Sports Roundup: Field Hockey, Boys Soccer Earn Victories
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the field hockey team following a shutout victory at home, the boys soccer team following a solid road win to increase their win total to double digits, the girls soccer team following a loss at home, and the volleyball team after a pair of defeats.
Field Hockey Beats Sturgis East 8-0
The field hockey team hosted the Sturgis East Storm and won convincingly 8-0 Wednesday afternoon. Sophomore Rowan Paul led the Whaler’s offensive attack with a hat trick. Head coach Dan Weber reiterated Paul’s work ethic and tenacity while on the field helps her generate excellent offensive chances game after game.
"She's got a little bit of that ruthlessness in front of the goal where she just doesn't care who's around her and where everybody is," Weber said. "She has no regard for where anyone else is, nor should she (in front of the net). She has been great at putting the ball in the back of the net.”
The other Whaler goals were scored by Sadie Paterson, Clementine Kelly, Lil Wullschleger, Evie Phelps, and Ella Douglas. Shelbi Harimon and Magdalena Gonzalez both played a role in net to earn the shutout.
With state tournament time right around the corner, Weber said games like the one Wednesday afternoon do a lot for team morale and for evaluating the future of the program.
“We get everybody in and we have so many seniors and girls who have a lot of experience, and it's not that the girls that have been waiting to get some time aren't capable. It's just that you have people who have put in the time and have that experience and have kind of paid their dues to get on the field for that amount of time,” Weber said. “So when you get these games, it's nice. Everybody kind of gets around the girls that get their chance in the game. It's also important for us to see what we got because you hate to say it, but we are going to lose eight of these girls at the end of the season. So it gives us a chance to see where players are and what they can do. But it's a good morale booster to have the whole team play.”
Nantucket is now 11-5-1 this season and remains in the top half of the MIAA Div. 3 state tournament bracket with one game remaining against Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday, October 25th at 1 p.m.
Boys Soccer Beats Sandwich
The boys soccer team earned a huge 2-0 victory Wednesday afternoon on the road against the Sandwich Blue Knights. The victory improved Nantucket’s record to 10-4 with four games remaining on the regular season schedule.
Head coach Rich Brannigan II said sophomore Aldo Lemus scored the Whaler’s first goal on an assist from junior Leo Maldonado in the first half. It was their leading scorer/sophomore attacker Stoyan Popov scoring the insurance goal in the second half on an assist from junior Calvin Guevera. The goal was Popov’s 18th goal of the year.
“Raakin Brannigan and Aldo had standout games in the midfield and Deimis Vita was solid in defense,” Brannigan added.
Nantucket is now 5-3 in league play, and they will welcome Martha’s Vineyard to the island for their next game on Saturday, October 25th for an 11:30 a.m. match.
Girls Soccer Loses To Sandwich
The girls soccer team hosted the Sandwich Blue Knights for their pink game Wednesday afternoon. It was their first game action since October 6th due to weather forcing postponements, something head coach Doug LeBrecht said may have led to some rust in the team’s play in the 5-2 defeat.
"A lot of it is that we hadn't had that mindset of playing in a game," LeBrecht said following Wednesday' game. "It's been a hard two weeks keeping them engaged and keeping practice happy and fun, but overall, we weren't the first to the ball. We weren't the first to it. We didn't attack the ball like we should. Fiona Keltz had a great game. She was fired up. She was playing at a high level, it just wasn't infectious enough.”
While the Whalers lost 5-2, there were some bright moments in the game – notably with senior captain Chelsea Gross scoring a beautiful first half goal to make it 2-1 Sandwich from 35 yards out, and then towards the end of the match, senior Myah Johnson scored to make it 5-2. Gross nearly had a second goal in the final minutes to make it 5-3, but the Sandwich netminder made the stop.
The Whalers are currently 5-6-3 this season and are the #41 seed in the MIAA Div. 3 state tournament bracket. They can still qualify for the state tournament if they finish outside the top 32, but need to have a record of .500 or better.
With four games remaining, that means the Whalers need to win three of their final four matches on their regular season schedule in order to qualify for the tournament. Their next match is scheduled for Saturday, October 25th at home against Martha’s Vineyard at 1:30 p.m. The Whalers lost to the Vineyard on the road 3-1 on Sept. 14th. You can view more photos from Wednesday's field hockey and girls soccer games here.
In other Whaler sports news, the volleyball team played a doubleheader on the road against the Nauset Warriors Wednesday afternoon and lost both matches 3-0.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Friday, October 24th:
The volleyball team will be on the road playing Sandwich at 4 p.m.
Saturday, October 25th:
The boys soccer team will host Martha's Vineyard at 11:30 a.m.
The field hockey team will host Martha's Vineyard at 1 p.m.
The girls soccer team will host Martha's Vineyard at 1:30 p.m.
The football team will host Sandwich High School at 3:15 p.m. Please note that the Island Cup will be played Saturday, November 1st on Martha's Vineyard at 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 26th:
There are no games currently scheduled for this date.
For more Whaler sports coverage, photos, and updates, follow the Current Sports Instagram page here. You can view the updated MIAA power rankings for each team here.