The girls took the league title and the boys emerged victorious in penalty kicks.
Both Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School soccer teams saw success Saturday on Nantucket, where they lifted the Golden Anchor trophy over the sister island rivals.
The girls’ 5-0 win notched the team the league championship for the first time in more than 20 years, said coach Matt Malowski.
“That’s awesome for our girls soccer program to finally be able to hang a banner,” Mr. Malowski said. “It is just remarkable. It’s a really special team. I’m just really going to miss these girls.”
Keeper Grady Stalgren jumps for joy.
Keeper Grady Stalgren jumps for joy.
Junior Leah Thomson netted a hat trick, and freshman Lainey Light and junior Ava Townes each scored goals of their own to shut out the Whalers. Reading their opponents’ passes to pick them off and keeping possession contributed to the girls’ success.
Coach Malowski was proud of his team for executing their game plan.
“It’s one thing to do in practice, but I think what was really cool is to be able to see them, take something [from practice] and then put it into effect. It was really special to see them do that,” he said.
According to Mr. Malowski, a rival game on the other team’s turf can pose a challenge.
“We talk about the mental part of the game and Nantucket is a good team, so you just never know,” he said. “It’s really just sticking to what we know and try not to get all into the hype or thinking about records or standings or anything like that. Just try to focus on today, and that’s it.”
The day started off with the boys soccer team, and they played a gritty, physical game. Ending regulation in a 2-2 tie, the bragging rights for the trophy were decided by penalty kicks.
Goaltender junior Grady Stalgren made two key saves on the Whalers’ penalty kicks before junior Victor Daghetti sealed the win with his goal.
For the regulation time goals, Senior Chris Marcal put the Vineyarders on the board only two minutes into the game. The Vineyarders were later awarded a penalty kick, which senior Yury De Moraes converted successfully.
Boys coach Rodrigo Honorato is happy for his team’s success.
“The boys played great. We put pressure from the start. We really wanted the game,” he said. “They’re coming from a couple seasons with not a lot of wins, and this year that’s changed around, so they’ve been stoked.”
In regulation, play flipped back and forth between the rivals, with plenty of whistles from the referee and passion from fans on the sideline. Martha’s Vineyard often advanced in their offensive half with their nifty footwork.
Shouts of encouragement and instructions rang through the air for the whole game from the bench. Mr. Honorato said this is an important part of the coaching process.
“Every day that we’re at practice, they’re learning. We see things that they might not be seeing, so I think it’s important to be communicating with the players on the field,” he said.
The field hockey team was also on Nantucket Saturday, but fell 3-0 to the Whalers.
Though the field hockey team lost today, the girls wanted to build on skills they’ve been focusing on in practice, according to coach Kaitlyn Benoit.
“I always like to explain why we’re doing the drill, how it’s going to elevate their game. Especially with a team like Nantucket, they’re really good, so we have to kind of cater our skills,” Ms. Benoit said before the game. “They throw a lot of aerials, so we had to learn how to control them down and being a lot more patient on their defense, because they have a lot of good stick skills, so patient with our defensive approach.”
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