The Vineyard boys and girls soccer teams are off to a strong start. In each of their four wins, the girls have outscored opponents 21-2, and the boys have a 15-2 margin of victory as well.
The Vineyard boys and girls soccer teams are off to a strong start. In each of their four wins, the girls have outscored opponents 21-2, and the boys have a 15-2 margin of victory as well.
The girls team is an offensive powerhouse, the girls’ freshman keeper, Lucy Doyle, has been equally impressive in goal. The centerback pair, Esme Colon and Ella Ehrman, are just as formidable. There’s still a lot of season left, but so far the girls are looking like one of the top defenses in the league.
In their first game, against Monomoy, the Vineyarders blanked the Sharks 4-0 at home. Then came their only defeat so far, 3-1 to Sutton, the reigning division four state champions. Since the loss, they’ve won three in a row: 2-1 over Saint John Paul II, 12-0 against Lowell Collegiate Charter, and most recently, a 3-1 victory over Nantucket on Sunday.
Against the Whalers, Helena Goncalves netted MV’s first score with a strike from outside the box with an assist from Elle Mone. Then it was Mone’s turn to get in on the scoring and did so with a flawless header off a perfectly placed corner kick by Leah Thompson. After Nantucket cut the Vineyarders’ lead to one before the half, the girls came out firing on all cylinders to start the second. Mone tacked on the finisher with a heads-up play deep in the offensive end for her second score.
Boys team experienced its first loss of the season against Nantucket.
Boys team experienced its first loss of the season against Nantucket.
The girls’ next game is Thursday, when they take on Nauset at home in what should be a very competitive matchup. The action begins at 3 p.m.
Boys soccer and the field hockey team also played Nantucket at home on Sunday but could not muster up enough scores for a win. For the field hockey team, it was their closest contest of the season as they are still looking for their first win. They stuck with the Whalers as long as they could. This week, they are on the road Tuesday to play Wareham before returning home Saturday to face Brockton at 11:30 a.m.
For boys soccer, the 1-0 defeat at the hands of their rival came at the end of a strenuous three games in three days schedule. The lone goal of the game was an early mistake by the Vineyarders that resulted in an own goal. Purple did their best to net an equalizer, but three shots ricocheted off the post and that’s as close as they got.
The day before, in their home opener, the boys blanked Lowell Collegiate Charter 4-0 for their fourth win of the season. The first goal came following a textbook sequence of passes between Yury De Moraes and Aeneas Forrester. The two guided the ball up the field, then Forrester found Kenny Martinez on the wing. Martinez slipped past his defender, drove into the box, and delivered a perfect pass to Victor Daghetti who immediately fired into the back of the net to give MV a 1-0 lead.
Not long after, Matheus Lacerta pushed purple’s lead to two with a deflected shot that completely caught Lowell’s keeper off guard and skirted past him. Then, just before the half, Miguel Mantesso pushed the ball down the left flank with what Coach Rodrigo Honorato calls his “trademark jogo bonito flair” to beat his man and find teammate Anthony Pereira on a cross for a smooth finish and a 3-0 lead.
Coach Rodrigo Honorato keeps the energy up on the sidelines.
Coach Rodrigo Honorato keeps the energy up on the sidelines.
Jogo bonito is a Portuguese saying that translates to “the beautiful game.” Brazilian soccer legend Pelé popularized the saying in his autobiography “My Life and the Beautiful Game.” Jogo bonito is an expressive style of play that at its core comes down to instincts, creativity and teamwork.
For the final score, the Vineyarders displayed even more of their trademark teamwork as Italo Fernandes found fellow freshman Davi De Souza who powered home his first varsity goal to seal the win.
The road ahead will continue to be tough for MV as they travel to the Cape to play Nauset on Thursday before taking on Sandwich and Falmouth at home next week on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 3 p.m. and under the lights on Friday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m.
As the cross country team gets ready for their first league meet of the season against Nauset this week, freshman Ben Fuller led the way for the Island, taking first place in the 3K freshman race at the Vineyard Invitational earlier this month. Fuller finished in 10:30.38, just under half a second faster than the second place finisher.
Other notable finishes for the Vineyard harriers included Nevah Fitzgerald, who finished eighth in the 5K junior varsity girls race with a time of 23:59.67, and Sophia Alves, finishing 34th in the 5K varsity girls race with a time of 22:16.9.
Field hockey team gets scrappy against Nantucket.
Field hockey team gets scrappy against Nantucket.
For the boys, MV’s top finishers were Judah Levy at 52nd in the 5K junior varsity race with a time of 23:06.37, and in the varsity 5K, Nicholas Gomes in 58th at 19:14.09.
On the links last week, Jacoby Light and Peter Williamson shined for the golf team. They both shot sub-40 rounds at their home course, Farm Neck, and at The Cape Club in East Falmouth. Both golfers carded a 39 in the loss to Falmouth and then shot a 38, three over par, at Farm Neck in the win over Sandwich.
There’s a lot of golf on tap for the Vineyarders this week. First, they take on Wakefield Memorial at home on Monday, then they travel to Oyster Harbors Golf Club in Osterville to face Saint John Paul II on Tuesday before finishing up with another go at Farm Neck against Nauset Thursday.
The football team squared off with Mashpee on the road in their first game of the season. The Vineyarders lost 54-28 as they couldn’t stop the Falcons’ running back Daniel Alade, who gashed them for over 200 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
While defensively it was not the showing anyone had hoped for, on the offensive side of the ball there were some bright spots. Simone Arbelaez had a huge game on the ground, carrying the ball 14 times for 216 yards and two touchdowns. His longest run of the day went for 80 yards. Vineyard quarterback William Nicholson threw for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Syius Rivera and Matt MacMillan caught the TDs, and MacMillan had 110 yards receiving.
On Saturday, the Vineyarders welcome Sharon to the Island for the home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
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