Boys Soccer Season Comes To An End In Preliminary Round

The boys soccer team saw their season come to an end Monday afternoon on the road against Assabet Valley Regional High School – losing 2-1 in the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 3 State Tournament. Nantucket was the #34 seed while Assabet Valley was the #31 seed.

Whaler head coach Rich Brannigan II said that his squad got off to a hot start and applied consistent pressure early on, and it led to a first half goal by senior Diego Roman Espinoza, which was assisted by freshman Raakin Brannigan, to give Nantucket the 1-0 lead.

“The heavy pressure unfortunately didn’t result in more goals even though the team had great scoring chances,” Brannigan added. “Assabet tied the game five minutes before halftime. The second half looked much like the first. (We held) the possession and attacking opportunities but couldn’t convert any chances.”

Assabet Valley scored the game-winner with about 25 minutes left in the game. Brannigan said sophomore Aldo Lemus and senior Anderson Diaz played great games, as well as the rest of the team’s seniors who he said were “valiant in defeat.”

Nantucket’s senior players are:

Alex Ivilov (Captain)

Denzel Tejada (Captain)

Travon James

Santos Perez

Diego Roman Espinoza

Anderson Diaz

Alexis Pena

Alejandro Vivas