-0 victory in the Women's World Cup semifinals.

The Brazilians will play in their first final Sunday against defending champion Germany. "If you asked me how I do that, I can't explain," Marta said, even after watching TV replays of her goals. "Things happen very quickly during the match, and afterward I start thinking: How do I do That's what American goalie Hope Solo was asking. Angry she was replaced for the critical game in favor of veteran Briana Scurry, Solo lashed out at US coach Greg Ryan. "It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that," Solo said.

"There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves You have to live in the present. And you can't live by big names. You can't live in the footed shot from 15 yards that hugged the ground and beat Scurry diving to her left. She got her left hand on the ball but couldn't stop it. "The first goal that Marta scored was a great goal," Ryan said.

"Briana in that situation gives us the best chance to stop that shot because of her quickness and speed. If you look at the rest of the match, there is nothing she could have done about any of the other goals." Scurry, the 36-year-old former UMass star who stopped a deciding penalty kick to give the US the 1999 World Cup, was under intense scrutiny. Ryan named her to start just 24 hours beforehand, benching Solo, who had allowed only two goals in four World Cup games and none in almost 300 minutes. Any hope the US had was snuffed out a few seconds into first-half injury time when Shannon Boxx picked up her second yellow card, leaving the Americans a player short. The foul was marginal, but Boxx lunged on a tackle trailing just a step behind the Brazilian attackers.

"I'm not sure about the call on Boxx," Scurry said. "Brazil's a great team. You can't go down a man against a team like Brazil; they are going to tear you up. Un-fortunately, that's what happened." Brazil's victory was only its second over the United States in 23 games. past." Ryan defended his decision and Scurry, who made her 164th appearance for the United States.

"I don't have any regrets about that," he said. "I think Bri played a great game." He stressed that he didn't think the switch affected the game. Ryan might have been right. The Brazilians attacked from the start, and the Americans were unable to keep pace as their 51-match unbeaten streak ended with their worst loss in a World Cup match. The US will play Norway for third place Sunday.

The opening score came on an own-goal in the 20th minute, when American defender Leslie Osborne headed a corner behind Scurry. Lucky or not, the Brazilians were off and running and proved to be better in every facet: clever triangulated passes, counterattacks, audacious moves, and blistering shots. "They played like a team," American striker Abby Wambach said. "I've never seen them play so well. They brought all of their heart and all of their soccer to the table.

"It's a hard loss to swallow," she added. "More than anything it's just heartbreaking, it's hard to go down like this." Marta made it 2-0 in the 27th minute to add to Brazil's growing confidence. She evaded a half-dozen players and cracked a left- can meet the challenge." Andover is similar to Billerica; it is a multifaceted team that can throw and run well. The Golden Warriors have victories over North Andover and Dracut, but fell to No. 4 BC High.

A few miscues led to a near collapse against Dracut last week, but Andover held on, 32-28. 'We made some killer mistakes in the end and shot ourselves in the foot a few times," said Maglio. "You have to play 44 minutes, not 33." Mike Pierce, who has thrown five touchdown passes and scored five TDs, is a threat to run or pass and is one of the best quarterbacks in the state. He also has kicked three field goals and had a 60-yard punt against BC High. "Mike's gotten a lot thicker," said Maglio.

"He's very athletic and the key to our program right now. If he has a good game, we will be OK "It's always a great game no matter what the record is. It comes down to the last couple plays. They seem to get up for us and we get up for them. It should be great Friday night" Also tonight, No.

20 Tewksbury (3-0) puts its perfect record on the line in Chelmsford (2-1). The Red-men, who beat Chelmsford, 20-14, in overtime last year, have opened with wins over Tyngsboro, Wakefield, and Lowell. The Lions took down Waltham and Haverhill, but faltered against Acton-Boxboro. Tewksbury will look to ride running back Derek Lowe and quarterback Chris Teixeira. In Division 1, Brockton (2-1) and St.

