After a strong tournament run, the MVRHS boys soccer team fell 3-1 to a tough Medway Mustangs team in the semifinal match of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s South section, Division 3 tournament.

A great team gets great fans. — Louisa Hufstader

“It was a hard-fought battle,” Vineyard goalkeeping coach Ryan White said on the ferry home after the game. “We’re proud of them.”

The play was fast on the turf field at Bridgewater Raynham High School and the stands were loud with cheers from three busloads of purple-clad Vineyard fans who traveled off-Island to cheer the team on. Their Vineyarders came out forcefully in the early part of the game, striking first with a goal by junior Miles Jordi, assisted by freshman Emanuel Silva. But Medway quickly answered with two goals of their own to lead at the half 2-1.

The Mustangs started the second half still hungry, quickly scoring a third goal. It would be the last goal of the game for either side. In the final moments of play, cheers from the Vineyard side changed from “Let’s go Vineyard!” to “Thank you seniors,” in tribute to more than a dozen team members facing graduation in 2017.

“They’ve grown up playing soccer together, from grade school on up,” said Kathy Burnspower, whose son Michael Power is among the seniors on the team.

The boys finished the year with a record of 15-7.