Cambridge Rindge Latin is moving closer to joining the Dual County League, a switch that could lead to the end of the Greater Boston League.
According to Westford principal Jim Antonelli, Cambridge school officials had a preliminary meeting with their counterparts from the DCL in mid-August to discuss the potential move. The next step is for Cambridge to meet with other GBL schools and ask for a release from the league. GBL athletic directors are scheduled to meet next week.
Though the process is complicated and can be time-consuming, the DCL wants Cambridge, and Cambridge wants the DCL, so what’s left are the details and the timetable. Both MIAA District A and District B Committees will have a say as will the remaining GBL schools before a vote by the DCL principals. Normally there’s a two-year waiting period, but Cambridge officials are hoping the move can be made in time for the 2014-15 school year. Cambridge already competes in the DCL in boys’ volleyball.
“I feel very confident after a straw vote that the principals and athletic directors will welcome them [Cambridge] with open arms,’’ said Antonelli. “But we have to go through a process and we need to be transparent in what we do.”
The next question is for the remaining four GBL schools. The Old Colony League has three schools as does the Big Three, so the GBL could remain a four-team league. But joining the Northeastern Conference seems a more likely outcome.
The GBL applied to join the 11-member Northeastern Conference late in 2012, but in the spring NEC principals voted no.
But with four new principals at NEC schools this year, and NEC athletic directors still open to the idea, the discussions have started again, according to Beverly athletic director James Coffey, and it was a topic of conversation at Thursday’s meeting of NEC ADs. If they feel the four GBL schools are a good fit, they’ll bring the proposal to the principals for another vote some time this fall.
Recently, change has been a constant for the GBL, but it wasn’t always that way. Following the demise of the Suburban League in 1989-90, Waltham and Cambridge joined the GBL.
The nine-team league continued that way from 1990 until 2005. In 2005, Revere joined the Northeastern Conference, followed by Peabody in 2007. In 2008, Arlington and Waltham left and the league was down to the current five teams — Everett, Malden, Medford, Cambridge, and Somerville — a setup that made scheduling difficult for the remaining athletic directors. The loss of Cambridge would make that job even more difficult.
Boys’ soccer
New Bedford 4, Durfee 0 — Klisman Sousa scored a hat trick for the No. 3 Whalers (8-0-1), bringing his season total to 11 goals.
Wellesley 5, Milton 0 — Adam Chernew scored a hat trick for the No. 11 Raiders (6-1).
Girls’ soccer
Newton North 2, Framingham 0 — Senior striker Shannon Fitzgerald scored both goals for the No. 2 Tigers (7-0).
Andover 8, Lowell 1 — The 12th-ranked Golden Warriors (5-1-1) were led by sophomore Veronica Alios’s four goals.
Girls’ volleyball
Notre Dame (Hingham) 3, Medfield 1 — For the first time in program history, the No. 6 Cougars won on the Warriors’ home court. Julia Flynn’s 19 kills and 10 digs keyed the victory.