John's Prep (2-1) represent teams heading in different directions. After a tough opening loss to BC High, Brockton has crushed Taunton and Xaverian. St. John's Prep jumped out of the gates quickly, shutting out Peabody and Central Catholic, but put up little fight in a 35-7 loss to No. 1 Everett.

The first big city game is today in East Boston as the unbeaten Jets host Charlestown (2-1) in a Boston North contest. Division 1 NONLEAGUE BC High vs. Taunton at Bristol-Plymouth High School, Taunton, St Joseph's (N.J.) at Xaverian, Gloucester at Barnstable, Arlington Catholic at Arlington, New Bedford at Bridgewater-Raynham, 1:30. Division 1A ATLANTIC COAST Dennis-Yarmouth at Sandwich, Plymouth North at Quincy, 7. BAY STATE Framingham vs.

Newton North at Newton South, 10; Need-ham at Braintree, 10; Weymouth at Brookline, 2. Division 2 BAY STATE Dedham at Wellesley, Natick at Norwood, 1. H0CK0MOCK North Attleboro at Sharon, Foxboro at Oliver Ames, 3. MIDDLESEX Wakefield at Woburn, Reading at Lexington, Belmont at Winchester (Dilboy Field, Somerville), 6. NONLEAGUE Austin Prep at Bishop Connolly, Mashpee at Coyle-Cassidy, 1:30.

Division 2A NONLEAGUE Lawrence at Lynn-field, 11; Salem at Swampscott, 12; Scituate at Cohasset, Randolph at Pembroke, Newburyport at Pentuck-et, Masconomet at Hamilton-Wenham, Winthrop at Lynn English, 2. Division 3 SOUTH SHORE Abington at Carver, 1. NONLEAGUE Mystic Valley at St. Mary's, 7. Division 3 A NONLEAGUE Georgetown at Whit-tier, Diman at South Shore, 11; Holbrook at Cape Cod Tech, Greater Lowell at Chelsea, Minuteman at Greater Lawrence, Manchester Essex at Shawsheen, Bristol-Plymouth at Nantucket, 2.

Division 4 MAYFLOWER (SMALL) Tri-County at Old Colony, 7. NEPSAC ISL Lawrence Academy at Groton, Governor's Academy at St. Sebastian's, Thayer at Nobles, Belmont Hill at Brooks, St. George's at Roxbury Latin, Milton Academy at Middlesex, St. Mark's at St.

Paul's at Rivers, 3:30. Revolution are minus adds Hornets end four-year drought it to them but we don't want to give them a goal." The Revolution are also seeking to make up for a 3-0 loss to Colorado in Commerce City Aug. 16. "We weren't there and they pounced on us; the game was over before halftime," Heaps said. "We hate to give away games like that.

They were playing for survival and they are in the same boat now. We have to match their intensity and limit their wide play, make them defend." Nicol plans to use the loss to the Rapids for motivation. "It's absolutely 360 degrees different," Nicol said of playing Colorado at Gillette Stadium. "We were fortunate to have the scoreline we did, to be honest. If the Revolution players don't have that in the back of their minds, we are certainly going to remind them.

It was one of the few times since I've been here that we embarrassed ourselves." The Revolution (13-6-7, 46 points) and FC Dallas are the only MLS teams with a chance for a triple crown: the Open Cup, Supporters Shield (best regular-season record), and MLS Cup. The top four regular-season finishers also qualify for the Superliga, a $1 million tournament involving MLS and Mexican League teams. By Frank Dell'Apa GLOBE STAFF FOXBOROUGH The Revolution have usually made late-season additions for the playoffs. But those changes have not always paid off. So, the Revolution entered the stretch run of the season with a roster comprised mostly of players who started training with the team in January.

