Sports Roundup: Girls Soccer Wins Senior Game, Falls Just Short Of State Tournament Berth

This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the girls soccer team after they earned a victory on the island in their senior game Wednesday afternoon but lost the next day on the road to fall just short of a postseason appearance, as well as the boys soccer team after a loss on the road to conclude their regular season.

Girls Soccer Season Comes To An End

The Whaler girls soccer team came up just short of a state tournament berth following a 4-3 loss on the road to the St. John Paul II Lions Thursday afternoon. The loss cements their record at 7-8-3 after they beat the Monomoy Sharks at home 1-0 Wednesday afternoon.

Since the Whalers will finish outside of the top 32 teams in the Division 3 state tournament bracket, they needed to finish their season with a record of .500 or better in order to secure a play-in opportunity in the preliminary round.

In Wednesday’s victory, sophomore captain Harper LeBrecht scored the game’s only goal on a crosser from senior Myah Johnson. In net, junior Madden Myers played a strong game when needed – making several key stops in the second half despite Nantucket controlling the pace of play. On defense, senior defender Allyson Escobar, as well as senior midfielder Gabby Nikolova, anchored the unit to help keep Monomoy off the board.

In Thursday’s game, Nantucket lost in heartbreaking fashion – surrendering the game-winner in the final two minutes of the match.

Whaler head coach Doug LeBrecht said it was a very physical and hard final game of the season. Senior captain Chelsea Gross fittingly scored in her final high school game, something she has done for the program on a frequent basis throughout her high school career. Junior Emma Woodbury scored and will be a key piece for the 2026 Whaler team that will need to replace eight graduating seniors.

Nikolova also scored and went out of the game with an injury late in the second half just moments before the Lions scored the game-winner. Doug LeBrecht said overall, it was a very good defensive game for his team. He pointed out the play of Harper LeBrecht and Escobar in particular on Thursday.

Doug LeBrecht said he will always remember this group of seniors, which includes his daughter Sutton, and said they set a standard for this program that will be followed for years to come by future Whaler soccer players. He admitted there are challenges that come with coaching his daughters, but he said it allowed him to get to know this group even more.

"It is unique being a coach as a parent, you know," LeBrecht said. "Those kids, I mean, they've been at my house since first grade because they've been friends. So you see them around all the time, and the kind of camaraderie they have is unmatched, and I don't think I'll ever see that again. They're just such good friends and teammates. They always care for each other, and they played together since second grade, which is why their soccer skills work so well together. So it's great to have them. They set some great examples. Like, Allyson is going to be the defender you have to be like for the longest time. If you have Myah's speed, she's going to be great coaching points for my career talking about her and these seniors and what they can do.”

The eight seniors on the girls soccer team are:

Chelsea Gross (captain)

Myah Johnson

Gabby Nikolova

Dylan Damian

Allyson Escobar

Fiona Keltz

Emery Bouchard

Sutton LeBrecht

Boys Soccer Loses Regular Season Finale

The boys soccer team ended their regular season with an 11-5-2 overall record and 6-4-2 league record after losing on the road to the Monomoy Sharks 3-1 Wednesday afternoon.

Whaler head coach Rich Brannigan II said the sharks took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but the Whalers tied the game early in the second half on sophomore striker Stoyan Popov’s 21^st goal of the season, which was assisted by senior Denzel Tejada. He said his squad wasn’t able to find the back of the net after that, and Monomoy subsequently went on to score two goals and win the game 3-1.

The Whalers will now await the publishing of the MIAA Division 3 state tournament brackets over the weekend.


SCHEDULE AHEAD:


Friday, October 31st:

No games are scheduled.


Saturday, November 1st:

No games are scheduled.


Sunday, November 2nd:

The field hockey team (12-5-1) will begin their MIAA Division 3 state tournament journey as the #13 seed and host the Nauset Warriors (4-11-3), who earned the #20 seed, at 11 a.m. at the NHS field hockey field. Nantucket and Nauset played each other twice this season. The first game was a 3-0 victory for Nantucket on the island September 11th while the second meeting between these two teams resulted in a 1-1 tie on October 21st.


Football, Boys Soccer Brackets Will Be Released This Weekend

Two other Whaler teams have qualified for state tournament play: Football in Division 6 and Boys Soccer in Division 3. Both teams will find out their tournament seeding over the weekend, so for updates on these seedings as well as on how the field hockey team played, follow us on Instagram or open our Monday newsletter.

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.