Fans from two Islands packed the athletic complex at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School to watch the Whalers battle the Vineyarders Sunday afternoon. And after four straight days of hiding behind the clouds, even the sun emerged to shine on the rivalry.

Boys soccer and field hockey started things off and both games had much more in common than just their 12:30 p.m. start time.

The boys soccer team played mostly on the attack to begin the game, their constant pressure on Nantucket’s midfielders prevented much movement into the Vineyard defensive zone. Nantucket fended off the relentless Vineyard attack well but was quickly stifled on the offensive end after breaking through the mostly impenetrable Vineyard midfield.

With just over four minutes left in the first half, the Vineyard attack forced a turnover in Whaler territory then strung together a beautiful sequence of give-and-go passes, giving Lucas Gonsalves an open lane, one-on-one with the Whaler keeper. Barreling toward the net, Gonsalves dribbled left then quickly switched to his right foot and booted an absolute snipe of a shot into the top right corner of the net.

Emmanuel DaSilva is all alone. Boys soccer ended in a 1-1 tie with Nantucket. — Aaron Wilson

Nantucket’s keeper had no chance, and the Vineyarders took a 1-0 lead.

Coming out of halftime, Nantucket changed their goalkeeper and the Vineyard tested him immediately. But after multiple shot attempts went just wide or were saved by the new keeper, Nantucket caught the Vineyard off guard and forced a turnover in Vineyard territory. The Whalers took advantage of the off-balance Vineyard defense and found the back of the net with 32 minutes left in the half, tying the game at 1-1.

For the duration of the contest the Vineyard had numerous chances to reclaim the lead, but strong play by Nantucket’s keeper kept the ball out of the net.

“Sometimes in soccer, you win on the field, but you don’t win,” Coach John Walsh said after the game.

“We were banging on the door at the end, we had quality scoring opportunities and we played well enough to win, and it’s a bummer, but it happens,” he said.

C.J. Walsh heads upfield. Clutch defense kept the girls soccer team even with Nantucket 0-0. — Aaron Wilson

As the final whistle blew to make the tie official, Nantucket’s coach handed their captain a small stake with a “Whaler Pride” flag attached to it. The Nantucket midfielder ran to midfield and plated it in the ground where it stood for all of a minute before Vineyard’s senior captain Morgan Estrella uprooted their ensign and snapped it over his knee.

Less than 100 yards away, field hockey displayed a similar game plan as boys soccer. The Vineyard girls remained on the offensive and early in the first half Maddie Tully scored with an assist by Megan Zeilinger to put the Vineyard up by one.

But like the Nantucket boys soccer team, the lady Whalers came out of halftime determined to even the score. After pushing into Vineyard territory to open the second half, Nantucket was awarded a penalty shot. The Whaler striker beat the Vineyard keeper on a quick shot to the left, knotting the score up at one.

The Vineyard’s offense responded by firing on all cylinders, but blanketing defense by Nantucket stopped the Vineyard on multiple corners and close runs to the net. As time expired and the final buzzer sounded, field hockey too ended in a 1-1 tie.

The girls soccer team wrapped up the afternoon of rivalry action with an impressive display of endurance against a quick and aggressive Nantucket squad. In front of an animated crowd consisting of parents, fans and both the Vineyard and Nantucket boys soccer teams, Vineyard goalkeeper Ruby Reiman made save after save against a relentless Nantucket attack that kept pressure on the Vineyard defense for the majority of the contest.

While the Vineyard made a few runs at the Nantucket keeper led by strikers Wadeline Florine and Kaya Seiman, they were out shot by a large margin, making Reiman’s clutch afternoon in net all the more critical. When the final whistle blew the scoreboard read 0-0, marking a clean sweep of ties between the two Islands on the afternoon.

“Our defenders, especially C.J. Walsh, Julia Dostal and Aubrey Holmes have all been solid,” Coach Rocco Bellebuono said after the game. “It took us a little while to get going today, but we had a talk at halftime and nobody was happy with their energy level. The second half was much better.”

Coach Bellebuono said he was happy to see his girls make adjustments on the fly during the game to improve their play.

“It took them a couple of tries to figure it out for themselves, but it’s a very hard thing to do and they accomplished it,” he said.