In fact, the performers in the starting lineup for tomorrow's game against Colorado have been together for at least the last three seasons, reflecting the belief in stability of coach Steve Nicol and assistant Paul Mariner. Taylor Twellman (right groin) is listed as probable but could be replaced by first-year forward Adam Cristman. "Adding players doesn't create the right locker room all of the time," said defender Jay Heaps yesterday. "We've added players a couple of times but they have not had the impact as hoped. "Stevie and Paul have been able to develop guys.

And you can only use three subs, so we have enough guys at every position. The coaches didn't kill us, they have used the right combinations of giving us rest after games, so we are fresh." The Revolution recently added Abdoulie Ken Mansally and Sainey Nyassi from Gambia's Un-der-20 national team, and forward Willie Sims returned yes- terday from playing on loan to the Puerto Rico Islanders. All three could be used in reserve roles as the Revolution visit FC Dallas for the US Open Cup final Wednesday, and play at Chicago Oct. 6. "The way we look at it, we started from the Dallas game a 4-2 victory Sept.

15 to make a push to the playoffs and the Open Cup," Heaps said. "In terms of making that last push, we are 1-0-1. We are disappointed we didn't finish off the game in New York a 2-2 tie last Saturday. Everyone is disappointed, but it's a good sign that we got a tie on the road and everyone thinks we should have won." The Revolution have emphasized defending and vocal exchanges in training this week. The Red Bulls capitalized on a mix-up between defenders Avery John and Michael Parkhurst, New York's Juan Pablo Angel scoring the tying goal in the 84th minute.

John sprained his left knee when he was fouled by Angel and will be replaced by James Riley at left back. "We have a strong team but letting teams back into the game has been our curse this year," Heaps said. "The key is not having letdowns. In the last 10 minutes we still have to talk, even if we are winded. If we are talking, we know where the other guy is.

If the other team scores a great goal against us, we have to hand missed becoming the third player in school history to score at least 100, has 99 tallies. The school record is 115. Girls' volleyball Greater Boston: Joyce Fienman served five straight points to clinch Game 5 and the match as Arlington beat Medford, 3-2. Mayflower Presentation of Mary's Michelle Melvin scored 11 service points and had 18 assists as the Panthers beat Fellowship Christian, 3-1. Patriot: Rachele Bernache (nine digs) and Shelly Hanscom (seven blocks) helped Rockland sweep Hanover, 3-0.

Old Colony: Barnstable swept Dartmouth, 3-0, behind setter Amanda Parker (18 assists) and Cara Cullen (13 kills). Stephanie Bristol and Stephanie Tuepker contributed nine and six kills, By Amanda Bruno GLOBE CORRESPONDENT Since its start in 2002, the North Reading field hockey program has been trying to build a high-caliber team. The girls won only one game in 2003, a 1-0 decision over Lynnfield, but couldn't get any more wins until four years later. Junior midfielder Hilary O'Brien scored two minutes into the first half yesterday to give the Hornets a 1-0 victory over Wilmington (1-8-1), ending their four-year drought. "Tracey Dillon, one of my seniors was in disbelief," said coach Jennifer Quigley.

"It was great to see her realize that we won. Her face was filled with pure happiness she almost started to cry." Sophomore goalie Kiara Zani was on top of every ball as she recorded 10 saves. This is her second year starting for North Reading (1-9). "Kiara is a phenomenal goalie," said Quigley. "As a sophomore, she's super aggressive and one of the strongest players on the team.

She's a strong leader and very composed for being so young." Northeastern: Junior Jamie No-cella tallied both of Peabody's goals and junior Rebecca Mullen (eight saves) recorded her fifth shutout in nine games as the Tanners (6-2-1) blanked Revere, 2-0. Girls' soccer Nonleague: In a revenge match, Duxbury (5-1-2) handed Dennis-Yarmouth its first loss of the season, 3-0, behind two assists from Jordyn Krall. On Sept. 6, Dennis-Yarmouth handed Duxbury its only loss of the season, 3-2 Junior Amanda Webster scored two goals as St. Mary's notched a 3-1 win over Fontbonne.

Webster, who just Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at fdellapaglobe.com,..