The Vineyard sent three youth soccer teams to the annual Massachusetts Tournament of Champions this past weekend in Lancaster and each team represented the Island admirably. Both the under-12 team and the under-18 team advanced to the final four of the state tournament, while the under-16 team won a game and tied another before being eliminated.
The under-12 team rolled in their opening game, defeating Adams by a final of 8-1. They followed that up with a win over Westborough, but then lost a heartbreaker to Ludlow in the semifinals. That game was tied at 0-0 through regulation and two overtime periods, and it was decided by a penalty shoot-out that was also extended into extra rounds.
The Vineyarders lost by a final 1-0, losing the shoot-out 8-7.
The under-16 team lost to Lenox in the first round, but bounced back with a 3-2 win over Lynn, before playing to a tie against Revere. Due to a lack of points, the under-16 team did not advance to the final four. The under-18 team beat Pentauxet 4-1 in their opener, then tied Everett 0-0 and beat Amherst 2-1 to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Weymouth 3-2.
Matt Poole, coach of the under-12 team, said all the players should be proud.
“We were playing against the best teams in the state, teams that draw from a much larger population base . . . and the Vineyard advanced two teams to the final four . . . that is impressive. I think it says volumes about the talent level here on the Vineyard,” he said.
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