Sports Roundup: Field Hockey, Boys Soccer Win Home Openers
David Creed •
The first Whaler sports roundup of the 2025-2026 school year includes recaps on the field hockey and boys soccer teams after both won their home openers, as well as updates on the golf and girls soccer teams.
Rowan Paul’s First Two Varsity Goals Lead Field Hockey To Win Over Falmouth
The Whaler field hockey team welcomed a solid program in the Falmouth Clippers to the island Thursday afternoon for their first game of the 2025 season and earned an impressive 5-3 victory after a first half where they dominated play to take a 4-0 lead into halftime.
"We haven't played like that ever," Whaler head coach Dan Weber said. "This team has got a whole different style of offense. In the past, we've been a possession, hold the ball, meticulously move it down (the field) kind of team. That was like lightning strike, boom, ball gets out and up. It was really cool to watch. They were moving the ball quick. They weren't thinking, they were just playing. Just two touches, three touches, get the ball. It was really fun to watch them in the first half.”
Rowan Paul scored two goals for the Whalers, and they were also the sophomore’s first two varsity goals. She looked like a seasoned-varsity player in the opener and impressed Weber.
“She's aggressive and plays to the front of the net," Weber said. "She makes good decisions, she plays hard, and she wants the ball on her stick, and she wants to score. As a forward, that's what you want. You want some killers up there, and she's got that killer instinct so it's nice to see.”
Sadie Paterson scored two goals while Clementine Kelly scored the other. Both Paterson and Kelly contributed to the varsity team’s offense last year and are being asked to step into bigger roles this fall.
“They've been scoring goals since they were down at JV," Weber said. "They've been doing the same thing. They looked really good again today. The two of them know how to score goals in front of the goal. They're very good at cleaning up the trash. That kind of downplays their skill level but that takes a lot of skill."
The Whalers scrimmaged Falmouth in the preseason and won 1-0, so a 5-3 victory was an encouraging first step for the program as they look to return to the playoffs once again. Weber said there are some things they can fix in practice on the goals allowed.
“A 5-3 win against Falmouth, I can't be upset," Weber said. "(Those goals), I think that that's something we can correct in practice and maybe it's early season stamina, maybe we got a little tired. But first game of the season, five goals, beat a team like Falmouth 5-3, if you told me that was going to happen two weeks ago, I would have taken that in a heartbeat.”
Nantucket’s next game is scheduled for Thursday, September 11th at home against the Nauset Warriors at 3:30 p.m. You can view more photos from this game at the bottom of the article.
Popov’s Two Goals, Furtado’s Shutout Help Boys Soccer Win Home Opener
Stoyan Popov scored 15 goals in his freshman season last fall and he picked up right where he left off to begin his sophomore year with two goals in the Whaler boys soccer team’s 4-0 victory over the Falmouth Clippers on the island Thursday.
"He's a beast and he's awesome to watch," Whaler head coach Rich Brannigan II said of his sophomore striker. "He's a defender's worst nightmare. He's improved so much. I've seen Stoyan since he was seven, eight years old, and I watched him develop, and he's made so many steps in the right direction. Every year he's finding different ways to improve his game. He had 15 goals last year and that's going to be hard to match but then I see him work like he worked today and I'm like, 'He's going to get there again.'"
Anderson Diaz and Aldo Lemus were the other two goal scorers for Nantucket. Brannigan said while he was encouraged with the talent that was on display and the skill of his squad, they need to continue working on the little things and making sure they are in the right spots.
"I'm really happy with how we started," Brannigan said. "I felt like we were in control for most of the game, but then I felt like there were problems we weren't solving and areas where we were lacking on the field like the midfield, defense, outside defenders. We've got great midfielders but then, at times, they didn't make the right decisions.”
Brannigan said he is continuing to work on figuring out what he has for depth on his team but felt like a few options emerged in Thursday’s win. He was proud of his sophomore keeper – Parker Furtado – who earned the shutout in his first varsity start.
“I’m really happy for the defense and for Parker,” Brannigan said. “He moved when he needed to move, and he seemed confident getting in the right spots and coming off his line. I was really happy to see that.”
Nantucket’s next game is scheduled for Saturday, September 6th at home against East Boston High School at 1 p.m. You can view more photos from this game at the bottom of this article.
Golf Shoots 240 In Second Win Of Season
The Whaler golf team got off to a strong start earlier this week with a victory over the Sturgis West Navigators Tuesday afternoon at the Nantucket Golf Club and carried that momentum into Thursday’s road matchup with the Sturgis East Storm to pick up a 240-307 victory at Old Barnstable Fairgrounds Golf Course.
Below are the scores for each Whaler golfer who traveled for the match.
David Foley – 37
Ben Freeman – 37
Emil Ivanov – 38
Edward Taveras – 41
David Boulter – 43
Hunter Bistany – 44 (top six golfers attributed to 240 score ends here)
TQ Scarlett – 45
Jake Grant – 46
Nantucket, now 2-0, will host the St. John Paul II Lions on Tuesday, September 9th at the Miacomet Golf Course at 4 p.m. You can view more photos courtesy of assistant head coach Nate Roberts from this match at the bottom of this article.
Girls Soccer Loses Close Game To Falmouth
The Whaler girls soccer team traveled to play the Falmouth Clipper’s Div. 3 program Thursday afternoon and came up just short of a victory in the form of a 2-1 loss, which drops their record to 1-1 after winning their season opener 4-2 at home against Sturgis West earlier this week.
Nantucket head coach Doug LeBrecht said postgame that his team did not have a great first half but followed it up with a strong second half.
“Emma Woodbury scored from a Chelsea Gross assist,” LeBrecht said. “Harper LeBrecht was a menace in the midfield and kept offensive pressure as well. Molly Bedell, Allyson Escobar and Fiona Keltz were great in center defense. Gabby Nikolova held the center-mid with authority, helping us control the second half.”
Woodbury is quickly emerging as one of the Whaler's prime scorers early on in the season and now has three goals in two games. Gross now has one goal and two assists.
The Whalers will try to earn their second win of the season on Wednesday, September 10th when they host the Nauset Warriors for a 3:30 p.m. matchup.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Friday, September 5th:
No varsity sports games are scheduled for this date.
Saturday, September 6th:
The football team will be traveling to begin their regular season against Cardinal Spellman. Game scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.
The boys soccer team will host East Boston High School at 1 p.m.
Sunday, September 7th:
There are no varsity sports games scheduled for this date.
