Sports Roundup: Girls Lax Advances To State Quarterfinal, Boys Lax To Round Of 16
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the girls lacrosse team following an impressive comeback that clinched the program a spot in the MIAA Division 4 State Quarterfinal, the boys lacrosse team after they dominated their first round matchup, and the boys tennis team after a road defeat to end their season.
Thrilling Comeback Lands Girls Lax Advances To State Quarterfinal
The #8 seeded girls lacrosse team beat #9 Bromfield 11-9 at Vito Capizzo Stadium Monday afternoon to advance to the MIAA Division 4 State Quarterfinal. The Whalers will play top-seeded Sandwich after coming back from a 9-6 deficit with five minutes left in the game.
"It's just not putting your head down and staying composed," Whaler head coach Kelly Brown said of the mental toughness her team showed. "I feel like we were pushing the fast break a lot, which I love. I love playing with speed, but we were not placing shots. The opportunities were there. We were definitely the better team throughout, but they really just started executing. I literally could not be happier with how they dug in and grinded through. That was true grit right there.”
The Whaler’s go-ahead goal to make it 10-9 was an own goal by the Bromfield goalie, who had kept the Whaler’s offense in check for much of the afternoon. Senior attacker Dylan Damian had pressure on the goalie, which gave her less space to work with as she attempted to clear the ball prior to losing control of it before it bounced into her own net.
"The ride today allowed for so many of our opportunities and that being a part right at the end, that just shows what we were doing all game," Brown said. "That was amazing. I think that did help shift the momentum for us, but then for Grace (Hanlon) to come off and just one vs. none all the way down (the field) with her speed was huge.”
Nantucket was led by Damian, who scored four goals in the game while adding an assist. She was credited with the "goal" that was an own goal. Hanlon scored three goals and tallied one assist. Quinn Canty scored two goals while Louisa Beni and Finley Herlihy each scored one goal, with Beni adding an assist. Goalie Ella Douglas had four saves in the game.
Brown credited Herlihy, who is a freshman, for her strong faceoff performances down the stretch. Brown felt like that played a big role in changing the tide of the game.
"They are a very dedicated group, they're fun to be around, and they're very coachable," Brown said. "I think the teamwork stood out today. Lacrosse is a team sport and that showed today. They stayed positive throughout. When the goals went in, the defense stayed positive. It was never a blame game. They came together and said, 'What can we do? What can we do?' And they just kept grinding.”
The Whalers will play Sandwich High School on the road Thursday, June 4th at 3:30 p.m.
Boys Lacrosse Shuts Out Monomoy, Moves Onto The Round Of 16
The #2 seeded Whaler boys lacrosse team beat the #31 seeded Monomoy Sharks 15-0 Monday afternoon and will now host #15 Rockland on Wednesday, June 3rd at 4:30 p.m. Head coach Sam Aloisi acknowledged that his team didn’t have to face any adversity in their Round of 32 matchup, but credited them for their performance against a young Monomoy squad while staying healthy.
"The biggest thing in this one for us as coaches that we asked the guys to do was to not play down to Monomoy's level in the first quarter, and our guys didn't," Aloisi said. "Then in the second quarter we slowed it down on purpose, and from then on the guys did what they were supposed to do. We tried to be as respectful as possible you know, and they did great.”
The score was 7-0 Nantucket after one quarter of play and 10-0 at halftime. Senior goalie and captain Jeremy Jenkinson was forced to make just one save in one half of action before getting the second half of the game off.
Nolen Mosscrop led the team with four goals, including an incredible backhand shot in the second quarter.
Marco La Chuisa and Noah Stringer each had three goals, with Stringer adding an assist. Arann Hanlon scored twice and added one assist. Jake Grant scored one goal and one assist. Kyden Whitfield and Weylin Mooney each had one goal.
Below are some more photos from girls lacrosse and boys lacrosse games on Monday taken by Chris Tran.
Boys Tennis Loses To Newburyport
The 30th seeded boys tennis team lost on the road to #3 Newburyport 5-0, marking the end of their spring season.
The Whalers made the jump to Division 3 this season and won their preliminary round matchup against Joseph Case last week. They finished their regular season 8-8 and have made the state tournament every season under head coach David Cheever, who took over the program in 2021.
While they will be forced to replace top singles player Nik Krastev, who is a senior, the Whalers will return every other player on their roster – presenting an opportunity for the program to build on this spring and finish with a higher seeding in 2027.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Wednesday, June 3rd:
The #2 seeded Whaler boys lacrosse team will host the #15 seeded Rockland Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. The winner will advance to the MIAA Division 4 State Quarterfinal.
Thursday, June 4th:
The #8 seeded Whaler girls lacrosse team will travel to Sandwich to play the top-seeded Blue Knights at 3:30 p.m. The winner will advance to the MIAA Division 4 State Semifinal.
For more photos and Whaler sports coverage, follow Nantucket Current Sports on Instagram here.
To view the tournament brackets for each spring sports team, click here.